Our Story
We’re a friendly charity based in beautiful Preston Park, supporting children with disabilities and their families from Brighton & Hove and the surrounding area.
Our founder, Nina Holland, discovered the power of conductive education when her own son Christopher was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She set up Whoopsadaisy to share this life-changing method with other children and their families.
Since then, we’re proud to have supported many more children with disabilities to live full and independent lives.
Our Values
Hope
Everyone can learn. We always focus on what a person can do rather than what they can’t.
Compassion
We’re a caring, inclusive community and offer a warm welcome to all.
Collaboration
We work in partnership with families, education and healthcare professionals, to provide the best possible service for our children.
Commitment
We build on existing skills and are committed to helping all our children (and staff and volunteers!) reach their potential.
Resourcefulness
Our creative and resourceful approach aims to meet our children’s needs and provide value for money for our supporters.
Our Team
Shonge Holdgate
Shonge has been working in the Charity Sector for over 15 years at a strategic level focusing on financial and project management. This has included the development and delivery of inclusive services for children & young people with disabilities. Shonge is inspired by Whoopsadaisy’s commitment to the provision of conductive education and its unique package of support to children with physical disabilities. She completed an MBA which gave her the opportunity to research and explore the relationship between strategic management and stakeholder involvement in charity organisations.
Zsofia Varga
Zsofia believes in the power of a strong and committed team and is proud to be a member of the Whoopsadaisy family. She trained at the Peto Andras Institute of Conductive Education and College for Conductor Training in Budapest. She qualified as a conductor-nursery teacher in 2011.
Zsofia has been working at Whoopsadaisy since August 2015, and has been leading sessions and supporting our holiday club programmes for children aged 1-12 over the years. Zsofia is now looking after the Under 5s services at Whoopsadaisy.
The best part of her job is welcoming and getting to know new families, and helping children achieve their potential in a warm and positive environment. In her free time Zsofia enjoys feeding people her baked goods, reading and travelling.
Nora Bajaki-Sipos
Nora is passionate about creating an accepting and equal environment wherever she goes. She graduated as a Conductor-nursery teacher at the Andras Peto Institute of Conductive Education and College for Conductor Training to become a Conductor in 2011, alongside Zsofia. She also completed a Teacher of Inclusive Education master’s degree at Kodolanyi Janos University in 2015. Nora joined the Whoopsadaisy team in August 2018 and since than she has been working towards creating an inclusive community and has developed the 5-12s services as well as Whoopsadaisy’s volunteer programme. In her free time she loves visiting historical places all across the country with her husband.
Caroline Matanle
Caroline is the longest serving in-house staff member at Whoopsadaisy. Her role has gradually changed over the last 10 years and her responsibilities and tasks have evolved with the organisation. Caroline is our Corporate and Community Fundraiser and has become a familiar face across the city through her tireless work to promote Whoopsadaisy and make sure its services can keep running smoothly. When she is not at Whoopsadaisy, Caroline enjoys taking her lovely spaniel for long walks along the seafront and holidaying every year on Paxos.