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Empathic Educators — Bridging Mental Health and Education
Children laughing as they plant seedlings in a raised bed in a sunlit London community garden

Kensington & Chelsea · London

Every child deserves the chance to thrive.

Helping children thrive emotionally and educationally through compassionate support, understanding and connection.

Find SupportDiscover Our Approach

Our belief

A little understanding
can change everything.

When a child is struggling, it can affect everything — home, school, friendships and how they see themselves. Parents are often left trying to understand what is happening while managing it all at once.

We believe children should not be defined by their behaviour, parents should not feel blamed, and families should not have to wait until they reach crisis point before someone listens.

Support the child, strengthen the parent, strengthen the family and strengthen the community.

A parent and child sharing a warm, unhurried moment together in afternoon sunlight

Who we support

Find the right place to start.

Not sure? Talk to us

Our approach

Support the child. Equip the parent. Connect the school.

Our distinctive model brings qualified psychotherapists and qualified teachers together — so a child’s emotional wellbeing and their education are understood as one story, not two separate problems.

A practitioner sitting with a child and parent at a low table covered in drawing materials

  1. The child

    Support the child.

    Emotional awareness, regulation, confidence and connection — built through creative, sensory and relational work.

  2. The parent

    Equip the parent.

    Workshops, psychoeducation and individual guidance so parents understand their child’s needs and feel confident acting on them.

  3. The school

    Connect the school.

    Helping home and school communicate, and linking families with appropriate specialist and community support.

  4. Discover our approach

Programmes

Spaces to discover. Opportunities to grow.

See all programmes

Our impact

Small steps. Meaningful change.

Every family starts somewhere different. We record where they begin, what support they receive and how things have changed — a simple baseline, intervention and review model with six-week reviews.

Verified figures from our evaluation framework will be published here once our first six-month snapshot is complete. We will never publish numbers we cannot evidence.

How we measure impact

  • Emotional awareness

    —

    Children able to recognise, name and understand their feelings.

  • Regulation

    —

    Children developing and using coping strategies that work for them.

  • Confidence & communication

    —

    Growing confidence, communication and social connection.

  • Parent empowerment

    —

    Parents more confident understanding SEND, behaviour and their child’s needs.

  • Home–school relationships

    —

    Clearer, calmer communication between families and schools.

  • Community connection

    —

    Reduced isolation and stronger links with local support networks.

Simone Stephen

Professional portrait to be supplied by Simone before publication.

Our founder

Meet Simone Stephen.

Simone is a psychotherapist, qualified teacher and community leader whose work bridges mental health, education and community engagement. She founded Empathic Educators after years of hearing the same thing from families at her Homework Clubs: there was not enough for children with SEND, and too many were being turned away.

  • NCPS-accredited psychotherapist since 2016
  • Qualified teacher (PGCE, QTS) since 2019
  • Founded Homework Clubs in Kensington & Chelsea in 2021
  • Founded Empathic Educators CIC in June 2025
  • Individual Contribution Mayor Award, 2026
Read Simone’s story

Resources

Understanding opens doors.

Browse resources

Get support

A brighter path begins together.

You do not have to wait for crisis to ask for support. Tell us a little about what is happening and we will help you find the right next step.

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