Conference Workshops
1. Title: The Reality Ride – Colin McGee
Precis:
The Reality Ride is one of ten visual metaphors used in the award winning WhyTry programme. It’s so
effective that it’s used across ALL age ranges around the world and is probably the only kindergarten to
death row programme in the world. (Really!) We will look at life choices and consequences, using a
visual/kinesthetic approach including activities and music and hitting all of the spots that our students
value. Using this one metaphor alone I’ve helped many students to make better behavioural choices. I
love this programme!
Speaker background:
Colin McGee has been a teacher for over forty years, most of it in Special Education. He has been a
deputy and acting head in a North London EBD school and has worked in two education authorities as a
behavior specialist. In tandem to his teaching, he is a Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist as well as a
trainer with ADDISS the national ADHD charity. He is currently engaged with ADDISS in a new European
Project developing new technology to support parents and teachers of pupils with ADHD.
2. Title: Listen Up! – Dean Cotton
Precis:
The importance of post-incident learning structures
Evidence from recent studies
How can we support those with communication difficulties post-incident?
Raising the profile of post-incident learning
Speaker background:
Dean is a TT Principal Tutor. He has a background both in education & care settings; after he introduced
TT to Broad Elms School, Sheffield, they recorded a drop in exclusions to zero & a 95% reduction in
serious incidents. Broad Elms was the first organisation to achieve the Team Teach Gold Standard
Award. In the past 5 years, as part of his Masters degree, Dean has carried out several pieces of
research in post-incident support & writes articles for BILD & SEBDA.
3. Title: Helping Angry Teenagers – Louise Bartel
Precis:
A model for introducing successful therapeutic interventions within the school environment. How to
facilitate opportunities for young people to make decisions that may result in positive, lasting changes to
their behaviour.
Speaker background:
Louise works as an Adolescent Therapeutic Counsellor, currently in a BESD school in Hampshire. She
has over 10 years experience in a variety of roles, both in Social Care & Education. She holds a
Psychology degree & qualifications in Child Development, Anger Management & Counselling. She now
leads a team, whose work focuses on the importance of relationship & longer term therapeutic
interventions to make changes which last.
4. Title: Confidence in ME! – Joanne Coulson
Precis:
Positive belief in yourself, your skills and your abilities is the foundation of confidence. Cemented by
achievements and recognition, the main ingredient, of which we have 100% control, is our thoughts, and
this workshop provides you with tools to ensure those thoughts are always positive and empowering.
This workshop aims to help you to question the unhelpful limiting beliefs that are blocking you from
maximising your potential. Once your positive beliefs are allowed to flourish, you will be empowered to
achieve, succeed and live your life every day, maximising your potential. Having learned to manage this
for yourself, you will be enabled to transfer this to the workplace, so that others may also be empowered
to achieve and succeed.
Speaker Background:
Jo Coulson is a Life Coach and Master Practitioner of both NLP and Hypnotherapy. Recognising that
positive self-belief and confidence are a necessary life skill, Jo is passionate about supporting people to
maximise their potential and has been coaching individuals and training in confidence building techniques
since qualifying as a trainer with Dawn Breslin in 2006.
5. Title: Autism Spectrum & the Stress Bucket- Kevin Baskerville
Precis:
Using the 95% to prevent the” stress bucket overflow” & what impacts on anxiety / stress within
individuals with ASD. Through understanding this, we will look at how focussing on the 95% can help deescalate the challenge & how developing an “anxiety plan” can help develop self-sustaining techniques for
dealing with stress & anxiety. We will explore factors that influence the filling up of the stress bucket,
understand the “hidden” curriculum & look at practical strategies to reduce issues across the age &
functional levels of our individuals.
Speaker Background:
Kevin is the Leicestershire Autism Outreach Service (Intensive Support) Manager - working with
statemented, mainstream students, who are out of school or finding accessing school a significant issue;
either through social phobias, stress and/or challenging behaviour. Originally primary trained, then a
special school trained teacher, Kevin has worked in schools & settings in Birmingham, Leicestershire,
Warwickshire, Australia, Kuwait & was a consultant at the Geneva Centre for Autism, Toronto, Canada –
training and lecturing across N. America (including the World Autism Congress). He is currently the Lead
Team Teach Tutor in Leicestershire. He also runs a private consultancy, training & development
business: KB Autism Services - training across the Midlands, Ireland & Canada.
