Hello, Iām SiĆ¢n
I live on the beautiful Devon coast with my husband, Alistair, our two daughters, Charlotte and Ava, and our many pets. We love the peace, beauty and slower pace of Devon life.

A bit of background
My husband, Alistair, and our two girls, Ava (left) and Charlotte (right).
I started the company in 2009 when Charlotte was very small. In 2014, Alistair quit his job in IT to join me as a director and was our family business up until its closure in 2023.
Prior to Flying Start, I was a primary teacher for twelve years, teaching in both the state and private sectors, with a stint as a senior manager before leaving on maternity leave.
I truly loved teaching but returning to the classroom as a new mum just wasnāt working out for me. The stress of juggling work and motherhood and the cost of paying for the associated childcare just made the whole situation seem somewhat pointless.
So I took a chance, quit teaching and set up as a private tutor. Fortunately, the tuition took off and I soon found myself at the helm of a rapidly expanding business.
Around that time, I came across neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). Intrigued, I signed up for a practitioner training course and qualified in 2010. That week changed my life in many ways - both on a personal and professional level. Not only did it change the way I perceived myself and the world around me, it also reignited my passion for learning and set me on a path of personal development that is still very much ongoing.
But it wasnāt all about me. All through that week I kept remarking how I wished Iād known this stuff when I was a teacherā¦and I couldnāt stop wondering what an impact that would have had on my students.
Keen to find out, I began to introduce elements of NLP into the lessons at Flying Start. As Iād suspected, the children were very receptive and the benefits, both to their learning and their wider lives soon became apparent.
Over the years that followed, we embedded NLP into our lessons and itās become a fundamental element of what weāre all about. Flying Start has continued to grow and has evolved into a company that Iām very proud of. I feel lucky to be part of a fantastic team and weāve won a number of awards for our unique approach to tuition.
In 2012, our second daughter, Ava, was born and not long after, we decided to pull Charlotte out of school to home educate her. She is now thirteen and shows no signs of wishing to return to formal schooling.
Apart from a brief stint in school last year (during a global pandemic - perhaps not the best timing!) Ava has been home educated throughout her life. We are still on that journey today and it continues to be a steep learning curve for us all!
Life as a home educating family can be both wonderful and stressful (as with any type of life!). Every day is different and itās given me a totally new insight into learning and childhood development. Itās also caused me to seriously question the schooling system in this country. (To find out more about my views on education, take a look at my blogs.)
Rewarding and exciting though this journey has been, for much of it, life has felt like a constant juggle. Running a business, home educating, looking after our pets (at one point we had a dog, a cat, two rabbits and three guinea pigsā¦now we have two dogs and a different cat!) and everything else that comes with the life choices weāve made, often left me feeling frazzled and overwhelmed.
For the best part of ten years, I lived under the constant shadow of an invisible sand timer, spreading myself too thin and lurching from one deadline or appointment to anotherā¦All the while carrying a niggling feeling that I was never doing anything as well as I wanted to. Inevitably, I was a (mid-life!) crisis waiting to happenā¦and it all came to a head one fateful bedtime about five years agoā¦
To find out what happened, read my story: Taming my jackal
The pandemic effect
In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit our shores and life as weād known it changed forever. As the ramifications of the pandemic unfolded across the globe, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions as so many of my previously held thoughts and beliefs were challenged and shifted.
In my quest to understand what was going on ā both around me and within me, Iāve spent much of the past year on whatās felt like a rapid programme of self-discovery!
Iāve read books, watched webinars, taken online courses, undergone coaching, continued my NVC journey and, during the brief pause between lockdowns last year, I completed myĀ NLP Master Practitioner training.
The outcome of all this? Iāve experienced a noticeable shift in the way I view life and in how I show up each day. Itās helped me to make the shift towards what I like to call ābig hearted livingā: showing up each day from a place of compassion and with an open heart and my compassion glasses on. I feel much more acceptance and greater empathy for myself and others as a result.
Those pandemic years were really tough but Iāve now come to understand that the life we experience each day is all about choice. I can choose what to focus on and how to react to what happens around and within me. Thanks to my previous NLP and NVC training, Iāve understood this in theory for many years but itās taken a global pandemic to help me to fully take it on board!
Thatās not to say Iām a āfinished productā - I donāt believe any of us ever are. I still have my daily battles with my jackal but Iām learning to listen with my giraffe ears on and my giraffe heart open wideā¦And Iāve come to realise that Iām most able to do this when I prioritise looking after my own needs. If youāre a parent too, youāll understand how hard this is to do! But I really canāt stress this point enough: in order to fully embrace big hearted living, itās essential we look after ourselves and learn how to nurture our inner giraffes.
Ā

How I nurture my inner giraffe
At heart, Iām an introvert. I love spending time with my family and friends but I also need plenty of time alone ā time to reflect, reconnect with myself and to nourish my soul. In my āmeā time, I love going on clifftop walks, swimming in the sea, learning about other peopleās perspectives on life, walking barefoot on the ground, listening to music, singing with my choirs (and by myself all round the house!) and playing my ukulele.

(Definition) to be more giraffe: to make a conscious choice to live in a big hearted wayĀ - with compassion, abundance and joy
Copyright Ā© Big Hearted LivingĀ Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Trading as Big Hearted Living and company reg number 13179370