About Enrich & Connect
Enrich & Connect grew from a simple belief:
connection comes before learning.
For children and young people who are anxious, overwhelmed, neurodivergent, experiencing burnout or struggling to access a traditional educational environment, asking for more learning is not always the answer.
Sometimes the starting point needs to be much earlier.
Feeling safe.
Being understood.
Building trust.
Finding something that sparks an interest.
Our approach is low demand, relationship based and led by the individual’s strengths, interests and passions.
We believe that regulation creates space for connection. Connection creates trust. From there, curiosity, confidence and an openness to learning can begin to grow.
We are not trying to recreate school in a different building. We want to create opportunities for children and young people to experience success, discover what they enjoy and build positive relationships with adults who genuinely understand them.
A note from Abi
I’m Abi, founder of Enrich & Connect.
I created E&C because I know how important it is for support to feel flexible, low demand and built around the individual. My background is in art and creative education and I believe connection, interests and trust are often where meaningful I’m also a SEND parent, so my understanding of this world is personal as well as professional.
I’ve walked the walk of a parent trying to navigate the SEND system. I’ve sat in meetings, fought for the right support, been through tribunal and experienced just how overwhelming the system can become when your child doesn’t fit comfortably into the structures around them.
We have come out the other side and we’re okay.
That experience has shaped enormously how I think about support.
I have seen what happens when a child is dysregulated and overwhelmed and adults continue to concentrate on what they should be doing. I’ve also seen what can happen when the pressure reduces, somebody takes time to build a genuine relationship and a young person is allowed to begin from a place that feels safe.
I have a background in art and creative education and have spent years building creative opportunities for children, young people and adults.
Enrich & Connect brings those experiences together.
I don’t believe every young person needs to follow the same route or learn in the same way. I believe that when we start with the person rather than the programme, extraordinary things can begin to happen.
Abigail Lock - Founder, Enrich & Connect