Speak to us +44 (0)1273 35 80 80
or Make a Booking
Confidence through competence
Course Browser

Delegate Feedback

An interview with Kara Satterley – Senior Mental Health Leadership Certificate

A headshot of KaraKara Satterley is Deputy Headteacher and Senior Mental Health Lead at Blean Primary School, an OFSTED outstanding school based in Canterbury. She has recently completed her senior mental health leadership certificate with Real Training and shared her experience of SMHL training and how it has made a difference in her school.

What made you choose the Real Training senior mental health lead course over other options?

The online approach with live sessions, the quality of tutoring, and the time to put actions into place and learn as you go along were the main things that attracted me to this course. The fact that everything could be completed online supported both my leadership commitments and my work-life balance.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training?

My experience was excellent. Communication was strong from the get-go and staff were really supportive, particularly when I needed to move cohorts. The training was thorough, relevant and detailed and my tutor was incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. I also really enjoyed the live sessions; it was so helpful to discuss things with other delegates and learn from others. The online approach provided the flexibility required for me to manage my other leadership roles in school, whilst being able to develop my skills as a new SMHL. The pacing between sessions was helpful, as this enabled time to put actions into place and then reflect and share findings with other delegates.


How has the SMHL course helped make an impact at school?

The course helped to embed the SMHL role in school, with the output being a clear action plan to support pupils. This has fed into our whole-school plan for this year. Mental health and wellbeing is at the forefront of all we do and underpins so many of our other changes at school.
We have recently achieved the WAS award (Wellbeing Award for Schools) and completing the course went a long way to help us change our practice, strengthen our whole-school approach and gather the evidence required to put together a successful submission.
  

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with your new knowledge/skills in the future?

I feel more confident leading mental health and wellbeing at school at a strategic level. Decisions have informed the school plan and are underpinned by research. We have formed a team with distinct roles and responsibilities to support mental health and wellbeing across the school to support our staff, pupils and families.
  

Lastly, what are the top three things you were looking to do within your setting, since completing senior mental health lead training? 

  • Achieve wellbeing award (WAS award)
  • Form a team to support mental health and wellbeing to support pupils, staff and families
  • Use knowledge to have dedicated sections of the school plan to ensure strategic change linked to improving mental health and wellbeing

An Interview with Andrew Chadwick

Andrew Chadwick, NASENCO, SMHLAA

Andrew is currently the Safeguarding, Ambition and Inclusion Lead for Focus-Education. Prior to this, he was Head of School and SENCo in a primary school in Yorkshire.
  
Andrew is incredibly passionate about delivering high-quality education, and equality, to all children. He has taken the time to review what he gained from our Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced Award below, as well as providing some general tips for anyone new to the role.

 

  
What made you choose the Real Training courses over other options?

I found Real Training through the NASENCO qualification. The thing which sold it for me, was that I wanted to do an online course that I could take at my own pace, in time that I wanted to use and when I wanted to do it. Real Training provided high quality support and an active peer group which was really beneficial. When schools were given the funding for Senior Mental Health Leadership, I knew that Real Training would give great support, high quality training and real school life examples. It was the Senior Mental Health Leadership Advanced Award training through Real Training, in the list of DfE providers which was a particular draw as I wanted to get the biggest impact for our children as possible.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training?

Both courses were excellent. You definitely get out what you put in. Tutor feedback is really helpful. It was also good to have them gently nudging every now and again and checking in. Contact with tutors is always swift. Campus Online makes things really clear. You know what you need to complete and where you are at any time.

How have the courses helped you to make an impact at school?

The real benefit in both cases is that the course fits in with what we need to do in school. After studying the Senior Mental Health Advanced Award, I developed a training package for staff around trauma, and was able to give this to staff to support individual pupils. I was able to think more widely around mental health and how to support parents and staff as well as children.

How have the courses helped you to develop as an educational professional?

I have a better skill in regards to reflection. I have also developed my skills in building, analysing and then evaluating projects.

What are the top three things you rolled out within your setting, since completing the courses?

  • A wider range of training for staff
  • Support for parents
  • A wider range of resources for school – children and staff.
     

