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.

Discover 11 exciting and engaging experiments to safely incorporate into your KS3 and KS4 chemistry lessons.

Discover 10 exciting and engaging experiments to safely incorporate into your KS3 and KS4 biology lessons.

Discover 10 exciting and engaging experiments to safely incorporate into your KS3 and KS4 physics lessons.

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.

Teaching is a brilliantly rewarding but fiendishly challenging profession.  In this course we explore what every new and trainee teacher needs to understand about mental health in order both to promote their own wellbeing and also to be a support to students and colleagues.  The course is very wide ranging and whilst it’s primarily aimed at newly and recently qualified teachers, there are many universal themes here that would be beneficial to a wider range of staff. This course has been developed by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, an internationally recognised mental health expert and author and is based on a training session originally commissioned by the Harris Federation Teaching School Alliance.

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.

This pathway provides an introduction to, and an overview of, the curriculum design process and provide a great introduction for middle or senior leaders at all phases.  

This pathway consists of two parts:

• Planning and teaching an ambitious curriculum
• Assessing curriculum effectiveness

As well as being useful for individual CPD for school leaders, this course could form the basis of SLT discussions or whole-school training.  On completion of the course, you'll be emailed a certificate for 3CPD hours. 

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!