Michael Collins
Education Co-ordinator and Trauma Informed Practice Lead
Michael spent thirty years as a Teacher and Department Head in mainstream secondary schools before moving on to become the Education Co-ordinator and Lead Trauma Informed Practitioner for Seedling Production working in Alternative S.E.N.D. Provision for those young people and families most in need.
Michael is a communications specialist with over 30 years experience, teaching verbal and non-verbal communication skills which led on to him becoming a leading practitioner in Trauma Informed practice in Education and Children’s Services with specialisms in Childhood Trauma, CPTSD and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences).
Michael has an international reputation with regards to his experience and understanding of Education and ACEs. And is currently working with a number of leaders in this field from around the world on education and charity projects.
Most recently Michael has been appointed to the position of Education Officer for the Hearts of Ace, part of the Wave Trust Charity.
Alex Graham
Director of Education
Alex started her teaching career working on community and summer school projects in inner city area of Derby and Coventry working with vulnerable children who has suffered Cultural, Social and Childhood Trauma.
This experience with young people led Alex into roles with Sidney Stringer Secondary School as a fast track teacher of GCSE Drama for Year 9 pupils and SEND teacher for 16+ at Solihull College.
Alongside this Alex also ran a successful Event and LARP (Live Action Roleplaying) company, Seedling Productions. Alex is driven by her passion for the Arts and Education so when the opportunity arose to take on and develop Root ‘n’ Branch Acres and turn it into a sought after Recreation and Education venue in the UK she used her experience to create an awe inspiring venue for imagination, learning and play.
Now 25 years after conception the company is a thriving with in-house on-going contract from schools and Local Authority Inclusion Services through the Midlands and outreach projects spanning the UK.
Within her role as Director of Education Alex aims to help young people and their families with her work on site, in schools and with local sanctuaries and charities and bring knowledge of both individual cases and overall practices to TAF, EHCP and Inclusion Review meetings. She continues to build a strong team of specialist in a variety of Education and Trauma Informed Practice roles at Seedling Productions to allow for more in-take to meet demand and more outreach projects.
Alongside the 1-1 Edu-Larp and Inclusions work, which you can read more about on our Student Services Page, Seedling Productions also offer Historic WOW day experiences to all schools both at Root ‘n’ Branch Acres or in school if transport is not available. Please see our link to our venue webpage below for more details.