Supporting people through a range of physical, sensory and therapeutic activities, carefully catered to all needs.

What do we offer?

We are developing a range of inclusive, person centred activities that support mental, emotional, physical and cognitive health. Including education and support with wellbeing such as our walks and groups that are accessible and empower. We are committed to community capacity building, supporting each community member to thrive.

Reach Pre School Family Village

We are restarting our term time support and activity group for pregnant women, carers and parents with their babies and pre-school children. We meet at the main hall at the Moot House in the Stow, Harlow - CM20 3AG

Starting back o 14th September 2023 with a donation of £2 per family which supports the group and refreshments

9:30am registration, then it’s time to explore our 'village' which includes child friendly activities, books and toys that stimulate imagination, let us practice fine, gross motor skills, interact, learn and 'be'. Activities have included baby yoga, stories, interactive play and support for families from Harlow Smart advice and Harlow Community Hub. We pack down together at 11:30am but are on hand to support till 12pm

 

Family Wellbeing / Woodland Stockpot

Supportive groups suitable for families with children of all ages at Parndon Wood Nature Reserve, which is an ancient protected woodland run by Ecco charity in Harlow.

Parndon Wood Nature Reserve (SSSI) – ecco

Here we explore nature, play games, try crafts and activities. Interacting with the land, adventuring and following a nature trail with stories and support to enjoy the benefits of nature to support mental, emotional, cognitive and physical health.

We offer spaces through Active Essex booking system The booking links come through the Holiday Activities Vouchers scheme issued by your child’s school. We also have a small percentage of spaces for families on low income, you can email us if you are interested.

 

SEND Groups for children with Special Educational needs

We are committed to supporting and developing inclusive support for neurological diversity and with support from Tara our founder and Occupational Therapist we are building SEN support for children and their families.

We currently partner Active Essex ActiVate programme with SEND holiday groups, these are for children with special educational needs and are funded with free spaces predominately for children entitled to benefits based free school meals and limited spaces for working families on low income.

These are small groups with 12 spaces and a high ratio of staff to children aged 5 – 12. We focus on sensory play, with indoor and outdoor activities, hot lunch and encouraging trying new foods such as making smoothies and ‘food tasting’ as we know many of our children struggle with food texture and taste.

We offer spaces through Active Essex booking system The booking links come through the Holiday Activities Vouchers scheme issued by your child’s school. We also have a small percentage of spaces for families on low income, you can email us if you are interested.

Here is Active Essex ActiVate page: SEND – Active Essex

 

Term Time groups

Our after school provision has been paused for now. We are looking to restart when funding is available,

We keep the sessions smaller so can cater for children who are neurologically diverse. We are starting to offer this as aged 5 – 7 and aged 8 -12 so we can focus more on developing skills, tools and support that is transferable for children.

We offer many opportunities to play and learn through nature and our environment and have a healthy meal and snacks.

 

Nordic Walking

Nordic walking is with support from specially designed poles, with a technique that was developed in Finland as a full body workout. The poles are used alongside an ergonomic technique that supports the body to move effectively and enables upper body and core muscles to be engaged and support the lower body.

There are many benefits! Nordic Walking uses 90% of your muscles  compared to normal walking but is easy on the joints. It burns 20-40% more calories compared to walking without poles and tones upper and lower body, which improves core strength.

Regular walks are:

Wednesday Mindful walk and Stretch: Weds 9:30am – 11am at the Moorhen in Harlow (River Stort)

Friday Mindful walk with Tai Chi 12pm – 1:30pm at Parndon Wood Nature Reserve.

See more: Roots to Wellbeing (activeesseximpact.org) and It’s more than ‘walking with sticks’! - Active Essex

 

Tai Chi For Health & Wellbeing

We incorporate Tai Chi into many of our activities alongside approaches such as Yoga and mindfulness from our growing team. Tai Chi supports the mind and body to balance, supporting your mental, physical and emotional health and helping reduce stress.

This can be taught standing or in a chair so is inclusive and supportive for people with long term health conditions or who are returning to exercise after illness.

We will be starting regular classes soon, if interested please message us on the contact page or email us

We also incorporate Tai Chi on the Friday Mindful walks.

 

Want to join us for an activity?

“It’s a lovely warm space for children to run around and learn, my granddaughter loves the singing with the group staff. It was lovely to see them altogether sing and dancing after the last 2 years. They make you feel so welcomed and there is tea and coffee, also toast and biscuits (jam and chocolate spread also). We will be coming again this week, we loved it. Toilets are lovely with a few nappies, wipes and cream etc. Well done Tara and the all the other volunteers. Not forgetting it’s all free!!!”

- Sharon Howard (about Reach)

“I would highly recommend Roots to Wellbeing and the lady, Tara Whittle, who runs it. She works day and night to make things better for other people including me. I have attended many walks and other functions.”

— Lynn Curtis

FAQs

  • For the walks we recommend comfortable footwear, a small bottle of water and layers normally work best. The instructors bring a backpack and can carry items for you.

  • We work with all ages. Younger children need to be accommpanied by an adult during sessions.

  • All sessions take mobility into account and we aim to be as inclusive as possible throughout. If you are interested in a particular activity such as Nordic Walking, speak to our team directly to confirm if this is suitable for your specific needs.

  • We currently use Eola for bookings, you can also email: support@rootstowellbeing.org or complete the contact us part of the website. We understand internet is not for everyone so you can also call 07985 751059 to speak with Tara re bookings and any questions you may have.