Training for education and social care professionals
Planning to meet the educational needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (CiC, PLAC, CiN, CP and Kinship
Next training date to be confirmed.
A 1-hour virtual workshop, via Teams, for Designated Teachers, educational and social care professionals to support multi-agency planning for students to promote educational outcomes for those who are or have been known to social care. This training will focus on the specific needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Book by completing the online form.
Emotion coaching training for education and social care professionals
Next training date to be confirmed.
Based on research by American Psychologist John Gottman, Emotion Coaching uses moments of heightened emotion and resulting behaviour to guide and teach the child and young person about more effective responses. Through empathetic engagement the child's emotional state is verbally acknowledged and validated, promoting a sense of security and feeling 'felt'. This activates changes in the child's neurological system and allows the child to calm down, physiologically and psychologically.
Inappropriate behaviours are not condoned in Emotion Coaching and when the child is calmer, incidents are discussed in a more rational and productive manner. Moves are made to problem solve and engage in solution-focused strategies.
This workshop is available to all Essex social care, health and educational professionals and schools with an Essex Child in Care on roll (both within and out of Essex) and for all Essex schools with a child who is 'Previously Looked After,' Kinship or Children with a Social Worker.
Book by completing the online form.
Multi-agency planning for educational transitions
A 1-hour workshop for designated teachers, educational and social care professionals to support planning in preparation for an educational transition.
Next training date to be confirmed.
Advanced multi-agency training
We provide training for experienced designated teachers, designated safeguarding leads and social workers.
Next training date to be confirmed.
Planning for progress - Interactive action research workshops for Designated Teachers
Exploring multi-agency perspectives on the use of PEPs (Personal Education Plans) to promote the teaching and learning of Children in Care to support progress and attainment.
As part of a small-scale research study for a Masters in Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford, research is being undertaken with a range of professionals to explore their perspectives. You are invited to a 60-minute, interactive online workshop. You will be asked to participate in activities exploring your professional role; in the PEP process, promoting teaching and learning to support progress and attainment for Children in Care and the opportunities for this to be developed and strengthened.
As well as helping to develop the evidence base for teaching and learning for Children in Care, the final project will also inform the strategy for a Virtual School for supporting their cohorts, schools and professionals.
Taking place on Wednesday 21 May 2025 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm or Thursday 22 May 2025 from 9:30am to 11:30am.
Please sign up by completing the online form. If you would like further information about the study, email leanora.engers@kellogg.ox.ac.uk
Educational planning for wellbeing
In response to requests the Essex Virtual School is offering workshops for designated teachers, educational and social care professionals to support educational planning for students who have and elevated 'Total Difficulties Score' on their SDQ and need further assessment and intervention.
Next training date to be confirmed.
Academic resilience approach
A multi-agency tool to support working together to meet educational needs.
Essex Virtual School has worked in partnership with 'Boing Boing' to embed the academic resilience approach into all our work to address the educational outcomes of our cohorts.
This workshop will explore how tools within the approach can be used to support multi-agency working to address the holistic educational needs of all Virtual School cohorts.
Next training date to be confirmed.
Pathways to change
Essex Virtual School are working in partnership with Dr Rob Long (Educational Psychologist) to offer a 'train the trainer' project for staff managing LSAs.
This will use evidence-based interventions such as:
• meta-cognition
• problem-solving
• positive psychology
If you are interested, complete the booking form as soon as possible as places are limited.
Next training date to be confirmed.
Further education and social care information is available on the Previously Looked-After Children page
Supervision Mid Pilot Sessions
Essex Virtual School, we know the power of well-rounded provision for students and staff. Following extensive with schools and professionals, we have worked in partnership with Nerys Hughes and Whole Child Therapy Ltd to create a new approach to providing creative and holistic support, advice and coaching. This approach is called Kokua Ahoy.
Over eight sessions, educational professionals (teachers, pastoral support staff and teaching assistants) will have the opportunity to attend supervision groups where they will receive support, coaching and advice by trained Essex Virtual School Advisers, in interactive sessions. In each session, attendees will receive a toolkit around the theme or content of the session, participate in interactive activities related to the topic and a facilitated solution focussed reflection activity. There is an expectation of attending most sessions.
All sessions run from 1pm to 3pm, and are taking place on:
- Session 6 - Thursday 22 May 2025
- Session 7 - Thursday 19 June 2025
- Session 8 - Thursday 17 July 2025
All training will take place in person at Hamptons Sport and Leisure, Tydemans, off Beehive Lane, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, CM2 9FH. A commitment is required to attend all 8 sessions. Book via the online form.
Training for adult mentors
In person training at Pontlands Park Hotel and The Hamptons.
At Essex Virtual School, we know the power of well-rounded provision for students and staff. Following extensive work with schools and professionals, we have worked in partnership with Nerys Hughes and Whole Child Therapy Ltd to create a new approach to providing creative and holistic support, advice and coaching. This approach is called Kokua Ahoy!
In two days of training, educational professionals (teachers, pastoral support staff and teaching assistants) will have the opportunity to be trained in a new style of holistic mentoring that will benefit not just students from Virtual School cohorts but all students in a school.
They will be provided not just with the knowledge to undertake sessions with young people, but opportunities to engage in a range of interactive and creative activities to enable them to deliver targeted mentoring to individual children that are focussed upon raising aspirations and nurturing academic resilience. Attendees will receive a comprehensive set of materials to support them to deliver their first round of mentoring in school, be supported to measure the impact of this and receive follow up support when delivering their first round of mentoring in school.
- Follow up Session 2 - Thursday 19 June 2025, 9:30am to 12pm
Days 1 and 2 training will take place at Pontlands Park Hotel, West Hanningfield Road, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, CM2 8HR
The follow up sessions will take place in person at Hamptons Sports and Leisure, Tydemans, off Beehive Ln, Great Baddow, Chelmsford CM2 9FH
This training is free. Refreshments will be provided for breaks but delegates are asked to provide their own lunch for the two full days or may choose to buy their lunch from the restaurant/cafe on-site.
Parking is free at Pontlands Park and there is a £1 fee at the Hamptons.
Forms will close two weeks before the training and if there is not a minimum number of delegates then the training may be cancelled.
Supervision group West Kokua Ahoy in person at the Ongar Centre
At Essex Virtual School, we know the power of well-rounded provision for students and staff. Following extensive work with schools and professionals, we have worked in partnership with Nerys Hughes and Whole Child Therapy Ltd to create a new approach to providing creative and holistic support, advice and coaching. This approach is called Kokua Ahoy.
All sessions take place from 1pm to 3pm (apart from session 1)
- Session 1 - Tuesday 3 June 2025, 12:30pm to 3:30pm
- Session 2 - Tuesday 15 July 2025
- Session 3 - Tuesday 16 September 2025
- Session 4 - Tuesday 4 November 2025
- Session 5 - Tuesday 16 December 2025
- Session 6 - Tuesday 27 January 2025
- Session 7 - Tuesday 10 March 2025
- Session 8 - Tuesday 21 April 2025
Book via the online form.