EcoCoach CIC

I don’t usually post about awards. It’s never been my lane, and it’s not why EcoCoach exists. But this one carries weight — not because of the trophy, but because of what it represents. Last Wednesday, EcoCoach CIC was named the UK Social Enterprise Awards – One to Watch 2025. If I’m honest, I’m still taking it in. A mix of being over the moon, a bit stunned, and deeply grateful. But also grounded — because awards don’t change the work in front of us. They just shine a temporary light on the path we’re already walking. EcoCoach has had the most intense, stretching, transformative year of my life. A year of rebuilding from scratch. A year of stepping back from coaching — something I love — to focus on systems, people, safeguarding, standards, and all the invisible infrastructure that makes a CIC strong, safe and scalable. A year where I’ve had to look in the mirror more than once and evolve, not for my ego, but for the future of this organisation and the children we serve. And that’s why this award matters. It isn’t about me. Not even close. EcoCoach is the sum of all its parts. The staff who show up every day for children. The councils who’ve trusted us with their most vulnerable learners. The schools who’ve opened their doors and challenged us to raise the bar. The families who let us play a role — big or small — in their children’s lives. And the young people themselves, who remind us every single day what this is all actually about. I didn’t make it to the ceremony. Life and responsibility got in the way, which is fairly symbolic of how this year has gone — sleeves rolled up, dealing with what needs dealing with. No champagne, no spotlight. Just work. But to read the announcement and see EcoCoach’s name there… I felt something I don’t often allow: pride. Pride in the team. Pride in the graft. Pride in the resilience it’s taken to get to this point. Pride in the fact that we’ve done things the right way — child-first, trauma-informed, inclusive, Play Their Way, and ethically grounded. Still, there’s so much ahead. A CIC to grow properly. Systems to tighten. Standards to protect. Staff to develop. More children to reach. More impact to deliver — responsibly, sustainably, and without cutting corners. This award doesn’t mean “we’ve made it.” If anything, it means the opposite — now we have to live up to it. Thank you to Social Enterprise UK for recognising what we’re building. Thank you to the sponsors who made the night possible. And thank you to everyone who’s believed in EcoCoach this year — especially during the hard parts that never make it onto LinkedIn. Onwards. Steady. Grounded. Clear-headed. And committed to building something that genuinely lasts.

Day Four: Confidence in Full Colour By Day Four, you can feel the shift. The noise sounds different — purposeful. Laughter layered with focus. At Spinney and Hawthorn, today’s sessions turned into full-scale productions: Monster slime workshops, zombie parkour in the playground, haunted dodgeball, costume prep and crafts for tomorrow’s big party. The hall was chaos — but it was coordinated chaos. Every activity had structure behind it. Coaches stepped back just enough to let leadership emerge. Children took ownership — organising games, helping friends, sharing tools, even managing their own Monster Salon (complete with hairspray and teamwork). What looks like “Halloween fun” from the door is actually the outcome of four days of coaching: Day One met energy. Day Two shared leadership. Day Three built independence. Day Four — community in motion. That’s what good provision looks like: engagement built from trust, not control. If your school is planning its first holiday camp and wants a provider who understands inclusion and structure beneath the fun — we’re ready to talk. 📩 greenoffice@eco-coach.co.uk #ChildFirst #PlayTheirWay #EcoCoachCIC

Day Three: Ownership in Action By Day Three, the camp ran itself. That’s not a loss of control — that’s the goal. Children came in with their own plans. Who’d carve what, who’d lead the next Nerf game, who’d sort the music for crafts. We just gave the framework. They filled it. Pumpkin carving looked like art, but it was coaching in disguise — patience, planning, shared tools, quiet pride. Some went for detail. Some went for chaos. All stayed engaged. Between the games, the mess, the ghost crafts and Nerf battles, something steady appeared — ownership. They weren’t waiting to be told what to do. They were shaping the day together. That’s what we train for. Day One met energy. Day Two shared leadership. Day Three built independence. This isn’t childcare. It’s coaching through play — structured, inclusive, child-first. And when it works, you feel it in the hall. Schools ready to run their first camp — start with that standard. 📩 greenoffice@eco-coach.co.uk #ChildFirst #PlayTheirWay #EcoCoachCIC

