WE ARE SHUT FOR SUMMER: We do not run services in summer. Our next sessions start September 9th at our new premises - Grassroots Resouce Centre, E15 3DB.Please press Need Help Now for links to other organisations to approach for help while we are away.

Author: Jane Williams

Don’t write child poverty in to law!

Posted on by Leave a comment

If you would not condemn any child you know to a lifetime of avoidable poverty and deprivation – don’t allow it to happen to 90,000 UK children in your name

Infographic encouraging action to protect 90,000 childhoods, outlining three key points: abandon earned settlement proposals, ameliorate effects for families with children, and assess child-poverty impact assessments.
ALREADY KNOW THE ISSUES? SCROLL DOWN TO ACT NOW

“Imagine a future where poverty is not a barrier to opportunity.

Where every child has the same chances in life. Where background has no bearing on future success.

Where every child starts the day ready to learn, having had a good breakfast and slept in a warm bed. Where families don’t have to worry constantly about how they will pay the bills or put food on the table.”

These are not our words they are written in the Foreword to the government’s Child Poverty Strategy, published in December 2025. Yet the very same government has proposed radical changes to routes to settlement in the UK.* Alongside affecting many adults working in our public services – these changes – if adopted – will doom up to 90,000 extra children to deep poverty in the UK according to research.

Independent analysis commissioned by the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) Partnership and carried out by Landman Economics and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimates that the Home Office’s proposed ‘earned settlement’ rules could prolong poverty for up to 90,000 children of migrant workers by 2029.


Let’s break this down:



When the Child poverty strategy states it wishes that – every child starts the day ready to learn, having had a good breakfast and slept in a warm bed. Where families don’t have to worry constantly about how they will pay the bills or put food on the table?

The government’s earned settlement proposals will mean that families on a route to settlement in this country will do exactly this – worry constantly about how they will pay bills or put food on the table. Why? If they claim universal credit or other benefits to ensure that they can keep their children out of poverty, with a bed to sleep in and starting the day ready to learn – they will be penalised with an extra 5 or 10 years of insecure immigration status. This does not only mean uncertainty – it will require families to pay visa and immigration fees for substantially longer periods. Our families have to decide whether to divert funds away from buying their children enough food, new shoes, or activities –  simply in order to continue to live the life they have built for themselves. The lived experience of families supported by the Magpie Project alongside reports such as “A Punishing Process”: on experiences of people on the 10-year route to settlement” compiled by the GMIAU, show that long settlement routes increase the risk of housing insecurity and homelessness.

Meet Rachel – she is a single mum with a British child, struggling to survive and facing destitution – she has limited leave to remain on a pathway to indefinite leave. If she claims welfare benefits to feed her disabled child, and DLA to support his additional needs, she will risk adding  5 or probably 10 years to her settlement route (5 years if she claims for less than 12 months and 10 years if she claims for more than 12 months).

Rachel says ‘We are not asking for any special treatment we just want our children to have the same opportunities as every other one of their classmates.’

The option of getting help for your family now, or allowing your children to suffer in the hope that this will shorten their overall period in destitution is a hideous dilemma for mums to have to consider. The extra financial burden involved in a longer route to settlement create sums that are mind-boggling.

Meet Zainab, she is the mum in a family of four (two parents two children), they are on a 10 year route to settlement, claiming benefits as they are legally entitled to do. The total cost to the family of completing their 10 year route to settlement will be £58,732, plus around £3,000 or more in citizenship fees. Under the proposed 20-year or even 30-year routes to settlement. The cost will almost triple to over £150,000 over a family’s lifetime. Where can she find £150,000 simply to remain together and secure their future in the UK? That is an an extra £619 per month every month to afford these costs, let alone pay them up-front (not in monthly chunks).

Zainab says ‘I am terrified by the amount of money it will take for me to simply be able to bring my children up in the only home they have ever known. We are not asking for anything extra, we are simply asking that our children are not punished for being born it to a family that has moved here’.

A blight on a generation


Child poverty is not just a ‘now’ problem – it blights lives long in to the future. The government’s strategy understands this: Where every child has the same chances in life. Where background has no bearing on future success’? (Child Poverty Strategy).

