Lucy's blog

One of the team at Perform - let's call her Jane - is dyslexic. I've been aware of this for a long time but I didn't realise until yesterday that she wasn't diagnosed with dyslexia until she was 21 years old and at drama school. It was discovered when she...

Darling, look at Jane when she says hello to you! Does that sound familiar to you? Have you ever said it to your own child? I know I have! I've always been passionate about helping children make eye contact, especially when they meet new people or talk to adults. I...

My children were born in September and October so, once mid-August arrives, I start birthday party planning. I still find my own children's birthday parties possibly the most stressful two days of my year even having entertained at hundreds of children's parties...

Because of my background as an actress, I've always mixed with people who are pretty confident speaking on their own in front of large groups of people. It wasn't until I started Perform and attended courses in Child Protection, First Aid and various other...

No, this blog post is not about the toe-curling anti-drugs eighties-fest that is the Grange Hill Just Say No video (though it's worth having a look if you fancy a nostalgia-based giggle). It's about a much more prevalent problem in primary school at least -...

It’s nearly back-to-school time and that means that some children will be starting school for the first time, others will be moving to new schools and most will be moving up an academic year to new classroom surroundings and a new teacher. Now, I’m a confident...

I really enjoyed watching this clip the other day. It's about whether you stuff your children's summer holidays with activities or just go with the flow and just chill. It's an interesting subject and it got me thinking about where I stand on this as a...

Before I start, I'd like to say that I'm not an expert in autism by any means. However, over the past 15 years, I have taught a great many children on the Autism Spectrum so I have seen firsthand how autistic children can benefit from the kind of games and exercises we...

Like everyone else, I was shocked and saddened to read about Amy Winehouse yesterday. With hindsight, looking back at that footage from the Belgrade concert a few weeks ago, it was pretty clear that something was definitely not right - even more so than over the past few...

On January 8th 2000, I opened my first Perform class. Me, a teacher and four children. It went pretty well - all things considered. But, afterwards, when I was talking to the parents about my plans to eventually open Perform all over London, one of the mums said that my...