Positive Effect - Trainings That Make A Difference

Unlocking Classroom Creativity for Ofsted and Estyn

Inspectors and Observers want to see lessons that are Creative, Social and Active. But they are often subjected to lessons that are creatively bankrupt - and they are not slow in awarding such lessons a failing grade!

Teaching is an art (not a science) and creativity is intrinsic to learning. Students are not empty buckets waiting to be filled with facts, instead they are meaning-makers. In a sense every child is born a philosopher ("Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green?" etc.) and what they learn will be what we lead them to discover, NOT what we show them. The best learning is Constructivist - the learning's are retained - and the student has more fun learning.

This training looks at:

how we learn
what Ofsted really want
what students really want; whether creativity is a luxury or a necessity
what creativity is
why the attitude of creativity is more important than one flash-in-the-pan exercise
how you can be a more creative teacher
tips for keeping learning lively etc.

This training shows how you can establish a learning climate through the attitude of creativity. There can be no excuse for dull, stale, tired lessons. Creative lessons come from creative teachers. It is not about flamboyance, surrealism or extrovert behaviour - in essence it is about flexibility and the facility to generate alternatives (including new ways of delivering previously tired lessons). This Training shows you how.

The benefits are enormous - and holistic: it leads to better listening; awareness of the importance of encouragement and praise - and often to more productive Staff meetings!

Summary: A really useful training that helps staff re-commission themselves as educators - reminding them of the joy and privilege of helping a learner develop.

Using NLP to enrich Teaching and Learning

NLP Training is often over-priced (at £1,000's per person), and sometimes delivered by those with only rudimentary qualifications. This reasonably priced training is delivered by an INLPTA qualified NLP Master Practitioner, with over 25 years teaching experience. It covers the main Principles of NLP and shows how these can be used to great effect by those who teach or train.

This Training is suitable for a very wide range of people working within any field that involves teaching and learning (including pre 16's, post 16's and beyond). It concerns itself with how we interact with others, and how we can shape our communication to best serve their needs (as students) and ours (as teachers).

In particular it focuses on what NLP is:

Is it about manipulating people?
What are the Four Legs of NLP?
What are the critical factors in developing a learning climate?
How can we best develop rapport?
It is said that the best teachers teach to each-but how can this be?
Each class is a group of individuals.
Is differentiation just another empty buzz-word?

It also examines useful presuppositions - magical rules that work. The following areas are crucial to NLP and they too will be explored:

Outcomes - how to set and achieve goals (why previous goal-setting may have failed)
Sensory Acuity - and how to improve your awareness of what's going on inside ourselves and others
Flexibility - and the need to have "generative" rather than just "deductive" thinking
Action - applying these principles and others in the practical setting of the classroom

Sometimes we only notice things when they go wrong. But NLP focuses instead on what works. In a sense it is a catalogue of what works, and how we can best apply what works. It is positive and pragmatic, and immensely useful. In essence it is simply a deeper form of "common sense." For example, some people "fly into a rage" very quickly - imagine if they could use those same skills to "fly into a calm!" This course will have an overtly practical emphasis. It is for teachers, and trainers, already working hard, who would like to work smarter by discovering where the leverage is.

Could how you say be as important as what you say? - are you merely teaching subjects when you could be teaching students?

It is my sincere aim to make the day, fun, memorable, and useful.

Summary: A sound introduction to the profound principles of NLP, giving an awareness of its scope and its particular application to Teaching and Learning.

Lesson Observations - Key Points and Common Pitfalls (Observer Training)

Internal Observation processes are increasingly common, and newly appointed Advanced Practitioners are often given the role of observing their peers. All too often, staff can feel out of their depth with this (sometimes awkward) role of 'inspecting' their peers. Under stress they often resort to a kind of authoritarianism. This, of course, only creates a defensive culture - which then lowers the grade even more!

Without proper training and an appreciation of the potential pitfalls, such observations can lead to:

A lowering of morale
Inaccurate grading
Conflict between staff
A defensive culture
Lower productivity
Lower quality & provision etc.

The stakes are much higher than many organisations realise, and many people would benefit from a straightforward course which gives honest answers to honest questions.

All too often Observations are synonymous with 'trauma' and fear - whereas they could be a genuine opportunity for reflection, growth and development.