What the earned settlement proposals mean for children who are born in to working families, born British, who have never lived anywhere else – is a childhood of going without, of not fitting in, of poor housing, and potentially poor health.  These children – if subjected to this hardship will also find it more difficult to ‘integrate’ into UK life – a stated goal of our government – given that they will forever be ‘set apart’ by their insecure status and poverty.

My son said to me ‘mum is it true that we don’t belong here’ I didn’t know what to say – because the government is saying that he should act as if he belongs here – he  should integrate – but they are also saying, in their actions and this proposal, that he does not belong as much as other children.’
Chantelle, a Magpie Mum of a 3,9, and 16 year old.

By linking parental earnings to settlement routes, the proposals will make the poor poorer while benefiting the rich- and again go directly against the stated aim that a child’s background has not bearing on their future success. In terms of the overall drive to reduce child poverty this makes no sense.  As reports point out: the child of a banker earning over £125,140 will be subject to insecurity for only three years on a route to settlement and the child of a care worker will be potentially destitute for their whole childhood on a 15-year route

‘What do I do?’ A mum already on a 10 year route’ tells us. ‘I am heartbroken for my children – these  proposals will mean that I can never give my children the life they need and deserve – no matter what I do’.

Make no mistake, the earned settlement proposals risk a generational impact on up to thousands and thousands of children – who could be born and raised in the UK in destitution, without opportunities, and without being able to thrive and reach their full potential.

But it is not too late: no routes for children and parents in this situation have been confirmed.

What we are asking of the government:

Infographic titled 'There's Still Time to Protect 90,000 Childhoods', outlining three key points: 1. Abandon earned settlement proposals, 2. Ameliorate the effects with specifics listed, 3. Assess the impact by publishing child-poverty impact assessments, accompanied by colorful stick figures holding hands.

ACT NOW! Join us in our asks

COPY the below letter or CREATE your own,
CUSTOMISE it to add in details or your own reasons for writing,
CONTACT your MP Find your MP here
CHECK IN on what the government is doing – and keep the pressure up, for the sake of our #allourchildren.

Powered By EmbedPress

Read about the impact of the government’s earned settlement proposals.

Magpie Project’s healing community one year in!

Posted on by Leave a comment
Since September 2025 Louise Klarnett and Roselle Gillam been volunteering with the Magpie Project as part of our new Healing Community.

They offer a weekly clinic to our families ‘The Starling Clinic’. This is an open drop in, enabling mums to access a treatments when they feel they want. Sessions involve both Louise and Roselle working together using the touch-based practices of biodynamic craniosacral therapy and osteopathy to support Mums and their children under 5 (Minis).

In their first year this wonderful pair they have provided free treatment to more than 40 families – many of our mums choose to return for several sessions and others as a one off.

Many mums attend without clear expectations, encouraged by other mums, the project staff and volunteers. Mums and Minis frequently present with chronic trauma, often layered and complex  which contributes to body pain and emotional distress. Pregnancy and birth experiences are frequently unresolved in both Mums and Minis. 

Starling Clinic is a space created to feel safe, where mums can begin to relax as a result of being heard, helped and supported. Many have felt considerably better after treatment both physically and emotionally. As some Minis have significant health issues and special educational needs, having access to this kind of treatment, in a non judgemental space, has enabled some quite remarkable changes.

‘The shared experience between Mums and Minis shapes who they are – being “seen” and understood on a physical, emotional and spiritual level enables significant shifts towards health and supports their emotional bond. In children under 5 this is particularly important as it contributes to their lifelong development.’

To support their volunteering Louise and Roselle offer craniosacral therapy and osteopathy to the general public in the Robin Clinic, a separate clinic space within the Grassroots building.

If you require treatment for a specific physical or emotional concern or are simply curious about how these treatments can support your overall well-being, you are welcome to book an appointment at the Robin Clinic.

By booking a treatment for yourself, you are also supporting the Magpie Mums and Minis. 

Find out more and book an appointment in Robin Clinic here:  https://themagpieproject.org/healingcommunity/

Mama T’s story

Louise and Roselle first treated Mama T when she was 5 months post-partum. Her baby was breech and born by c-section. Ever since her baby’s birth Mama T had been suffering from low back pain and a digestive issue requiring medication.

