Welcome to Over the Rainbow
We are Nikki and Lisa, two very hardworking and dedicated individuals who want to support children, schools and families with additional needs.
We both started our journey within education as TAs and then qualified as teachers in the early 2000’s.
Since then, we have become specialists within the field of additional needs working with various children in a multitude of settings. Putting them at the forefront of everything we do.
We build solid, trusting relationships with parents, carers and schools to enable them to support the children in the best way possible offering advice and support along the way.
Autism, PDA and ADHD.
Mental health needs - anxiety, anger management, self-regulation skills & school refusal.
Therapeutic approaches to teaching, learning and parenting.
Trauma-informed practise/ developmental trauma.
Attachment awareness.
Adverse childhood experiences & the impact of this.
Children looked after.
The travelling community.
Our knowledge and experience include:
And all things Social Emotional Mental Health in between!
Meet Us and Our Team
Nikki - Therapeutic Consultant
I am a qualified teacher and SENco and have had a passion for working with children with additional needs since the beginning of my career. I am particularly interested in supporting children and schools therapeutically to meet the needs of all children.
I have completed numerous short courses on attachment, social emotional, mental health needs along with autism, ADHD and PDA. My training includes Theraplay Level 1, Sand Story Skills trainer status, drawing and talking practitioner, Parent Child Attachment play facilitator, trauma informed schools' practitioner and Herts Steps tutor.
I am passionate about supporting children to reach their full potential, families to manage their children’s additional needs and schools to gain a better understanding of social, emotional well-being by becoming more inclusive and avoiding exclusions.
I’m very interested in children who are too anxious to attend school and children who have suffered adverse childhood experience and traumas.
Lisa - Specialist SEN Tutor
I have been a qualified teacher for nearly 20 years and have spent the past 5 years teaching children with a range of SEN.
I have extensive experience teaching children and young adults with autism, anxiety, PDA, SEMH, low self-esteem and ADHD or children who present with traits of the above without a formal diagnosis.
My work in a mainstream school was always focused around inclusivity, inner confidence, life skills and resilience. My work in the amazing SEN sector is now finally able to focus on this and we can really make a difference to the young people’s lives and the lives of the families also.
We are here to build a strong relationship with the children and their families and support them on to the next stage of their educational career- whatever that may be.
Additional members of our team include:
Children’s Councillor with Arts
Trauma Informed Practitioners / Specialist Mentors.
“Lisa has the most incredible gift for helping children feel safe and seen, my son adores her and she played a huge part in supporting him to recover from educational trauma and autistic burnout. Her humour, compassion and care are unmatched and we’re so thankful for all that she has done for our family.”
