TRAINING PROGRAMMES We offer a customised service for schools and institutions whereby we would deliver a package which could include training young people and adults in anti- bullying, peer support, mediation, assertiveness and other Personal, Social, and Health Education (PSHE) issues. This could include all or any of the following depending on the needs of the institution or school. ·Training and supervising students to set up and run their own peer support service ·Training staff in anti-bullying strategies and policy making. ·Leading support groups for various groups of students experiencing difficulties. ·Teaching social skills courses for small groups of students. ·Leading workshops on peer support, mediation and co-counselling for personnel from various institutions to develop and practice their skills and to network. PEER-SUPPORT TRAINING AND SUPERVISION Our peer-support systems are usually introduced as part of anti-bullying and stress management strategies in schools and institutions. Students are taught co-counselling with the focus on: listening skills; working in pairs; confidentiality; self esteem games; leading and using a support group; supervision; and an understanding of sexism, racism, ageism and disability harassment. Teachers in schools are trained to operate peer-support systems in the form of older buddies for younger students; support groups; drop-in-counselling sessions run by peer-counsellors; and co-counselling clubs. Peer-counselling in this context is when students who have learnt counselling skills counsel one-way students who have not. Co-counselling is when students who have learnt take turns to counsel each other. Students are supervised by teachers who have been taught the same model of co-counselling. Schoolteachers sometimes set up their own support groups. The student training is the equivalent of 5 days and teacher training is a forty-hour course, although this can be shortened depending on the institution’s requirements. Workshops and support groups are included where students and teachers from several schools attend and co-counsel with each other. Trained young people or we lead them assisted by teachers in the schools. The basic course for peer-supporters is 3 days training of about 15-20 students and at least one teacher in one term with 2 follow on days in each of the following two terms. COURSE CONTENT The course covers a spectrum of counselling techniques including listening skills and the use of directions, commitments, validations and emotional expression. The theory will include the following: behaviour patterns; healing processes; the nature of human intelligence; and young people's issues. The practicalities of setting up a peer-support system are also be covered. COURSE STYLE A mixture of: teaching of counselling theory; teacher demonstrations of counselling; and participants practising co-counselling with each other. Strict confidentiality is essential. Students are taught, however, that should any serious disclosure (eg sexual abuse) be made the student or teacher-counsellor would be bound by the Children Act to refer on the material to their supervisor. Peer-supporters are taught to make this clear at the onset with any students to whom they offer support or counselling. After the training in the Autumn, Spring or Summer term the students would be ready to set up their peer-support service in the next term which the trained teacher/s would supervise one session a week. If two or more institutions were running a joint project we would lead joint workshops in addition to the basic training. Students and teachers wishing to develop further could be introduced to the LEAP Peer Mediation Network http://wwwleaplinx.com/ and the Re-evaluation Counselling Community Network http://www.rc.org/ We work at any one time in a variety of schools which are at various points of progress towards becoming self sufficient with at least one trained teacher who will train the students to become peer helpers. Many schools are already running their own programmes with the teachers we have trained in charge. OTHER COURSES We offer courses to train teachers and students to run support groups for students encountering difficulties. For example if small groups of students are identified as having a problem such as being a bully gang or being students who are isolated we could train teachers and peer supporters to run a series of customised group sessions to enable students to improve their social skills. TRAINING, CONSULTANCY AND INSET We lead twilight and/or inset day training on anti-bullying, equal opportunities, assertiveness, citizenship and health education to prepare teachers for implementing the new government orders and guidelines. COST £350 one day course plus travel expenses £700 two day course plus travel expenses. £900 three day course plus travel expenses. Courses vary in cost from this. Institutions generally pay the above but individuals financing themselves pay what they can afford on a sliding scale. CLIENTS INCLUDE: Alexandra Primary School, Stoke-on-Trent Alleynes High School. Stone, Staffs; Bartley Green Technical College, Birmingham; Bedfordshire Social Emotional Behaviour Support Service. Belgrave High School, Tamworth Berkswich Primary School, Stafford; Bevington Primary School, London Birches Head High School, Stoke- On-Trent; Blessed William Howard High School Stafford; Blurton High School, Stoke- On-Trent; Castle Church Primary School, Stafford Centra, In House Training and Consultancy Cheadle High School, Staffordshire Clayton High School, Stoke- On-Trent; Endon High School, Stoke- On-Trent; The British School in Brussels, Belgium The Grange Primary School, Stoke-on-Trent; The Grove Primary School, Stafford Hagley Park Sports College, Rugeley, Staffs; Hamilton Community College, Leicester Haywood High School, Stoke-on-Trent; Kelmscott High School, Walthamstow, London; Kettlebrook Pupil Referral Unit, Tamworth King Edward VI High School, Stafford; Kingsmead Technical College, Cannock, Staffs Liverpool Schools Councils Network Longton High School. Stoke-on-Trent; Normandy Primary School, London Oldfield Hall Middle School, Uttoxeter; The Orchard Centre Pupil Referral Unit , Wolverhampton; Two Rivers Community School, Tamworth Penkridge Middle School, Stafford; Plants Brook High School, Walsall; Quality Learning Services, Stafford; Queen's Croft Special School, Lichfield; Queen Elizabeth Mercian School, Tamworth The Rawlett High School, Tamworth, Rising Brook High School, Stafford; The Shelfield Sports and Community School, Walsall; Shropshire Careers Service; Trentham High School, Stoke-on-Trent; Sir Graham Balfour High School , Stafford St Edward’s Middle School, Leek St Joseph’s and St Theresa’s Primary School, Chasetown, Staffs St. Paul's Independent School, London Staffordshire Social Services Staffordshire Youth and Community Education Service Wallingford High School, Wallingford, Oxfordshire; Walton High School, Stafford; Walton Hall School , Eccleshall; Wilnecote High School, Tamworth; Wolstanton High School, Newcastle-under- Lyme; Woodhouse High School, Tamworth. These will be of interest to: Secondary, Middle and Primary school teachers with pastoral responsibilities PSHE co-ordinators Form tutors Learning support assistants Senior managers