Using light touch Louise and Roselle worked to support her body’s healing process.

On returning for her second treatment Mama T was no longer experiencing back pain and the stomach issue had improved to the degree that she no longer needed to take medication.

Louise and Roselle tell us that – because Magpie mums are often under an enormous amount of stress – it is key to support the nervous system so that their bodies can find optimum health. 

Report launch – Magpie Mums call for better access to SEND services

Posted on by 1 Comment


Help and Hope on Hold: New Report Exposes Structural Barriers Facing Young Children with Emerging SEND Needs in NRPF Families

read report here

London, July 2026 — The Magpie Project this week launches Help and Hope on Hold, a landmark, co‑produced report revealing how children with emerging special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) are being systematically blocked from accessing of early help, diagnosis, and support.

Written by Megan Pacey with support from Hannah Duthie, and co‑authored by Magpie mums Chinwe Amadi, Shanta Gosh, Mayowa Okoko, Dhruvi Patel, and Rashida Prah, the report draws on a two‑year project involving 37 mothers, 47 children, and 27 early years and health professionals.

The report highlights four core themes: SEND Pathways, Professional Practice, The Importance of Play, and Policy Transformations—each exposing how poverty, immigration status, unstable housing, language barriers, and digital exclusion compound to delay or derail children’s access to vital support.

Key Findings

1. SEND Pathways Are Confusing, Opaque, and Inaccessible

Mothers describe being sent “from pillar to post,” unclear referral routes, long waits, and inaccessible information. Many rely on chance encounters or peer networks to understand the system.

“I didn’t have a clue where to start. They might as well have said you need to work out how to fly to the moon.”

2. Professional Practice Makes or Breaks Access to Support

One kind, curious professional can transform a family’s experience—but inconsistent practice, rushed appointments, and judgment about poverty or immigration status frequently shut doors.

“Some professionals have been so judgemental… I know they need to be honest, but they also need to say it kindly.”

3. Play Is a Lifeline

Dedicated play spaces allow children to regulate, communicate, and thrive—and give mothers respite, connection, and practical strategies to support development at home.

4. Structural Barriers Are Deep and Harmful

NRPF, unsuitable housing, frequent moves, lack of interpreters, and digital exclusion all directly impede children’s development, safety, and access to SEND support.

Twelve Transformations: The Report’s Core Recommendations

The Magpie Project calls for urgent, systemic change, including:

  • Integrated early‑help systems that identify needs early and follow families across boroughs.
  • Interpreters and translated materials as standard, not optional.
  • Abolition of NRPF, or at minimum mandatory reporting on its impact on child poverty and SEND access.
  • Safe, stable, self‑contained housing for families with SEND children.
  • National investment in diagnostic pathways, EHCP processes, and waiting‑list capacity.
  • Shared digital child health records to reduce duplication and ensure continuity.
  • Regular, accessible support during long waits, so children are not left unseen.

A Call to Action

The Magpie mums who co‑authored the report issue a clear appeal:

“We know that our children deserve the same services and support as all other children… This report is our story, and we appeal to you to act to help us meet the needs of our wonderful and deserving children.”

Read about our other projects
email for more information
Support our work

About Megan Pacey

Megan Pacey is an experienced and highly regarded early childhood education policy specialist.  Her work focuses on ensuring that policy delivers effective practice that improves outcomes for the youngest children and their families. Megan’s work is grounded in evidence, child development, learning through play and strong practitioner pedagogy.

Maternity Listening Circles

Posted on by 1 Comment

So often the universe provides! We at the Magpie Project are perpetually worried about the cumulative harms visited on mothers and their children from ante-natal experiences, through births, and then establishing bonds of parenting and nurture.

We worry that the realities of destitution, the hostile immigration environment, barriers to services, and overwhelm affect the brains and bodies of our smallest community members from before birth through their first and most formative years.



For this reason we collaborated with Alternatives Trust and the NCT to help create the wonderful and award winning Newham Nurture project that concentrates on supporting migrant mothers during pregnancy and for baby’s first two years of life.

Having said that, we were still finding mothers who were struggling to create and maintain a positive and consistent bond with their baby amid unresolved birth trauma, social isolation, destitution and unsuitable housing.

