Personal Trainer Nicole Seidemann Zooms with Duchess Of Cambridge!
Hogarth Personal Trainer Nicole is one of three parents whose children attend Roe Green Junior school in Brent, that were chosen to share their experiences of homeschooling and parenting during the pandemic with the Duchess of Cambridge on the 26th January via Zoom!
Roe Green Junior School is where The Duchess launched her Mentally Healthy Schools programme in 2018 with The Royal Foundation in association with The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, Place 2 Be and Young Minds. Mentally Healthy Schools is a free and easy to use website for schools, drawing together reliable and practical resources to improve awareness, knowledge and confidence in promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health.
Nicole was contacted by the School's Headteacher just a week prior to the meeting to ask if she would be interested in taking part in a Zoom chat with other parents and a charity about home schooling. After their conversation, Nicole said yes and was asked to keep it confidential, which she considered a little strange but I did not think any more of it. After a few more follow up calls and emails along with the repeated "keep it confidential", Nicole began to grow quite curious but was too busy to think any more of it.
The day before the official meeting, Nicole joined a test call and heard Headteacher Melissa Loosemore say "the Dutchess won't be joining us today." Her eyes widened when she realised what she was about to be a part of!
During the call, the group spoke about the challenges that many families are continuing to face during the third lockdown in the UK. They discussed the importance of prioritising parents’ mental wellbeing during this difficult time, and the direct connection this has to their children’s mental health.
On the call, our very own Nicole Seidemann, Personal Trainer and mother of four, talked about the importance of exercise to her mental wellbeing while parents Musadiq Subar and Rajana Panchani reiterated the critical value of peer support for parents during this tricky time. The group also talked about the increase in parental loneliness, which was documented by the survey as rising dramatically during the pandemic from 38% before to 63% as parents have been cut off from friends and family.
Headteacher Melissa Loosemore asked the group a series of quick fire questions throughout the call which the parents answered by writing on a piece of paper. After each question each of of them got a chance to comment and discuss. The Duchess of Cambridge said: “I know how challenging it is juggling work, home life, school life and everything else that you as parents are doing, so really well done. Fingers crossed, let’s hope for the positivity as you’ve all been saying. Make sure everyone looks after themselves - it’s very hard to prioritise but it’s definitely needed now more than ever.”
Nicole explains that the Zoom meeting "really felt like a nice chat between friends even though we did not know each other. Due to same experience we all share(d) no matter how many children or other circumstances etc. We had a good laugh about our daily disasters and challenges but also understood everyone's struggles in this difficult and strange time at home with the children."
Below is a short snippet of their hour long conversation!
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