Instructor of the month: Gemma

Feb 5





Congratulations to Gemma, who is our Instructor of the Month for February 2024! Gemma has been an instructor for 9 years, and teaches sensory, yoga and massage classes to babies up to prewalking age. Let's find out more about Gemma....

We have two interviews with Gemma: a live video interview which you can see below and a written set of questions. 

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Name: Gemma Cross

Lives: South Tyneside, North East

What do you teach? Sensory, Yoga and Massage to babies up to prewalking age.

How long have you been an instructor? 9 years.

What made you want to become an instructor? Whilst I was on my maternity leave with my son, I realised the importance of baby classes for a baby’s development. Particularly baby massage, having a baby who suffered with colic and reflux. Using my teaching experience I set up Lovabelle, developing and delivering a set of classes to the families in my local area and offering support to new parents.

Have you always been an instructor? Up until my maternity leave I worked as a Tutor. I have worked in education for over 15 years, with a background in child development.
 
What’s your favourite part of your job? Seeing babies reach their milestones during my class. It's an honour that I get to share these moments with families. 

How do you keep your skills up to date? Do you have any favourite websites that you use? I am always looking at CPD courses with To Baby and Beyond, keeping up to date with updates to training. I also keep my safeguarding, first aid and DBS up to date so that parents can rest assured they are in the best hands. I am a member of the CAA (Children’s Activity Association) and attend regional meetings to discuss best practise when delivering children’s activities. 

What qualities do you think are important in an instructor?
Compassion, patience and understanding. You just never know what kind of day / night that parent has had before entering your classroom. 


How do you keep your skills up to date? I attend CPD courses with To Baby and Beyond and always learn something new. I do lot of research and enjoy reading relevant books too; at the moment I'm enjoying a book about children's yoga.

What qualities do you think are important in an instructor?
Friendly, honest, willingness to help and support others, good listener.
What benefits do you derive from teaching? Apart from the job satisfaction from such a rewarding job role, I also get to spend quality time with my family due to the flexible hours I work. I am so thankful that I have been so present for my little boy due to my job in teaching.


Have you learnt anything surprising about baby massage/yoga? I did not realise how many benefits came with baby massage before I trained as an instructor! I always knew it was great for digestion and relaxation, but there are techniques I have learned that I’ve been able to continue with my son past toddler age such as growing pains and sinus trouble. It's fantastic.    
What’s your top tip for other instructors? For yoga, it is about being present in the moment with your baby and encouraging parents to slow down.

Have you had an amusing experience in your work as an instructor? It wasn’t amusing at the time, but thinking back I can laugh. During lockdown when I had reduced class sizes and extended timetable, including afternoon classes which I don’t usually offer. I had a sensory class one afternoon where all 6 babies were fast asleep for the first half of the class. Luckily we knew each other well from them attending regularly so we just chatted all things babies until they woke up and then continued with the class once they were awake (minus the wind down). It's never happened since thankfully.

What are your plans for the future? I recently set up Lovabelle as a franchise and currently have two instructors, so that is my focus.

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Thanks Gemma - good luck with your franchising; it sounds like an exciting venture!
You can find Gemma online at her website here, or on Facebook here.
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