Our Team
Sarah Ridgeon
Sarah has over ten years experience working in primary schools: as a class teacher, governor and subject leader for English in a state-funded school in London; and helping to build and grow a new British School in Barcelona as the Primary Coordinator.
Inspired by the work of educators Carl Rogers and Alfie Kohn, and following extensive personal research, Sarah began using a needs-based, unconditional approach in her classrooms. Excited by the impact she saw on the children’s academic progress and social and emotional well-being, she then went on to conduct novel research into this approach as part of a Masters in Psychology of Education (BPS). It became increasingly important to Sarah to develop an accessible and inclusive learning platform with an underlying evidence-based ethos in line with her values and research, and so Bean Learning was born.
Jay Byrd
Before starting Bean Learning, Jay founded a volunteer organisation and an educational setting for children living in poverty in Peru. She has also set up a UK registered charity, which helped to build and sustain an orphanage.
Jay has a degree in Psychology and is an OFSTED registered childminder offering after-school and holiday club provision. She is also a self-employed massage therapist.
Jay was home educated herself to the age of 14, resulting in a lifelong love of learning, and regularly attends continued professional development courses that relate to her businesses as well as attending various workshops and courses just for fun! She now home educates her son, following an unschooling/respectful parenting ethos.
Heather Wilson
Originally from Canada, Heather studied History and began her career in media and publishing, spending her first five years in London on the events team at Stylist Magazine. She went on to freelance as an event producer, specialising in intimate, design-led influencer and consumer events for luxury brands in the UK, USA and Europe. She co-founded London Seafood Festival at Battersea Power Station, a hugely successful family-friendly festival that saw over fifty-five thousand people descend on the site throughout the course of a week.
During the pandemic, Heather used her newfound spare time to hone her website, design and marketing skills as a founding member of the Bean Learning team.
Heather currently lives and works in Dubai as a Creative Strategist at one of the largest publishing companies in the Middle East.