We needed a special, supportive space to listen, share, and witness our women’s sense of love, loss, homesickness – and to create community and care at this crucial moment.

Enter an email out of the blue from the wonderful Anna Caffrey. She is a lecturer in public health at UEL. She is a qualified midwife who has worked on the Mexico/US border with women giving birth in some of the most traumatic situations – she is a mother, and an all-round wonderful human.

Anna was looking to walk alongside women who were experiencing exclusion – and understand, for her studies – how we could better meet their needs through their maternity journey.

After conversations that confirmed how aligned we were around warding off even the merest whiff of extractive practices in academia, and learning new ideas such as ‘ontological violence‘, we embarked on the gentlest, most easy-access project imaginable.

Here’s what happened

Numbers

  • Anna facilitated 12 listening circles between September 2024 and 2025.
  • The average number of mums was 5 (rounded to the closest whole number).
    The total number of participations was 53
  • Total unique number of mums who participated was 30.
  • The largest number of repeat involvment by one mother was 6 (that mum then graduated out of the Magpie Project through gaining her immigration status). 

What we learned

Magpie mums asked for a space to share their experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum, which they ended up naming Friendship Circles.

The circles became spaces of catharsis, mutual support and solidarity – for examples mums offered each others strategies on how to best recover from birth while navigating unique challenges around living in asylum accommodation with little support.

Anna uncovered a large gap between settled population c-section rates and the rates Magpie mums report (about 20% higher) and a very high incidence of hyperemesis gravidarum (dangerous levels of vomiting in pregnancy, possibly due to stress and poor food in accommodation).

Mums reported feeling good participating in both the group and the research. The group felt relaxing and good for mental health, whereas the research felt like an opportunity to share their stories

Next steps

At circle-members request Anna written up Mums’ stories and started using them to train doctors, midwives, nurses and clinical students to improve awareness, empathy and clinical practice (40 trained so far). The mums would like the circles to continue and they have (without data collection), although with less frequency.

Anna would now like to train another 1-2 people to facilitate these circles more regularly so that between everyone there is more frequency, and also look at a special circle for Albanian mums if interested as they were a group who did not participate, a shortcoming of the research. 


Can you be involved? Can you fund this incredible innovation? Get in touch!

Get in touch about maternity listening circles
Fundraise for us
Donate a maternity bag for mum in need

Our grounding in psychological practice

Posted on by Leave a comment

Many things that we do as a project grew up so seamlessly and organically that we sometimes don’t loop back to really mark, celebrate and record them.

We are going to try to do better with that – so here below we attempt to capture the origins of psychological groundings of to The Magpie Project that are and have been wholly down to the wonderful, consistent and untiring support of psychologist – Dr Sophie Doswell.

How it began

Dr Sophie Doswell first came across the The Magpie Project in 2018 at a British Psychological Conference on housing. where Jane was giving a workshop on the effects of insecure housing on the families she was supporting in her the charity that she and others had created the year before.

At the end of her workshop Jane asked the psychologists present what else The Magpie Project could be doing to include psychological thinking into the organisation.

Homelessness was not Sophie’s area of expertise, and therefore didn’t necessarily feel she was best placed to speak up, however – at the time – she reflected on the impact of the work on staff, and how important it is for staff to be supported, so they can meet the psychological needs of those who attend The Magpie Project.

After the session Sophie contacted Jane to see if anyone else had volunteered to support The Magpie Project. They hadn’t and so Sophie arranged a meeting to talk about possible support that she could offer to The Magpie Project, on a voluntary basis.

The psychology offer to The Magpie Project

The psychology offer to The Magpie Project has evolved over time, as we have become more knowledgeable and experienced in relation to important psychological elements and has embedded these ideas into everyday practice.

Each aspect of psychological input offered is described in more detail below. 

Psychology based training

Sophie developed and delivered an initial training session for staff in September 2018, with a focus on the psychological impact of homelessness, the importance of trauma informed care and the need to self-care. Since then, as our offer has evolved so have the subjects that Sophie has helped with. Further training topics have included:

  • Looking after yourself
  • Advanced trauma informed care (including positive psychology)
  • Boundaries
  • Moral injury
  • Psychologically Informed Environments (and follow up)
  • Having difficult conversations

Together, we also developed specific induction materials for volunteers around ‘creating safety’. This session covered why we need to create safety (including thinking about the experience of trauma and homelessness) and ways of doing this, including working in a trauma informed way and looking after ourselves.