This course explores:

the purpose of observation
how to minimise fallout
the need for robust processes before and after observation
the advantages and disadvantages of grading
practical portraits of Grade One, Two, Three and Four Lessons

In addition, the course will cover Documentation - what is required, what isn't etc.

The aim of the course is to provide would-be observers with:

an understanding of the issues surrounding the process of observation
the means with which to make accurate assessment
a guide to giving feedback (which the observee can accept and respond to)
a useful checklist to give to observees prior to observation to maximise their chances of success

After attending this training, delegates will come away with a clear understanding of the importance of their role, together with what to look for when conducting observations.

It is easier to raise the grade if we know how; and it is easier to achieve grade one, when we know clearly what that entails.

If we make our internal observation procedures rigorous, but friendly, then our staff are much more likely to do well when the External Inspectors finally arrive.

Summary: This course is designed to assist all Observers (newly appointed or otherwise) to be accurate, professional, sensitive and fair. A Highly practical course.

Managing Challenging Behaviour - What really works and Why

Many folks are taught to be assertive when dealing with challenging behaviour, but this can often escalate the conflict because it encourages strategies of maintaining eye contact, and techniques like 'broken record'. Both would almost certainly make things worse. Under stress, staff might focus heavily on being right instead of first being safe (and keeping others safe). Such mistakes are often dealt with in A & E!

This training looks at the escalation of challenge and examines what exactly is going on. The pattern of escalation is explored, together with what works and what doesn't work. A thorough understanding of the process leads to better methods for tackling problems as they arise. In this way delegates are taught why something works, not just what works.

The ethos of this training is - be tough on the behaviour, but not on the person. This is not some new 'pc' approach, but rather is a deep way of maintaining a genuine link with the person. It is hard to influence, if we simply take up an adversarial position; it is much better to relate - that is why even in extreme situations like a 'hostage' situation, the police work very hard to establish and maintain a relationship.

This Training also uses high level Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques - in particular the many types of Rapport, which are pivotal to desired outcomes. The incremental and sequential nature of the escalation is considered as a structure with definable features - each of which can be diffused with skill to restore order.

The scope of this training is broad in that it covers a very wide range of possible situations, however it should be stressed that this not a 'self-defence' course - rather it is for managing the many and varied expressions of challenging behaviour that we are likely to encounter in a 'classroom' situation.

The Training will show delegates not only how to manage challenges that arise, but also how to maintain a healthy learning climate - thereby reducing risk.

Summary: One of the most innovative Challenging Behaviour Trainings you are likely to experience - it focuses on strategies that work and gives you an understanding of why.

Toolkit for Teachers

This training provides a compendium of hints, tips and techniques for effective teaching and learning. It is especially useful for part time staff or those new to teaching (who can sometimes feel overwhelmed, or even a little 'left out in the cold'). The emphasis is on what works - in this way the course is highly pragmatic.

It is intended to encourage staff to take a pride in the design of their lessons, and enjoy devising teaching and learning strategies. The day will comprise of those things an experienced teacher would help a less experienced teacher with.

The scope of the Toolkit includes practical advice and tips in the following areas:

Communication - enjoying the interaction
Class Management - relishing the leadership
Lesson Structure - making it logical, but fun
Learning Styles - using Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic (rather than just knowing V.A.K.)
Multiple Intelligences - using them in lesson planning and delivery
Differentiation - the best teachers teach to each (but how?!)
Constructivism - students are not fact buckets, but meaning makers
Documentation - what is essential, and how it should serve you
Assessment - involve them, and they'll be involved (so obvious they named it twice!)
Observation Checklist - can you prepare for an observation (what's false, what's not, why you should be ready, and what you need to do to be ready)

Each of these headings examines an aspect of teaching that can be improved and enriched.

For example in the case of Communication it will include How to:

reach everyone in your group
develop rapport easily
explain clearly
remember names easily

Other areas like Constructivism, will focus on how students learn more readily when they are active, and creatively engaged in discovering. In a sense, they only ever learn what they realise, not what is told to them. This section examines exactly how we can help create structures and stepping stones towards their own learning. Constructivist teaching leads not just to higher grades and greater retention of information, but also to higher levels of student enjoyment.

The background principles for this training come from the work of Edward DeBono, Geoff Petty, Reuven Feuerstein, Phil Beadle, Richard Bandler and John Grinder; as well as from over 25 years teaching experience on a wide variety of courses and levels.

