When a child experiences the death of a loved one, the adults around them play a hugely important role both in supporting in the immediate aftermath and also of helping to support and guide the child towards the future.  This course explores what children most need from adults at such a difficult time and shares practical ideas for how we can step up and fulfil such an important role with confidence.

This course will explore some of the essential skills needed to help students store information in a way that it can be remembered retrieved and used when needed. The modules are sequenced to help you see the importance of making connections between nodes of knowledge, practising in unfamiliar contexts and encouraging learners to go deeper into topics. 

Self-harm is a topic that many people feel puzzled or scared by so this course aims to demystify it for you and help you to gain an understanding of the motivations behind self-harm and how we can use this understanding to support a young person to a place of relative safety.  There is no quick fix nor a one size fits all answer here, but this course will boost your confidence and give you some clear ideas about how best to support children or young people who are currently self-harming. This course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised mental health expert and author of “Can I tell you about Self-harm – a guide for parents friends and professionals” and “Self-harm and eating disorders in schools” which was based on her PhD research into the topic.

During this course we walk through a simple framework for promoting a truly inclusive environment that feels safe and nurturing for all children and especially those with special educational needs or social, emotional or mental health issues. Inspired by the 4S framework developed by Daniel J Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson for parents, we consider our role as adults working with, caring for or supporting young people with special needs and the small but meaningful changes we might make to the physical, social, emotional and cognitive environment to enable them to thrive both now – and in the future as every positive experience helps to create and strengthen neural pathways; laying the foundation for future positive experiences. This course was developed for SENDCos (special needs leads in UK schools) and so the course will be of especial interest to anyone supporting a child or children with special needs or emotional wellbeing issues.  However, there is much of interest here for anyone who works with or cares for a child. The ideas are widely applicable and highly adaptable and you’ll be able to readily apply them to your work and life. This course was developed and delivered by Dr Pooky Knightsmith who has a PhD in child and adolescent mental health and has spent many years as a governor at a range of special schools and who has led many training events for staff and parents supporting children with SEND. A version of this course was originally part of an online SENDCo training event commissioned by the Girls Day School Trust in the UK.

  During this course we are looking to demystify ADHD and ASD.  We get to grips with the neurobiological underpinnings of each condition and learn where there is commonality and difference both in the biology and also in the behaviours we might observe. We go on to explore what SEMH is and isn’t and how it links to SEND before taking a step away from the labels, diagnoses and neuroscience to remember that we’re here to talk about living, breathing little people. A version of this course was originally part of an online SENDCo training event commissioned by the Girls Day School Trust in the UK.

The art of organising and running effective meetings is one that can be learned and there are simple changes that you can make right away that will enable your meetings to take less time and have more impact.  In this course we walk you through the key things to consider and help you build the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to make your meetings more meaningful. This course has been developed and delivered by Dr Pooky Knightsmith who has had a wealth of experience running meetings well (and badly!) as a company director, a trustee and a chair of governors.

During this course, you’ll learn about how the cycle of school avoidance develops, and the part we may unwittingly play in that, as well as exploring a range of simple steps that you can take, alongside families, to support children to return to school and engage regularly and meaningfully; helping school turn from a place of fear to a place of safety for the child. We also explore the steps we can take to spot the early warning signs and prevent a school avoidance cycle from developing as well as exploring some universal strategies that we can employ to make school feel like a safer and more inviting place for every child. The course has been developed and delivered by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally respected child and adolescent mental health expert who has worked closely with a range of schools and local authorities to develop their approach to emotionally based school avoidance.

Many pupils and teachers alike are fearful of writing poetry which is a shame as it can be such a fun and powerful tool and a brilliant gateway into wider writing, thinking and performing.  In this course, you’ll explore a range of ideas for making poetry seem less scary and more accessible giving you the inspiration, ideas and confidence you need to get your pupils writing. This course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, author of “Using Poetry to Promote Talking and Healing” which includes an anthology of her own poems and dozens of poetry writing prompts.  Pooky wrote a poem every day for over three years, just to see if she could get any good at it.  The jury is out on that, but she found the process of writing and sharing her poetry powerful indeed and has run many workshops which have inspired other aspiring writers.

