How the Wilfred Clark Bursary Has Empowered My Teaching With SEND Children

By Natasha Harvey, BWY Teacher and Bursary Winner

Children’s Mental Health Week (9–15 February 2026) invites us to focus on belonging and emotional wellbeing for young people. Subsequently, BWY is shining a light on how our Bursary programme is making yoga more accessible for children with additional needs.

Cardiff-based yoga teacher, Natasha Harvey, shares how the bursary has helped her deepen her work with SEND children in Early Years and community settings and why specialised training in this area is so vital.

“I’ve always taken a multidisciplinary approach to health and wellbeing, and this comes through in the services I offer at my Gaia Wellbeing Centre in Cardiff and in my community outreach programmes. I feel so fortunate to work alongside dedicated health professionals to provide a wide range of services that support the health and wellbeing of our community.

I have worked as a massage therapist for over 35 years, specialising in Ayurveda and Chavutti Thirumal. Having practised yoga since my teens, I decided to train with the British Wheel of Yoga and qualified as a BWY teacher in 2004, shortly followed by the Children’s Yoga Module with Sophie Hoare, and I continue to love sharing yoga with all age groups and abilities.

In 2024, I applied for the Wilfred Clark Bursary to support my ongoing work in developing my SEND Children’s yoga classes. Over the past 20 years, I have been teaching Early Years Yoga and supporting various projects and organisations, such as the Flying Start Project in South Wales, the LEA and the NHS Wellbeing Hub. During this time, I have seen how much more support and understanding is needed for children with SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) and additional needs in educational settings. I have witnessed how yoga can support, nurture and create positive change, not only for children but also for teachers and support staff, and this inspires me to remain a lifelong learner in the art of yoga and nurturing our true nature.

I felt delighted to receive the Wilfred Clark Bursary and used it to fund the SEND Yoga and Wellbeing training with Beam Academy. I particularly valued the holistic approach to supporting children with additional and complex needs, including breathwork, movement, sound and touch-based techniques such as EFT tapping and gentle massage.

In my 35 years of holistic practice, I find great joy in witnessing how we are evolving our individual yoga practices to incorporate various therapeutic modalities. Ayurveda, with its many healing methods, and yoga are sister sciences, and I love seeing how many different training routes are available for yoga teachers to explore their interests and deepen their teaching skills for the benefit of students and communities.

Thanks to BWY and the Wilfred Clark Bursary, I am continuing my SEND Yoga through one-to-one sessions with children and families and supporting Early Years Practitioners to share yoga in nursery settings. I am also beginning a new community project with Pedal Power in Cardiff, offering inclusive Gaia Yoga and creative practice workshops outdoors in nature.

If you feel called to make yoga more accessible for people with disabilities or complex needs, I warmly encourage you to apply for the Wilfred Clark Bursary and take the next step in your own teaching journey.”