Summary: A really useful Training that gives practical guidance on what works and how to apply it; Particularly useful for new or part-time teachers - or others who simply want to refresh their provision!

Getting Your Teams on Board - Leadership, Management and Mission

So many organizations have mission statements in prospectuses and on web sites, but very few have missions that live in the hearts and minds of the people who work there. This training puts the emphasis on values and climate because that is where the leverage is. Instead of focusing on 'what needs to be done?' - or even the more enlightened 'how can we do it?' Staff should be encouraged to own 'why are we doing it?'

The real leverage is in the culture and the ethos of the workplace. Authoritarian managers create defensive cultures - sometimes getting angry and upsetting themselves and others in the process. Meanwhile perfectionist leaders create under-performing teams and nervous cultures, afraid to do anything. (Why try? - you might make a mistake!)

Good leaders pull their workforce with them, poor leaders push them - and for them, it gets harder every time. Good leaders inspire and focus on desired end results, poor leaders micro-manage and insist everyone does it their way. Leaders have influence, whereas a boss only has power.

There are many managers, but few leaders. How is a leader made? What qualities are most important? What is substance and what is style? How can you use your own natural abilities and skills to the full?

Your management style will have a huge bearing on the health of your team(s). How approachable are you? How responsive to new ideas? Are you endlessly checking and monitoring, when you could be relaxing and be enjoying? Are you part of a 'work-factory' when you could be part of a 'work-family?' To survive in today's marketplace we will need leaders who don't just focus on what we are getting, but on what we are becoming.

This training encourages Leaders and managers to explore their own habits, attitudes, beliefs and expectations (in a safe and supportive environment). It also invites them to efficiently align and communicate their goals and vision. Only then can they expect better performance and clearer direction.

This is a deep level Training specifically for people who manage or lead teams; it is designed to nurture positive change and transformation. It is delivered in such a way that it encourages personal reflection, inviting delegates to take responsibility for the tremendous influence they have on the climate of the workplace, which in turn (of course) affects performance.

Increasingly, leaders are realizing that the best leaders start with self development. In this way, they will prove themselves leaders, not just by their Authority and their Knowledge, but also by their Example.

Summary: A very practical Training for ALL managers and leaders - a highly structured day involving group-work, illustrations, dialogue, examples etc. Giving staff, not just the theories, but also the tools! A refreshing and through workout - which supports while it challenges.

Achieving Grade One - Maximising Your Chances

So much rests on good grades - and when the dust settles and the organization is reduced to a stark number, that number can drastically affect your fortunes (harming or helping as it will).

The pressure to do well is considerable, and paradoxically this, in itself, can lead to a staff under-performing on the day because they are too anxious and have anchored the word "inspection" to feeling bad. (Does the name Pavlov ring any bells?)

Observation can be a very static snapshot of a fluid and dynamic process - and what the inspectors don't see, they won't infer. If you didn't show it - they won't know it! Consequently there are things that your staff can do to maximize a more accurate (dare I say fairer) reading of their provision during the day.

This training is designed to assist staff to embrace the process with a confidence and a positive sense of themselves. This will be developed through familiarizing themselves with what exactly the inspectors will be looking for, together with techniques that help them to relate much more positively to the whole process.

The scope of the training includes:

The Lesson

What you can do to ensure learning is taking place.
Differentiation - How the best Teachers teach to each.
Qualitative or Quantitive feedback (the order is vital).
Mission and Medals (how to get better without being sick).
Enlisting the students self appraisal in Assessment (ownership).
The Collaborative nature of the Student/ Staff contract.
How to Challenge latecomers, without being aggressive.
The balance between entertaining and educating
Lesson plans - what needs to be there.
Scheme of Work - what needs to be there.
Rationale - what needs to be there.
Course File - Useful headings etc.

The Students

How to design lessons where students are Active and engaged.
The responses you wish to elicit. How to handle 'wrong' answers.
How to handle 'challenging behaviour' (a brief guide - this is actually a whole other Training day!)
Preparing the students for inspection

The Staff

How to relax when the 'Inspector calls'.
What are you telling yourself? - Is it helping or hindering?
The art of Anchoring to access your most resourceful states (NLP modelling).
What they see on the day - Is ALL that you are (in their report) - Set out your stall.
What to do if you make a mistake - or your students look at you blankly.
Making the Observation process your friend.
Helping each other (co-operation rather than competition).

