Laura Carter
Laura is a co-founder of Hastings Thrives. She has had over 40 years’ experience in education. She was a teacher and leader in Secondary schools, before working for the local authority as a Senior Manager for school
improvement. She was responsible for setting up partnerships between schools to facilitate sharing of school improvement resources and good practice. After retirement she acted as a coordinator for 2 of East Sussex’s EIPs of which Hastings was one. She is also a governor at 2 East Sussex Primary schools. She has a wide range of contacts in the area and has a wealth of experience in managing projects and their evaluation.
Jonny Morris
Jonny Morris was involved in Hastings Thrives at the start when the then Head of Silverdale Primary Academy, Liz Miles, co-founded Hastings Thrives. Now Jonny is the Head of Silverdale Primary and is still involved. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and a passion for music.
Susanna Longley
Susanna lived and worked in London before retiring to the coast. She is an artist and over the years she has worked with young offenders, prisoners and homeless people. She ran after-school art sessions in Primary schools and was the Administrator for Maison Verte, which provided drop-in “stay-and-play” sessions for pre-school children and their parents/carers. Staffed by psychotherapy-trained support workers, disadvantaged people received early interventions.
Susanna believes strongly in the value of creativity and finds working with children exciting – “you never know who you are sitting next to”.
Nikki Lofting
Nikki joined Hastings Thrives as a qualified Bookkeeper with extensive experience of working in schools as an INA and a TA for children with behavioural and physical challenges. For the past 16 years she has run a successful therapy business, combining this with supporting parents and children with additional needs.
Collaborators
Jenny Lozano
Jenny has spent over 10 years working in the voluntary sector, including at St Michael’s Hospice. She is involved with looked-after children, so brings a wealth of practical knowledge about the needs of children suffering trauma, domestic violence and neglect.
Andy Mersh
Andy is a songwriter, session musician and guitar tutor with over 18 years of performing experience within live bands, musical pits, workshops and recording.
Working as both a primary school teacher and musician, Andy has a Postgraduate Certificate of Education from the University of Brighton and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the British Institute of Modern Music.
He continually endeavours to share his passion for songwriting and performing through many of our Hastings Thrives workshops and events, always encouraging others to express themselves within a supportive environment.
Siddy Bennett
Siddy Bennett is an award winning British singer- songwriter from the West Country, who now resides in Hastings.
Her songs have been play-listed on BBC RADIO 2 and BBC 6 MUSIC with her folk-pop band “Wildflowers” and all female witch-folk band “Message from the Ravens”
She has toured with many artists including Led Zeppelins Robert Plant, Tom Odell, and George Ezra.
Her career started when she was 14, singing in a metal band in pubs and youth clubs, and now at 35 she has over 20 years of music industry experience including getting a manger, a publishing deal, a record deal and then walking away from it all to be free..
Born with a DIY punk ethos, she is a great believer in creating one’s own industry.
She has an extensive career working with young people, including her current placements running songwriting workshops in East Sussex schools, being a creative practitioner in music for a mental health social enterprise project “The Eggtooth Project”, working with the Delaware Pavilion as a young artist mentor and songwriting with low income and neurodiverse people with Hastings Thrives.
Passionate about building confidence and inspiring young people to express their feelings through the art of song-writing, she uses all the tips and techniques she has learnt through her career. Which includes co-writing with some of the worlds top songwriters, including Antea Shelton (Beyoncé, Justin Buber), Jake Gosling (Ed Sheeran- One direction), Blair Mckitchen (Paloma faith, Lily Allen) and many more. Recently a song she co-wrote called “4 leaf clover” was put on Beth Neilson Chapmans latest album, who is in the Nashville hall of fame. As a singer she has done session work that ranges from Charlotte Tilbury make up adverts, a feature song in Netflix hit show “the astrological guide to broken hearts” and singing on the BBC prime time tv show “House of Games”. She has also had her songs synced on tv shows such as Coronation Street, Hairy Bikers and many more.
Additionally she spent the past 4 years (2019-2023) performing as her character “Pickles”, singing lead vocals in the country techno band “Rednex” who wrote the multi platinum hit “Cotton Eye Jo”. performing at 90s music festivals all over Europe, she has toured with artists such as East 17, Aqua, The Venga Boys, Lou Vega and many other 90s pop sensations.
Anna Page
Anna Page is a very creative, kind and supportive local music teacher with a masters degree in songwriting. She runs most of our songwriting courses and teacher training.
Kit Messenger
Kit Messenger is a dedicated educator. She was a primary head teacher and left to develop her own teaching material. She formed community interest training company Changing Chances. She has used her empowerment approach to run our community training, parenting course and pre-school training.