Day Two: Haunted Treasure, Real Training Day Two didn’t start with instructions. It started with a whisper. “The ghosts left clues.” Across Spinney and Hawthorn, children spread out with maps in hand — reading riddles, plotting routes, searching for sweet treasure buried under cones and benches. It looked like Halloween chaos. It was actually teamwork in disguise. Every clue needed a leader, a reader, a runner. Some took charge fast; others waited for a moment to step in. Coaches stayed close — not to control, but to frame it. That’s the difference between activity and coaching: one fills time, the other builds trust. By midday, masks were made and monster cookies decorated. Flour on jumpers, icing on elbows — focus hiding inside laughter. Then came calm: reflective art, drawing what they’d “found” today, not just where. The training theme this week is Play With Purpose. Day One was energy met. Day Two was leadership shared. Each task designed around self-regulation, communication, and joy that isn’t forced. Because this isn’t holiday “childcare.” It’s child development — disguised as play. Schools in the East Midlands commissioning their first camp: this is the standard you should expect. Safe. Structured. Child-first. 📩 greenoffice@eco-coach.co.uk #PlayTheirWay #ChildFirst #EcoCoachCIC

“Beyond supervision: a holiday camp with purpose” A school in the East Midlands is appointing its first holiday camp provider. That choice will shape how families see its care, culture, and community offer. Because a camp isn’t just childcare — it’s a safeguarding extension of the school day. And that demands the same standards of training, inclusion, and intent. At our Halloween camps, children led their own Ghostbuster missions, built zombie trucks, and shifted from high energy to calm focus through mindful art. Beneath the fun was pedagogy: Staff trained in Play Their Way to support behaviour through autonomy. Inclusive ratios for SEND and SEMH pupils. Structured transitions to promote regulation and trust. The result: safe, purposeful, child-led play — with impact you can feel in the next day and the next. If your school is ready to commission its first camp and wants a partner who understands safeguarding as deeply as sport, let’s talk. 📩 greenoffice@eco-coach.co.uk #ChildFirst #PlayTheirWay #EcoCoachCIC

For EcoCoach, Halloween isn’t just for fancy dress — it’s for showing what structured, child-led care really looks like. This week, our Wraparound Care team ran their first ever Halloween celebration. The children didn’t just attend; they owned it. They designed decorations, led the Build-Me-Bones relay, judged the Mummy Walk Challenge, and worked together to create something worth being proud of. What stood out was the calm energy. No chaos, no crowd control — just purposeful play and shared responsibility. Every child, costume or not, found a role. That’s what Play Their Way means in practice: giving children agency, within clear structure and boundaries. It’s where belonging grows, confidence builds, and transitions home are calmer. Wraparound care done properly isn’t filler. It’s part of a school’s ecosystem — the space where wellbeing, behaviour, and culture are shaped beyond curriculum hours. Schools who want wraparound that teaches, not just supervises — let’s talk. 📩 greenoffice@eco-coach.co.uk

“Quiet online. Flat out on the ground.” Summer was 6 weeks of camps. September’s been wraparound at St George’s, PPA and clubs at Hawthorn and Spinney, and this week — the first days of our NEW Alternative Provision. That’s why it’s been silent here. Not drift, delivery. The next season starts now: • Breakfast and after-school enrichment running daily. • October camp dates about to drop. • AP placements open for schools needing child-first, Play Their Way support. EcoCoach is a CIC. Every club, camp and contract is reinvested into making inclusive, trauma-informed sport a standard — not a nice-to-have. If you’re a headteacher, SENDCo or parent: this is the moment to plan autumn. We’re ready. 📩 greenteam@eco-coach.co.uk

🚨 We’re recruiting a Senior PE & Activity Educator 🚨 Based at The Spinney Primary School (Cambridge), this is a senior role for an experienced coach ready to step up. £14–16/hr for PE delivery £13–14/hr for clubs & enrichment £11–12/hr for admin/planning ~30 hours/week (term time + optional holiday camps) You’ll lead PE lessons, clubs, Home-Ed and AP delivery, mentor juniors, and have progression opportunities as EcoCoach CIC continues to grow. If you’re a confident coach with safeguarding knowledge and a child-first approach, we want to hear from you. 📧 Apply with CV to greenoffice@eco-coach.co.uk quoting Job ID: EC-CHIN-0125. 👉 Please share or tag someone this might suit.