Dear PowerWood Community,
After more than a decade of dedication, I am writing to share that I will be stepping back from my role as Executive Director of PowerWood at the end of 2025. This decision marks the end of a deeply meaningful professional chapter – one that has felt intrinsically rewarding to me, that has touched me personally, made me understand myself and my children so much more and brought me into contact with a bunch of lovely people. I finally found my tribe.
The Story of PowerWood
My journey began by working with schools as an educational consultant, where I saw firsthand how our super-sensitive and hyper-reactive children were often misunderstood. Too often, their behaviours were labelled as defiant, disruptive or simply “too much”. In reality, these children were reacting to overwhelming environments, unmet needs, or a lack of understanding about their neurodivergence and sometimes just plain unkindness. Common misunderstandings included assumptions that they were “badly parented”, “spoilt” or “manipulative”, when in fact, they were simply trying to navigate a world that wasn’t designed for them.
This realisation shifted the focus of my work towards parents, helping them grow their confidence in supporting their children and advocating for them within the educational system. I wanted parents to feel empowered, not judged, and to understand that their children’s behaviours were often a form of miscommunication, not a sign of bad parenting.
PowerWood Camp, Workshops and Educational Consultancy
In 2011, with the support of our first grant and the dedication of many volunteers, we launched the PowerWood Camp, a unique, affordable space where families from all walks of life could access practical tools, strategies and a supportive community in an embracing and understanding environment. Creative physical activities at PowerWood Camps were purposeful tools for achieving the camps’ broader goals: building confidence, fostering social connections, developing life skills and celebrating neurodivergent strengths. They transformed abstract concepts such as teamwork, resilience and self-esteem into tangible, memorable experiences that children and families could carry forward long after the camps ended.The camps were designed to be inclusive, running at cost price to ensure accessibility. Our last camp in the UK was in 2017 followed by a camp for volunteers the next year in France where the main topic on the agenda was how to restructure future camps to run in partnership with another organisation – unfortunately, the plans we made didn’t anticipate COVID-19, which dealt our camps a final blow!
In 2014, PowerWood became a non-profit Community Interest Company. Through this structure, our offerings expanded to include workshops organised by volunteers across the UK. I brought in my work as an educational consultant and coach for individuals, couples and teens and started to offer PowerWood consultancy and coaching sessions online.
PowerWood Contributors and Families
Over the years, PowerWood has relied on the generosity and commitment of contributors: writers, editors, PR wizards, website developers and workshop leaders at the camps. We had creative glue-gun artists, craft geniuses, painters and even physics enthusiasts who built rockets, bridges and foam sprayers. There were forest-school leaders, tree-swinging adventurers and those who organised long forest-school weekends, thanks to a dedicated grant. Many lovely people helped build and decorate the marquees, collected wood for the evening fires and organised running games.
Most importantly, like the families we supported, many of us had faced our own challenges and this contributed to a warm understanding between all those who contributed to the PowerWood journey. Being part of this community has been such a pleasure, and the heartfelt moments will continue to live vividly in my heart. Thank you for being part of this wonderful experience.
The Future of PowerWood’s Legacy
We are exploring ways to ensure that the information, strategies and tools I have developed, alongside the families who tested them, remain accessible. These include:
- A podcast, where families can discuss their challenges and find support. If you would like to explore your family’s dynamics with me online, please get in touch at office@powerwood.org.uk.
- A book, compiling the insights, theories and practical tools that have been tested and refined with clients over the years. If you have skills or connections in ghostwriting, editing or publishing and would like to contribute to this project, please reach out to office@powerwood.org.uk.
- Maintaining the website for the year, thanks to a generous donation. Your new and continued support will help keep these resources available for those who need them.
For my existing clients, I will remain available for as long as you need, even if it is just for a “top-up”, allowing you to move forward at your own pace.
Gratitude
I am deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey. To the families who trusted us with their stories and challenges – thank you for allowing us to be part of your lives. To the contributors who gave their time, energy and expertise – your dedication has been invaluable.
A special thank you to our funders (and the volunteers who filled in all the forms), whose support practically and financially made so much of our work possible: UnLtd, School for Social Entrepreneurs, Lloyds Bank, BIP, Heart of the South West Business Support, Awards4All. Your belief in our mission helped us reach and support countless families.
Looking Ahead
As I step back, I do so with a sense of pride in what we have achieved together. PowerWood was never just an organisation, it was a community, a movement, a tribe and a lifeline for so many. While the structure may change, the spirit of PowerWood will live on through the families we’ve supported and the resources we’ve created – exactly, in fact, as the grassroots movement I envisaged when we started.
I am excited about the next chapter, which will include spending more time with my family, grandchildren and friends, exploring new creative projects and continuing to advocate for neurodivergent families in different ways.
Closing Thoughts
This is not so much goodbye as au revoir – until we meet again. I am grateful for the connections we have made and the impact we have had. If you would like to stay in touch, share your memories, or contribute to keeping PowerWood’s resources alive, please reach out to office@powerwood.org.uk.
Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.
With warmest wishes, Simone
How to Stay Connected
- For podcast enquiries or to discuss family challenges: office@powerwood.org.uk
- To offer support with the book (ghostwriting, editing, publishing): office@powerwood.org.uk
- To support the website and keep resources available: Donate here
- For updates and resources: PowerWood.org.uk
©2025 Simone de Hoogh, senior coach, educational and parenting consultant, ECHA Specialist in Gifted Education* and founder of PowerWood. All posts by Simone de Hoogh
* Approved by the European Council for High Ability