Summary: This training is a valuable tool for maximising your chances of success during inspection - and hopefully for a good time after! A Great refresher!

Differentiation

Is it just another buzz word in education?

What does it really mean in practice?

This training explores not only why it is important to Ofsted, and every pupil in the group, but also how to differentiate in practice.

All too often students are tested for things like Learning Styles at induction - only to have the data shelved (yet another meaningless exercise for box-tickers). This training goes beyond poor quality tests, to discover what differentiation-in-action might look like. It helps staff to progress beyond the mere "what do we have to do?" approach to a deeper understanding of how true differentiation can enrich their provision, and their students progress.

The best teachers teach to each - but how can we reach this 'each' in a class of 25? We explore the theories of differentiation and make use of them in practical terms. Its aim is to give teachers the hands-on tools to differentiate in practice.

The Training includes a rich exploration of the following:

Student friendly teaching methods
Curriculum friendly teaching methods
Why constructivist teaching works so well
The Differential climate
Learning styles - how to really use them to your advantage (practical tips and approaches)
Multiple intelligences - how to really use them to your advantage (practical tips and approaches)
Right Brain / Left Brain - how to really use them to your advantage (practical tips and approaches)
A case study of poor differentiation
Rapport - four levels (from the field of NLP)
Differentiation in Lesson planning

A man in Dublin once asked a woman the way to Limerick. To which she replied:

"If you are travelling to Limerick, I wouldn't start from here."

In essence that is the case with all non-differentiation (i.e. it is asking the student to begin from somewhere else - other than where they actually are). Sadly we do it in all kinds of ways. Here's just obvious one that many staff would miss...

Student: "I can't quite see how this works with what we did last week? It's not clear to me."
Teacher: "That's ok. It might not ring true at first, but if you keep listening it'll begin to make sense - does that sound okay to you?"

(Hint: check out the VAK preferences)

Summary: A training designed to deliver and develop high level differentiation skills in any member of staff who works with students. It borrows advanced communication skills from award winning educators and the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Rights and Responsibilities for Healthy, Happy Teams

A great training for raising the overall health of teams - and the organization as a whole!

Only when each part of the body functions well does the body as a whole experience optimum wellness. Each organ has a dual role:

To be itself and function well doing what it does
To integrate well with the rest of the body

Assertiveness is about being able to be yourself (and express yourself) whilst raising your awareness of the needs and feelings of others. Strangely, despite its ability to catalyze profound change, assertiveness training has not been embraced by organizations in the way that it might have been (typically, it has been offered as a kind of 'token training' for women in the workplace - a box ticking exercise). This training however, is intended to have real value and meaning for those who attend, and for those they work with. Men and women.

When people are not assertive it can literally destroy teams and undermine organizations. Non assertive behaviour falls into three broad categories

Aggressive - The Bully
(Bulldozes others to get what they want, shout, intimidate, over react)
Passive - The Doormat
(Gives in out of fear of conflict, then resents new situation, blames and complains)
Passive Aggressive - The Manipulator
(traps people into doing what they want, often by using guilt or playing 'victim')

The Training explores the three positions, as well as the healthier Assertive option. A rich understanding of these four options alone usually leads to measurable levels of positive transformation.

The scope of the training will include:

Four types of behaviour
Rights and responsibilities
Self esteem and developing a better relationship with yourself
Saying 'No,' and Saying 'Yes' (to everyone's benefit!)
Dealing with criticism (without feeling hurt or condemned)
Dealing with compliments (without deflection or discounting)
Tone of voice and body language
Specific Techniques - Fogging, Broken Record, Workable Compromise, etc.
Assertiveness and goals

Assertiveness is not about being more demanding and loud - that is known as aggression. Aggression is non assertive.

Note: This training requires a certain level of role play and audience participation - in this way, the concepts and categories will be better illustrated and easier to understand. However no one will be made to do anything, they don't wish to do.

Summary: A thoroughly modern training for men and women in the workplace - designed to encourage healthier working relationships where each member contributes fully to the overall health of the organization; Ideal for raising self awareness, self-esteem and emotional intelligence.

Advanced NLP

This training is only offered to graduates of our Using NLP to Enrich Teaching and Learning because it builds on concepts previously explored.

