Backed by the Hatch Fund

A huge thank you to Hatch Enterprise UK for awarding me a Hatch Fund grant.

Hatch supports unde-rrepresented entrepreneurs, including women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and Disabled and neurodivergent people, to overcome the barriers that too often hold them back. Following my time on their Incubator programme, I'm so grateful for their continued support of me and my work with PlayMode Academy.

The incubator changed how I think about building PlayMode Academy. I had been focused on growing steadily, and Hatch helped me see the difference between growth and scaling. Scaling means being able to reach more people without everything depending on one person, and that means putting the right capacity in place first.

I'm a neurodivergent founder and a parent carer to my daughter, who has complex medical and care needs. Both have shaped how I've built PlayMode Academy from the start. I plan carefully, I work flexibly, and the organisations and practitioners I train know they can rely on what I offer. This grant is about building on that, so the work is less dependent on me alone and can keep growing in a way that's sustainable.

PlayMode Academy exists because children deserve mental health support that works for them, and too often services aren't designed that way. We train practitioners to use videogames like Minecraft, digital sandtrays and other creative digital tools in their work, so they can offer support that is engaging and accessible to children, young people and families.

Building capacity means more practitioners can do that, and more children can access support that makes a real difference to them.