New Forest Conductive Education Experience

New Forest Conductive Education & Guests from Australia

We love sharing our guests’ stories. This one comes from Toni. Toni, Em and Beth travelled from Brisbane for a four week stay over Christmas.

Toni had recently lost weight, which is a challenge for anyone, but can feel even harder when you are also a carer. It is easy to put yourself last, or to have higher priorities than your own health. Yet taking care of carers matters, because they are the people holding the world together.

Like many carers, Toni was often too busy making the magic happen behind the scenes to take a moment and be in the photo. It was wonderful to capture her alongside her incredible daughters, making the most of their time together in the New Forest. We loved getting to know them a little more, and capturing the love and care they have for one another.

Toni and her family travelled a long way to stay on the south coast, so we helped arrange a couple of deliveries beforehand. That way, they did not need to bring every essential with them. We also met them in the New Forest for one of our favourite accessible walks, and captured some memories for them to take back to Australia.

This wasn't there first visit to England, but it was their first stay with us, and their plan when they were here was to have an Intensive with New Forest Conductive Education - the therapy sessions took place in our cottage during our stay, and with huge thanks for the introduction, we have continued to work with New Forest Conductive becoming one of their residential bases.

We asked her to share her story and experience with us a year later, as we are still connecting on social media, and it was thanks to Toni that we have since worked closely with New Forest Conductive Education, so that they can offer Conductive Education in a residential retreat setting.

In December 2024 we travelled from Australia to England for my daughter to do an Intensive with New Forest Conductive Education. Judit and Mandy recommended looking into Our Bench as an accommodation option (we had previously stayed in Christchurch) and they were spot on.

My daughter has done CE since she was a baby and her intensives have always been with Judit and Mandy at New Forest Conductive Education. They are always so positive and encouraging and get her to push past her own expectations and achieve new goals around controlled movement and mobility. This time they came to us daily at the cottage and it worked really well.

The cottage had everything we needed: profiling beds, a ceiling hoist, fantastic wet room with everything we needed and extra equipment offered if we needed it, a full kitchen (and as we were there for an extended stay this was essential as my daughter is on full blended diet via G Tube). We had access to a laundry (washer-dryer), airing rack, great proximity to a local store and lovely walking areas close by.

Matt and Helen made us feel at home (should I mention the lovely cake waiting for us haha) and went out of their way to make the stay work for us. They even went as far as pumping up my daughter’s wheelchair tyres, offering assistance navigating the local hospital situation when we needed an ED visit, advising on local walks, and organising a photo shoot which was very memorable.

Coming from Australia we did need more heating than the usual guest and they did not add any charge for this (we have incurred it before sadly).

We will definitely be back!

Who are New Forest Conductive Education?

New Forest Conductive Education is a specialist provider of conductive education, supporting children, young people and adults with neurological movement conditions such as cerebral palsy.

Conductive education is a holistic approach that combines movement, learning and daily life skills. Rather than focusing on isolated exercises, it helps individuals develop coordination, control and confidence through purposeful, structured activities that can be carried into everyday life.

Based in the New Forest, the team works closely with families to deliver both one to one sessions and intensive programmes. These can take place in a clinic setting or, as in Toni’s case, as part of a residential stay where therapy is brought directly to the accommodation.

This flexible, family centred approach allows conductive education to fit around real life. Delivering sessions in a familiar, fully accessible cottage can reduce stress, support consistency, and give families the chance to focus on progress while still enjoying time together and a change of scenery.

Our collaboration with New Forest Conductive Education has grown directly from guest experiences like Toni’s. Together, we are proud to support families who wish to combine a holiday or extended stay with meaningful, specialist conductive education in a safe, supportive and accessible environment.

You can find our more here: New Forest Conductive

"Thank you for publishing the piece about New Forest Conducive Education and its provision alongside the wonderful residential facilities at Our Bench Cottages. We are truly grateful not only for your support in promoting our work, but also for offering such beautiful residential facilities that make this collaboration possible. It means a great deal and helps ensure that families and professionals are able to discover these valuable services and facilities, should they wish.""

Judit Szathmary - New Forest Conductive