6. Title: Creating and maintaining a “Culture of Safe Practice” – Peter Wild
Precis:
This workshop looks behind what it means to have a safe practice in your setting.
It addresses questions such as:
What is your policy framework and how is it created so that it becomes culturally embedded and real?
What does your practice look like and how well does it conform to your policy aspirations?
How do you get your voice heard? How does the child/client get their voice heard?
How do you practise - so that Positive Handling Plans can be realised?
Who supports who and by what means?
The workshop will challenge and support individuals and institutions to create environments where
Safeguarding happens, and is responsive to ever changing demands.
Speaker Background:
Peter has worked in Education for 36 years in a variety of mainstream & specialist settings. His approach
can be summarised as being “to optimise safety, maximise learning”. This has acted as his guiding
principle throughout. He has been a Team Teach Tutor for over 16 years & has been instrumental in
embedding Team Teach as the preferred behaviour management practice in three local authorities. He
currently divides his time equally between being the Inclusive Practices Development Officer for
Oxfordshire and running his own consultancy – Forms of Life.
7. Title: 'What's really important?' – Jonas Torrance
Precis:
An experience of offering training and support to parents of children and young people on the autistic
spectrum, who display challenging behaviour.
Speaker Background:
Jonas Torrance is a physical interventions trainer, behaviour management consultant and
dance/movement psychotherapist. He has been working with children and adults on the autistic spectrum
for more than 30 years. For the last 7 years he has been running training courses for parents in
challenging behaviour. Jonas co-ordinates a therapy team for Oxfordshire County Council and lectures
nationally and internationally on the autistic spectrum, therapeutic approaches and challenging behaviour.
In 2003 he published an article entitled 'Autism, aggression and creating a therapeutic contract.'
8. Title : The Good Behaviour Game – Chrissie Spring
Precis:
A look at what the GBG is and how, although a relatively simple and inexpensive intervention, it can have
a dramatic impact on outcomes for pupils and teachers. This classroom based strategy is built around
four core elements that help children learn together in a positive learning environment and improves
teacher practices that are sustained through professional mentoring.
Speaker Background:
Chrissie trained as a teacher of English but her career took her to the extreme end of working with
challenging pupils in BESD special school and secure units. She is currently Headteacher of the
Behaviour Support Service in Oxfordshire, working with a skilled team of specialist BESD teachers, who
are all Team Teach Tutors and GBG Coaches.
9. Title : Physical Workshop –
Applying the Principles of technique within the Team Teach Framework. – Jeaninne Law
Precis:
A thinking mechanism for using some of the physical skills we have in Team Teach and applying those
principles to problem solve situations, whilst remaining within the TT framework.
Bring your issues to a practical workshop.
Personal Risk Assessment, TT protocols & appropriate clothing standards apply.
Speaker Background:
Jeaninne is a Principal Tutor for Team Teach with a background in a number of physical intervention
packages - including current General Service Association tutor status
Jeaninne has worked with young people with special needs in a variety of education and care settings.
As part of her Masters degree in Special Education she researched best Policy and Practice in supporting
young people who required physical support to keep them safe and to promote learning.
10. Title: Catering for insecure attachment- recipes for success - Alice Boon
Precis:
Current neuroscientific thinking recognises the central importance of early nurturing experiences in child
development. Attachment theory shows how and why behaviour and learning are affected if attachment
with a child’s primary care giver is disrupted or distorted.
This workshop is an opportunity to bring, share and take away new ideas for meeting the needs of
children with insecure attachment difficulties in your settings. The workshop will focus on the implications
for learning for young people with attachment issues, provide a framework for provision mapping to meet
needs in this area and give participants the chance to contribute to our recipe book of ideas.
Speaker Background:
Alice Boon is a Teacher and school improvement advisor. She is a trainer for the Nurture Group Network,
an intermediate Team-Teach Tutor and leads Reading’s Behaviour Support Team. She has worked for 15
years in Education, working with EBSD children in Prisons, PRUs Special schools and Mainstream
provision. She loves her work and thinks naughty has a lot going for it.
11. Title: Europeace; working towards establishing a systemic framework to support
effective practice with vulnerable children & their families. – Brian DeLord
Precis:
Europeace was a European Commission funded collaboration between 6 countries, tasked with producing
guidelines for practitioners working with young people, who were victims or perpetrators of violence. BDL,
in his most recent role as Head-teacher & CEO of PPP Ltd., has developed these guidelines into a
framework that potentially underpins all interventions with vulnerable children and their families.