The aim of the training is to give delegates a greater awareness of themselves and others, and new sets of skills and understandings. It is intended that these new tools will be of huge practical import within the environment of the classroom, and within the organization as a whole.

Neuro Linguistic Programming refers to the mind, language and patterns - it is about how we think, feel and act. It is highly pragmatic, being concerned with what works. Many people waste hours on problem after problem, instead of dealing with the 'pattern' of the problems - thus neutralising the problem generator! NLP is about leverage - why waste energy - why misplace effort?

The most vital resource in any organization is always the quality of the people within it. This training is a real investment in those people.

The scope of the training includes:

Pressupositions of NLP - their value and use
Representations and reality - how and why we delete, distort and generalize
Maps of the world - filters and patterns
Mapping across submodalities - change work without content
Holons and Holarchies - parts, relationships and heirarchies
Using Focus of Attention - to solve problems and explore issues
The art of Reframing - content, context and time
Advanced Sensory Acuity - reading body language as a key to thoughts and emotions
The Graves Values Model - using spiral dynamics to understand how groups evolve through necessary and predictable patterns of growth

This training represents the very cutting edge of NLP - exploring as it does concepts like the Graves Values Model, and giving people the tools with which to enrich their experiences and the experiences of the people they work with.

Typically NLP training (by Master Practitioners) run into £1000's per delegate. This Advanced training is offered for as little as £30 a day per delegate! (calculation based on 25 delegates)

Note: This is a THREE DAY training, although the days do not need to be consecutive, and can be spaced out throughout the year. The discounts mentioned on the booking page apply here, and consequently this training is £450 cheaper than three separately booked training days would be!

Summary: A great training for anyone wanting positive and lasting enhancement. All great change comes from within. This training provides the tools and the concepts with which staff can take their NLP to an even more rewarding level. Expect visible differences and positive effects!

Better Communication - Healthier Relationships

Transactional Analysis is a very simple, yet powerful way of understanding communication and relationships. It is of immense value to teachers and anyone involved in the business of teaching and learning. Indeed, an awareness of T.A. would help teachers with all levels of student - and most staff meetings would benefit enormously.

The lifeblood of any large organization is the quality of its communication, and the condition of its relationships. Transactional Analysis is an elegant tool for significantly improving both!

Communication theories can be complex and convoluted - e.g. "Who-says what-to whom-in what way-along what channel-and to what effect?" By contrast, Transactional Analysis provides a more streamlined model suggesting that with each communication (transaction) we are operating from a state of either being like a Parent, an Adult, or a Child.

If these states are habitual, and not appropriate to the situation, then they might be called 'games' or 'pastimes'. These represent patterns of behaviour that prevent good communication, healthy relationships - and can seriously undermine groups, teams and organizations.

Sometimes people try to fix the behaviours as they arise, rather than addressing the pattern - this would be like a fisherman always using a line that's too weak for the fish he wants to catch... and each time it snaps, buying another weak line. He is addressing the problems as they arise, but never the pattern of his behaviour. In this way, Transactional Analysis can quickly address causes, rather than just symptoms.

T.A. is not about blame, it is about responsibility.

When a student is behaving as the class-clown, she is accessing her 'Child' when you want her to operate from 'Adult'. When a member of staff is damning any new idea that arises in a staff meeting, they might be operating from 'Parent' (critical) when 'Adult' might be more appropriate - and they might be playing a game like "Yes, but..." Other staff, further down the corridor, might be playing "Ain't it awful..." instead of doing anything constructive.

T.A. looks at the things we say, and the games we play. It encourages us to take a more mature position.

The scope of this Training includes:

Ego states - Parent, Adult, Child (with the nurturing, the critical, the playful, and the spoilt)
Strokes and folks - and the hunger for recognition
Four Life Positions - and what they mean (OK?)
The Egogram - a map of me, my team, my organization
Analysing the Transaction - complementary, crossed etc.
Pastimes - the gearstick of life in neutral? - it might be very harmful!
Games people play - scripts and patterns
Implications for the 'classroom' - what now?
Implications for the Organization - what now?

Summary: A powerful exploration of Transactional Analysis with particular reference to classroom management - and organizational health. Through group-work, illustrations and dialogues, staff will be encouraged to apply their understanding of T.A. to teaching and learning, and to their relationships with one another.