The Full Story
All About Community
Each school environment is distinct, with its own set of requirements. I understand that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach falls short when it comes to promoting educational wellbeing. That's why I work closely with you to gain a deep understanding of your school's specific needs. My goal is to enhance the resilience, knowledge, and overall wellbeing of your staff and students, while minimising the burden of resource development on your staff.
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By combining my expertise in both education and psychology, I ensure that my resources and programs address the learning and emotional needs of your students and staff. My approach reflects best practices, allowing me to create tailored solutions that make a meaningful impact.
Tamar Hoffman
BA/BEd(sec) -University of New South Wales
MCouns&PsychTh - Australian College of Applied Psychology
My Story
I'm Tamar, the founder and director of Growth in Education.
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Growing up I always felt a strong passion for empowering people through education. This lead me to volunteer teaching English to Asylum Seekers in Immigration Detention, and then to become a secondary school teacher, teaching English, Drama and English as an Additional Language or Dialect across a number of NSW public schools. I used to think I must have had a great way of teaching because my students' development seemed to exceed what was expected. It was only a couple of years into my career that I realised this was not the case. What had differentiated my teaching from others' was my focus on the students' wellbeing and mental health, which allowed them to feel seen, safe and supported to develop a positive self-perception. This had a profound positive impact on school attendance, engagement, and results. Once I had realised this, I jumped on any opportunities to develop my understanding of wellbeing processes at schools through roles including HSC mentoring, year advising and organising wellbeing learning and events for students and staff. This also lead me to pursue formal education in the form of a Masters degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
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It was during working in these roles where the idea for Growth in Education was born. I had surrounded myself with individuals who were just as passionate about student wellbeing as me, but I still couldn't see the same impact on a wider level as I had in my own classroom. These amazing members of staff, who had the passion and desire to make long-lasting change, spent every spare moment responding to spot-fires and crises being experienced by students and staff- leaving no time to develop resources or policies for enacting far reaching, long-lasting and impactful change.
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After seeing this occur time and time again and across different schools, I decided I had to do something to make a difference. After all, I had seen the impact of cultural change around mental health and wellbeing, even if it was on a smaller scale, and knew that it was an incredibly important goal. I felt I could do something to help schools give the best support to their students, staff and wider community without relying on teachers to produce the resources. With a double degree in secondary education and theatre, a masters degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy, a wide range of experience and an enormous amount of passion, I founded Growth in Education.