Speaker Background:
Brian is a former teacher, youth worker, counsellor, lecturer, CEO & Headteacher. He has also led and
participated in a number of major European collaborations around issues affecting vulnerable learners. He
attempts to capture this experience, research & learning into a practically useful framework to support the
work of practitioners, researchers & policy makers.
12. Title: Values underpinning the Curriculum – Sean O’Sullivan
Precis:
Outline of content:
Brief description of school context
Overview of key values
Closer detail to look at each of our school's values, with range of video clips to hopefully illustrate and
draw out points
Frank Wise School caters for children with severe and profound learning difficulties, educating 104
pupils aged from 2 - 19 in Banbury, North Oxfordshire. The school was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in
2010, for the second consecutive time and, in 2011 was awarded Investors in People Gold, the highest
possible standard. The school has a reputation for innovative curriculum development, as well as for the
use of technology with the children, and has won numerous awards for the use of ICT over many years.
The school has pioneered the creation of feature films as Christmas Productions, which are premiered in
the town’s Cinema, and supports a wide range of schools locally and nationally and is in the process of
applying for Teaching School status.
Speaker Background:
Sean O’Sullivan is the headteacher of the school, and was the winner of Becta’s ICT in Practice award
for Secondary Inclusion in 2003. Sean is an Apple Distinguished Educator and has spoken widely on ICT
in general and on aspects of inclusion, both in the UK and in America.
13. Title: Raising the School Leaving Age- Implications for BESD –
Richard Boyle
Precis:
A discussion on the development of education and care for young people 16-25 with challenging
behaviours in recent past to current. Richard will identify issues for staff in providing vocational support
and guidance through the transition from school to work or further education, based on the successful
experience of Muntham House over twenty years. Richard will also discuss the implications for all
secondary provision with challenging youngsters in the light of the raising of the ‘school’ leaving age.
Speaker Backgound:
Richard Boyle is Principal of Muntham House School in West Sussex - an all age non-maintained
boarding and day specialist school for boys with BESD, ADHD and ASC. Since Richard’s appointment in
1999, when the school was judged to be unsatisfactory, Muntham has been awarded specialist status and
judged by Ofsted as Outstanding on five separate occasions. Richard has worked with challenging young
people all of his professional life in a variety of settings in England. Richard was Chairman of NASS and is
currently vice Chair of the “Engage in Their Future” network. Richard is a Sunderland supporter, but still
gets on well with people from Newcastle, a testimony to his patience and tolerance.
14. Title: Linking Team Teach Courses to Qualifications –
update your knowledge & understanding – Liz Bailey / Sandie McMurray
Précis:
An interactive workshop covering an explanation of current qualification frameworks for a range of staff
roles and managers. Find out how Team Teach can be mapped to nationally accredited QCF Units /
Qualifications to make the most of Team Teach courses.
Speaker background:
Liz Bailey is a Registered Social Worker, an experienced social care practitioner and manager. She has
been delivering and managing social care learning and development for over 20 years, following a 16
year career in social work with adults and children and families. Liz is also a practising Assessor and
Standards Verifier for QCF Qualifications at Levels 2, 3 & 5 Children and Young People’s and Adults
Workforce and delivers the BTEC PTLLS programme (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector)
at Levels 3 & 4.
Sandie McMurray has extensive experience of working with adults and children (including those with
learning disabilities) and has been providing learning and development opportunities for 13 years,
following 25 years of social care practice. Sandie has a Degree in Applied Social Studies and is a
practising Assessor and Standards Verifier for QCF Qualifications at Levels 2, 3 & 5 – Children and
Young People’s and Adults Workforce and the PTLLS programme. Sandie also delivers the Awareness
and Level 2 & 3 Certificates in Dementia.
15. Title:
- a simple way to become more self aware!
– Chris Raymond
Precis:
The more self-aware we are:
 the better we learn, teach and lead
 the stronger our relationships are
 the more effective we are in teams
Packtypes is a simple, tactile, visual and emotionally engaging tool designed to develop self-awareness in
anyone, from 6 year old pupils to executive headteachers.
Speaker Backgound:
Chris Raymond is the Schools Director for Packtypes. Chris teamed up with the creator of Packtypes, Will
Murray, to launch Packtypes into education in March 2009. An ex-headteacher and professional rugby
player, he has delivered training, conferences and workshops in hundreds of schools around the UK and
abroad, demonstrating the potential of this amazing tool.