Hi, I’m Jo. Thanks for visiting!

In 2017, I left my job at a lovely secondary school, where I’d coordinated a unique KS3 Life Skills subject and SEND nurture group, and taught History, RE, English and more. Was it bold or stupid? The jury’s still out! All I know is that leaving felt better than staying. I didn’t like who I was becoming, within what felt to me like a restrictive and sometimes misguided education system. I thought that I might better serve my students by trying something a little different… so I took my blog ‘Skills with Frills’ and made it into a business. 

I basically just decided to follow my passion and train up in whatever sounded interesting. I became a ‘Yogakidz’ teacher and a L3 Forest School Practitioner, and completed training in Mindfulness for children, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and CBT essentials. Having suffered with anxiety for as long as I can remember, I felt that my own school experience had been significantly clouded by poor mental health. In both primary and secondary roles, I’d always been drawn towards helping the more vulnerable students and it seemed only natural that the business would become tailored towards wellbeing and mental health.

I thought I might become the teacher I’d needed, as a painfully shy kid who felt too strange, abnormal and ashamed to speak up. 

What essentially started out as primary supply cover, has changed continuously over the past 7 years. There’s been lots of variety! I’ve taught mindfulness-based PSHE to KS1 and KS2, at the same school over a period of years. I’ve held small-group workshops for KS3/4 students, supporting confidence/positive attitude over a 7-week period. I’ve covered primary teacher absence with bespoke History lessons, taught pre-SATs wellbeing boosters across year 6 and held one-off mindfulness masterclasses to KS1 classes.

Along the way, I’ve been lucky enough to share my personal and professional experiences as a freelance writer. I’ve written more than 70 articles for TES on the subject of student and staff wellbeing. I also write meditative bedtime stories for Slumber/Get Sleepy, combining my love of history, mindfulness and writing (with a good dose of fiction-writing along the way!) I’ve had a few other articles published in various publications and there’ll no doubt be more ahead. Pitching articles is a thankless task, full of ghosting and rejection… but it’s become one of my favourite weekly hobbies. It’s funny how things work out! 

As of 2024, writing is keeping me fairly busy, so I’m no longer available for long-term cover. I’m still able to provide short-term sessions, including one-off days or mornings. If you’re interested, you can email me directly at skillswithfrills@gmail.com or give me a call on 07719330358. 

Check out Jo’s YouTube channel, ‘Mindfulness with Miss Steer’, where you’ll find over 100 free online lessons aimed at supporting student wellbeing.