Reflective practice

The first reflective practice session took place in December 2018, and was planned as an end of term session to help the staff team reflect on how the term has gone, and think about potential impact of the work and how to look after themselves. Termly sessions were offered until The Magpie Project began to implement reflective practice as part of day-to-day practice via end of the day ‘wash-ups’.

Consultations for CEO

The need for consultation to the CEO was recognised early on, with a particular focus on having a place to share the emotional burden of the work. Since 2018, sessions have been offered on a roughly monthly basis. These sessions have enabled Jane to continue to lead the organisation through often choppy waters – and to work through what it means to create and maintain a psychologically informed environment for staff and volunteers – while always centering the mums and minis we work with.

One-to-one support for staff and volunteers

From the start of our partnership Sophie has been offered support to all staff in two ways

1. Regular sessions for staff who benefit from ongoing support and
2. Ad-hoc support when individuals have had a difficult situation and wanted to talk it though.

Initially this was offered to staff and volunteers with the proviso that they would be encouraged to discuss issues with their manager in the first instance, but could access psychological support if needed. In reality, it has only been staff who have taken up the offer of one-to-one support.

As-required consultation

Following the move to the new building – the Grassroots Centre – in September 2024, Sophie designed and held a series of sessions with staff to think about how they adapt to the new building, discuss changes to working practices, and talk through any psychological impact of these. Themes from these discussions were shared across the organisation and actions developed in response.

Reflections

From that initial workshop Sophie attended back in 2018, it was clear that The Magpie Project was a psychologically aware organisation. Since that time, Sophie, Jane and The Magpie Project have worked to ensure that psychological thinking is linked to explicit psychological frameworks and that best practice is embedded across the organisation. There are great examples of how trauma informed care has been implemented in practice, including changes made at Clothes Club and how leaving the previous building was managed.

Since 2018 the organisation has grown considerably, including the staff team. This reflects the strength of the organisation, but also brings challenges in ensuring staff are all aware of the psychological frameworks underpinning practice, and have adequate psychological support to deal with the emotional impact of their job.

Thank you

A simple ‘thank you’ to Sophie would simply not cover the depth of her involvement and the debt that we ower her in forging the shape of our project for the past 7 years. We understand how irreplaceable this work is – and we value beyond words.

Child Poverty Strategy – great initiatives – but not for all children

Posted on by Leave a comment

The long awaited Child Poverty Strategy arrived last week and it was welcome. We were honoured to be asked to feed in to the child poverty strategy before it was created, and we are over the moon that some of its recommendations directly reflect the asks of our Rights Experience Advocacy Change group’s campaign asks.

Six week legal limit

One of our main asks in the NO CHILD IN A HOME WITHOUT A KITCHEN campaign was a stepping stone of making sure that no families were in B&B accommodation for longer than the six week legal limit. We are excited to see that this gained traction and attention and now is a major part of the child poverty strategy.

“The strategy will also end the unlawful placement of families in Bed and Breakfasts beyond the six-week limit. To support this, the Government is investing £8 million in Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots in 20 local authorities that have the highest use of Bed and Breakfasts for homeless families – continuing the programme for the next three years. Alongside this, the government will provide £950 million through the fourth and largest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund from April 2026 to deliver up to 5,000 high-quality homes for better temporary accommodation by 2030. Further details will be set out in the upcoming Homelessness Strategy.“

Gifty the head of our REACH team says:

We have been asking that no child is in a B&B for longer than the six week legal limit – and the local authority has been working hard to acheive it – but they have struggled to find alternatives especially if a child needs to be in the borough. The extra financial help to make this happen is very welcome.

Notification system for those in TA

Notifying local services when a child is moved in to temporary accommodation in their area – to ensure that they get the services to which they are entitled – is a welcome move – as it will place the responsibility back on those services to engage with families – rather than on fraught and exhausted families to find them. Thi is especially important when children are often moved across borough borders frequently and with little warning.

“A new legal duty will also be introduced for councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, so no child is left without support. This enables health and education providers to deliver a more joined up approach to support children experiencing homelessness.”