This course highlights a series of warning signs that might indicate that a child or young person is in need of support with their emotional wellbeing or mental health.  The list has been specifically devised to draw on the warning signs that are most easily picked up within a school setting and as well as exploring each individual warning sign, we also explore exactly when to worry – and when not to as well. The course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised child and adolescent mental health expert and author of The Mentally Healthy Schools Workbook.

This course explores a range of simple and highly practical steps that individuals can take to promote their wellbeing in the workplace.  It recognises the unique challenges faced by those in education and considers some tried and tested strategies for overcoming these.  Each module ends with a challenge – these are simple small actions which should be relatively easy to execute and which will enable you to take a step in the right direction.  For example, can you find a few precious minutes to sit down and focus on eating your lunch… without talking about work?  Challenge accepted? The course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised mental health expert and author of The Mentally Healthy Schools Workbook.

When a child loses someone they love, it can be hard to know how best to help – sadly, this is a situation that we can’t fix.  But, there is lots that we can do support the child to feel a little better in this moment and to provide a little hope for the future which is the focus of this course which provides you with a wide range of practical ideas. Working through these modules will help you frame your support in such a way that gives you confidence you are doing the right thing and will enable the child you are supporting to feel heard, seen and safe. This course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised mental health expert and author.  The course is based on training session first commissioned by Penhaligon’s Friends.  A Cornwall based charity which specialises in supporting children who’ve been bereaved.

Presenting your ideas as part of a conference or training day is a really exciting opportunity to make a difference to others.  It can be nerve wracking though and we can get caught up in knots about the things that might go wrong, worrying what to say and how to say it and working out how to prioritise what to include and what to leave out. This course gives you clear guidance and advice about how to get your next big presentation right so that you can prepare and present with confidence and enable colleagues to really benefit from your wealth of experience and ideas. The course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith who is an established keynote speaker who has delivered presentations across the UK, internationally and to a wide range of different audiences.  This course is inspired by a course Pooky developed for the Bromley Wellbeing Service who were keen to build the skills and confidence of their newly established mental health in schools support team.

This course walks you through a range of practical strategies that can be used by adults or children in order to create a sense of relaxation and wellbeing.  Each strategy stands alone, though there is huge benefit to learning a range of strategies for use in different situations. It is best to learn self-soothe strategies at a time of relative peace and calm and to become familiar with them so that they can be turned to at times of stress in order to bring some relief.  The ideas are all simple and safe and can be practised alone or with the support of a trusted friend or adult.  Many of the ideas could be used in a group or class setting in order to help children to reset and ready themselves for learning following busy, noisy or unstructured periods in the day such as breaktimes and lunchtimes. This course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised mental health expert and author.

Four practical strategies for promoting positive body image are explored in this course which aims to help school staff boost the self-esteem and body image of the children in their care.  The ideas translate to both primary and secondary school and are applicable to children or all genders. The course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, former chair of the expert reference group on body image which reported into UK government and lead author of Department for Education funded guidance for PSHE teachers about promoting positive body image in learners.

This course will boost your confidence in having difficult conversations with the children and young people in your care.  We consider how to talk about tricky topics, the power of saying thank and why and how you should listen to understand.  Whilst the course is aimed at form tutors, the ideas herein will be applicable for anyone keen to have supportive conversations with young people. This course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised mental health expert and author and is based on a course originally delivered as part of a cluster INSET day for a group of schools in the South East of England.

Communicating calmly is easier said that done when we are faced with a child is anxious, angry or aggressive.  This course walks you through some simple strategies to enable you to keep your cool and to outwardly be the supportive, calm adult that a child in distress needs even if you’re inwardly panicking or screaming!