AN award-winning Holsworthy-based teacher is bringing her passion for performing arts to babies for the very first time, inspired by her youngest daughter — just months after being recognised for her contribution to arts education across North Devon and Torridge.

Amy Jane Eley, founder of local children’s performing arts organisation Magical Tots, has launched Magical Minis, a brand-new class for babies aged 12 weeks to walking.

The new classes have been inspired by Amy’s youngest daughter, baby Minnie, who has been coming along to watch Magical Tots classes since she was born.

“I’ve seen first-hand how much joy music, movement and the arts can bring to little ones,” says Amy. “But when Minnie was born, I realised there were local babies who were missing out on those magical experiences simply because there wasn’t anything specifically designed for them.

“That’s where the idea for Magical Minis came from.”

The 30-minute classes introduce babies and their grown-ups to songs, gentle movement and sensory play in a relaxed, welcoming environment, followed by the opportunity for parents and carers to enjoy a hot drink and meet other local families.

For Amy, the new venture is a natural extension of the philosophy behind Magical Tots — using the performing arts as a powerful tool for children’s learning and development.

With a background as an Early Years teacher and in musical theatre, Amy founded Magical Tots in 2022 after struggling to find an age-appropriate dance class for her eldest daughter, Beau.

What began with just two classes in a local community hall has since grown into a multi-award-winning organisation, with classes and programmes across Devon and Cornwall and hundreds of children taking part each week.

That work was recognised earlier this year when Magical Tots was named winner of the Arts in Education Award at the 2026 North Devon Flourishing Culture Awards, recognising its work bringing dance and theatre into nurseries, schools and the wider community.

Amy is passionate about showing that the arts can be much more than an extracurricular activity.

“There really isn’t a lesson or subject that can’t be explored through the arts,” says Amy. “Dance, music, drama and movement give children a different way to learn, communicate and express themselves — and, most importantly, to believe in themselves.”

Magical Minis is now bringing that philosophy right back to the beginning of a child’s learning journey.

It aims to give local families the opportunity to enjoy music, movement and sensory play together from the earliest stages of their child’s development.

And for Amy, creating a class inspired by Minnie makes the latest chapter of the Magical Tots story particularly special.

“Magical Tots started because I wanted something for my own child that I couldn’t find locally,” says Amy. “Now, years later, I’m launching Magical Minis because of another one of my daughters.

“It feels like the most magical full circle.”