This is good in terms of safeguarding and also families won’t have to keep explaining their situations to schools or health services to get the right support (and sooner). We often feel overwhelmed and alone navigating education, health, and housing systems but this will shift responsibility to councils and service providers.

Ending the discharge of mothers and newborns in to B&Bs

The Government will also work with the NHS to end the practice of mothers with newborns being discharged to B&Bs or other forms of unsuitable housing.”

A member of our REACH team says:

I think it is a beautiful step and it is a relief to hear this good news.
I experienced speaking to the midwife about my accommodation when I had my baby and they gave excuses .So helping mothers and newborns right from NHS level is awesome . And carrying other bodies along like the school and health visitors is just perfect.

But this is not good news for all children



For families going through the legal process of seeking asylum the six week legal limit does not apply – children can be in hotel rooms without cooking facilities for up to two years. The protections for the children of those fleeing war and persecution are not the same as for all other children. We don’t think this is right.

The No Recourse to Public Funds condition which withholds basic welfare protections from children born in to families with insecure immigration status means that while the government is doing its best to lift some children out of poverty, it is withholding vital help from others.

We would appeal to the government to include #AllOurChildren in any child poverty strategy – that means those who are in poverty through larger economic factors and the twists and turns of life AND those who are in legally mandated destitution – denied the basic welfare safety net that would keep them out of destitution through immigration regulations.

The REACH TEAM says:

It is not right that some Magpie Mums and Minis will be benefitted under this strategy and others will not.
We will not rest until we see improvements for #AllOurChildren.

Say ‘Hello’ to our Healing Community

Posted on by Leave a comment

As soon as we moved in to our new building – the Grassroots Resource Centre – we had dreams of leveraging this lovely space for our community in exciting and innovative new ways

We invited the Casework Solidarity Forum to hold their event at our building – free of charge.

We invite our wonderful partners – including neighbours Barney Bears Nursery, and our wonderful partners Discover Story – to use our board-room when they need to rehearse new stories or shows.

We gave a home to the incredibly talented women from Gainsborough Quilters – who donate intricate and beautiful quilts for our new baby bags, they come once a month..

But our dreams are still so big – and now one of them is coming true.

Louise Klarnett has been the dance artist in residence at The Magpie Project since January 2019 and witnesses first hand, the effects of traumatic circumstances both, past and ongoing, that the mums and minis who access our services experience.

We started to talk with Louise about how much our mums and minis might benefit from her other expertise – craniosacral therapy.

As we talked this through, Roselle Gillam paediatric osteopath also got involved in discussions.

Our goal was simple: to offer critical and timely support which can be life-changing for the families’ physical and emotional health and wellbeing.

So we set up a clinic whereby Louise’s and Roselle’s wonderful customers (clients/ patients) not only undertake their own healing but contribute towards healing in their community by enabling mothers and babies at risk of homelessness to access treatments too.

So here it is – unveiled – our Healing Community clinics. Find out more about osteopathy and Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy below – and then find out more and book a treatment through Louise and Roselle’s websites.

What is osteopathy?

As described by the General Osteopathic Council Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. It works with the structure and function of the body and is based on the principle that the well-being of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together.

Osteopaths use touch, physical manipulation, stretching and massage to increase the mobility of joints, to relieve muscle tension, to enhance the blood and nerve supply to tissues, and to help the body’s own healing process. They may also provide advice on posture and exercise to aid recovery, promote health and prevent symptoms recurring.

What is craniosacral therapy? 

Craniosacral Therapy is a hands-on therapy that uses a light touch and whose origins are in the practice of Osteopathy. 

​The body has self-healing capabilities and is constantly striving for good health. Craniosacral Therapy can facilitate this natural propensity for balance and a feeling of wellbeing in the client. Craniosacral Therapy recognises the interconnection between mind and body. 

​Craniosacral therapists work with the presence of subtle rhythmic motions that are expressed within the body (particularly the head, spine and pelvis). The free and balanced expression of these subtle motions is related to our state of health and vitality.

​In a typical session the client will lie (or sometimes sit) clothed on a treatment couch. The therapist makes contact by gently placing their hands on the client’s body and uses a light touch to tune into the subtle motions taking place. The therapist can evaluate if there are any imbalances within the body and use a range of non-invasive therapeutic skills to relax and thereby promote self-healing within the client. 

Roselle Gillam initially worked as a dance artist prior to becoming an osteopath. She graduated from the European School of Osteopathy and then went on to complete the Diploma in Paediatric Osteopathy at the Osteopathic Centre for Children. She works with Alison Brown and Associates in East London and as Senior Osteopath at the Osteopathic Centre for Children. www.rosellegillam.com

Louise Klarnett is both a dance artist, working in health, community and education, and a biodynamic craniosacral therapist (BCST). She offers BCST treatments for all – pregnant people, new babies, toddlers, children and adults of all ages. Clients access treatments to support a variety of physical and emotional  health and wellbeing needs. www.louiseklarnettcraniosacral.com 

Book a treatment


Towards a somatically-informed practice

Posted on by Leave a comment

When visitors come to see us at our new base in West Ham, they often tell us how ‘safe’ and ‘welcoming’ it feels. This makes our hearts sing – especially because we have put eight years of evolving thinking and practice in to creating and maintaining a calm, accepting, nurturing environment. Here’s how……..


At the Magpie Project, we are acutely aware that mothers and their children often arrive in crisis, carrying significant trauma and anxiety.

We recognize the effects of trauma on our mothers, including being emotionally withdrawn, tearful, hypervigilant, and carrying pain that makes it difficult for them to trust or settle.

Babies (minis) often display signs of strained or dysregulated attachment with their mothers, such as dissociation, being unusually quiet, lacking facial tone, hyperactivity, and facing developmental delays or issues.

When we see a large number of people, many of whom are feeling anxious or desperately looking for help and support – the environment can become heightened or febrile quite fast: Our first christmas in 2017 – we threw far too much at our party – too many events, too much chaos, too many presents, too little warning! It was messy to say the least – we learned that anything unexpected – both scarcity and abundance can prompt anxiety stress.

Trauma-Aware Practice



Learning to work around trauma was a priority when we set up our project. In what we still see as a miracle of a meeting in 2018 we met an incredible psychologist.

With their kindness and careful attention we began a deep and wonderful collaboration to develop our trauma-informed practice, ensuring that we created a safe space for both mothers and their children.

This beautiful human – who we still work with today – helped us to evolve a charity-wide approach that includes transparency, offering choice, setting and maintaining boundaries, and working within a framework of unconditional positive regard for anyone and everyone we come in to contact with. That includes those who we are sometimes pitted against – front line workers in the housing and social care sectors.

Psychologically Informed Environments


We moved on from trauma-aware practice – which can sometimes feel uni-directional and something that professionals are still ‘doing’ to those using their services – to explore psychologically informed practices.

The approaches around Psychologically-informed-environments involve critically examining the beliefs, assumptions, and power dynamics that staff and volunteers bring to the space, and working to mitigate their effects.

What was revolutionary in this approach for staff and volunteers was the fact that it becomes possible to see how our own attitudes, levels of energy, core beliefs, assumptions and agendas are affecting our every interaction either for the better or the worse. It meant we could see our work at relational between two human beings in equity rather than one ‘professional’ interacting with a ‘service user’.

Towards a somatically-informed approach

We soon realised there was still work to be done in “holding the space”—ensuring that everyone who came for help remained calm, and maintaining an atmosphere that was authentic, positive, and safe. This is when we turned to Louise Klarnett, our dance artist-in-residence, for assistance with something that was difficult to articulate at the time.

We wanted to learn how to co-regulate as staff and volunteers with both mothers and children, and how to model co-regulation between mothers and their children. Our goal was to break the cycle of escalating anxiety and activation that sometimes threatened to overwhelm the space when mothers arrived feeling anxious or angry.

The first step in this process was for Louise to lead training for staff and volunteers on how trauma affects the body. We learned that trauma manifests in the body in different ways, such as pain, depression, or anxiety, and we became more attuned to these physical signs.

We also discussed how, as staff and volunteers, our own embodiment could help others regulate their nervous systems and create a place of calm. We introduced the principles of creating safety through polyvagal theory, which helped us understand how, by regulating our own systems, we could co-regulate with others and foster a sense of safety within an “organisational collective nervous system.”

Louise combined her expertise in craniosacral therapy and dance drawing on Steve Haines’ theories of trauma and embodiment to create a grounding exercise for the group. It invites participants to be curious, playful and imaginative and we began practicing each morning before sessions. This standing exercise, based on the OMG mnemonic, included:

  1. Orient – Louise led an improvisational structure that invited the group to observe their own body, the people around them, the space itself, the environment beyond the building, and imagined places in nature.
  2. Move – Participants were encouraged to move their major muscle groups in an undirected and free-form way.
  3. Ground – We invited the group to explore shifting their body weight off balance, then to find a sense of groundedness through the soles of their feet being fully in balance, imagining roots growing into the floor, connecting to the foundations of the building, and reaching into the earth.

We added “Breathe” to the mnemonic, inviting participants to place their hands on their body, observe their breathing without changing it, and take a moment to “land” and arrive in the present moment—ready and co-regulated as a team to face the day.

Accessing calm any time in the day

We encouraged our people to use this grounding exercise whenever they encountered “big energy” during the day, through a simple OMG/Breathe visualisation.

This daily practice is now often led by different people, including Louise, our Play Lead, and our CEO. They are able to improvise and adapt the practice based on the energy in the room and the realities of the day ahead. This practice is constantly evolving, drawing on Louise’s ongoing development in other areas of her professional work.

In the context of the project, the practice is brief—taking only five minutes—but its impact has been profound.

Since we began this practice, we have noticed that “flashpoints,” or moments when the project felt unsettled or tense, have become fewer and further between. Staff have gained more confidence in holding boundaries with mothers who are agitated, anxious, or distressed.

Visitors to the project – pretty much always describe our environment as “safe,” which, for us, is the most important foundation for every other interaction, intervention, co-creation, and moment of play that takes place in the space.

Support us
Find out more about our vision, mission, values

Kitchen campaign update

Posted on by Leave a comment

WOW! There is so much happening right now for our campaign. Visits from our wonderful MPs Stephen Timms and Uma Kumaran. Articles in the Guardian, the Metro, and Inside Housing. Our Rights Experience Advocacy Change (REACH) team of Magpie Mums have been SO busy in so many different ways.

We have also given written evidence to select committees, video, written and verbal evidence to the MHCLG’s task and finish group on homelessness – and we are continuing to attend our task and finish groups with Newham Public Health Team and Newham Food Alliance to mitigate the issues our mums living without kitchens are facing right now in Newham – while we are waiting for the big change.

See our campaign

But now we need some more help.

In order to get a bigger picture of what it is like to live without a kitchen we are launching a new fact-finding mission.

If you live in a hotel without a kitchen or if you work with families who do – please do fill in our survey – your information will be private and you will be anonymous.

Let’s work together to make sure that soon No Child is in a Home Without a Kitchen.



Vision, Mission, Values

Posted on by 2 Comments

We were founded on togetherness, listening, love and unconditional positive regard – but we have never really put the way that we work all together in one place and agreed on our way of doing things, until now!

At the end of November we got together with mums, minis, staff, volunteers, trustees to talk through what is most important to us, how we want to our charity to run, and how we want to treat ourselves and each other.

We had such an incredible afternoon of laughter, tears, serious discussions and silly anecdotes for example ‘I first came to the project when Jane approached me in the playground and gave me some tomatoes!’.

Our minis scribbled on every available note, and we slowly came to an agreement about our vision mission and values while celebrating our community and each other. All of this was expertly, lovingly, and innovatively facilitated by our amazing friends at Just Ideas who, honestly make the almost impossible (wrangling all of us) look effortless.



Vision

Powerful mums building a world of equity, opportunity and kindness in which all our children thrive

Mission


 The Magpie Project provides mums and minis – together – with emotional and social support and the essentials they need at all stages of their journeys towards secure status, suitable homes and good health.

Values


Play, acceptance, trust, love, endurance, hope, and joy.

We do this:
Under one roof, where play is centred, information flows, and the whole person matters.

Through building relationships of trust and community where each Magpie Mums’ and minis’ voice is heard

By speaking up for equitable access to health, housing, play and learning opportunities for mums and minis suffering under the hostile immigration environment.