Related articles:

Read our blog: Getting to Grips with The Senior Mental Health Lead Role

Watch highlights from Andrew’s sixteen month follow-up with Joanna Wood, course leader:
Improving Mental Health in a Yorkshire Primary School: A Whole-School Case Study

An interview with Alison Ford

Alison FordiSENCO

Alison Ford is Head of Inclusive Education & Therapy at The Overseas Family School, a non-selective international K-12 school in Singapore. Completing our International Award for SEN Coordination course while working in her previous setting, allowed her to progress in her career. Alison is particularly interested in Autism, Social Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health, and Family Support.

What made you choose the Real Training course(s) over other options?

I heard of the iSENCO course through a colleague who had also completed it. He recommended the program and had found it very accessible. I was looking for a flexible online learning course with a view towards completing a master’s. I liked that the iSENCO was a self-paced and stand-alone certification that I could also use to build up credits towards the MEd.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training?

I found the online learning platform intuitive and my tutor was very personable and responsive. The support from others in the program was also valuable as we tried to find our way around. My only suggestion at the time was some collation of the assessments to help me plan my workload and approach to the course at the beginning. Once I had collated and got my head around this myself, I found the tasks much less overwhelming!

How has the course(s) helped make an impact at school?

My final project was an essential part of the service development at my school at the time. I have since moved on to a leadership role at a much larger school and what I learned from the iSENCO forms the foundation of my role now as I lead the strategic development of our whole school provision for therapy and learning support. The iSENCO was a good learning process for me to plan and think strategically, and helped to better inform my role now in a much larger setting.

How has the course(s) helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

I think the iSENCO helped to develop my confidence and expertise in strategic service development. I gained an understanding of what it means to be a leader, the different approaches to leadership and how my own personality and life experience may shape my own approach to leading others. Career-wise, the iSENCO is a good certification to show employers that you have training and experience in leading and maintaining organisational change.

Lastly, what are the top 3 things you are looking to do within your setting, since completing the course?

  1. Guide our whole school initiative for inclusion! A challenging but rewarding role leading an amazing team of Learning Support specialists and Therapists in a busy school of 3000.
  2. Possible further study towards an Educational Doctorate.
  3. Support for colleagues also on the course. So far I have referred four others who have completed the course or have just joined!

If you’d like to connect with Alison, you can follow her on LinkedIn. You can find further information about the iSENCO on our webpage.

An Interview with Lucy Wayman


Lucy Wayman picture mentor and dyscalculia assessorLucy Wayman – CPT3A

Lucy from Bristol, UK, works as a freelance maths tutor for students not in the school system, she is also a dyscalculia assessor within Constellation Education. Lucy has a special interest in ADHD, ADD and autism. She has recently completed her Certificate of Competence in Education Testing (CCET), and will soon be completing the Access Arrangements course (AAC), for the Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements (CPT3A).

What made you choose the Real Training course over other options?

It was a great blend of live online teaching and self-study. Having three full days of group teaching was really useful at raising the issues, meeting other people in the same situation and covering the main features of the course, with the opportunities to discuss and collaborate with other delegates.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

The three days of teaching were incredibly enjoyable, and very full on. You really felt like every minute was accounted for and designed with a purpose. I came away from those days much better informed about psychometric testing, clear about the assignments I had to do, and enthused about getting my independent study done.

How has the course helped make an impact at school? 

Combined with my dyscalculia training, I feel confident about carrying out psychometric testing, and more importantly, being able to interpret results in a way which will help my students. 

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

I will complete the rest of the CPT3A course and look to gaining my APC so that I can both assess for exam access arrangements, and assess and diagnose dyscalculia.

Lastly, what are looking to do within your setting, since completing the course?

Review the efficacy of testing that is currently in place and try to streamline the process, while improving usefulness of the tests done.

If you would like to know more about Lucy Wayman, connect on LinkedIn. For more information on CPT3A, click here.

An Interview with Penny Earl

Penny Earl – Senior Mental Health Leadership Certificate

Penny is currently working as a Resourced Provision Manager for children with Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (SCLN). She works in a primary school in Hampshire. Penny recently completed our Senior Mental Health Leadership Certificate and has shared her experience with us.

How has the course helped make an impact at school? 

It has raised the profile of mental health with the Senior Leadership Team – so they now see it as something significant to be put on our school improvement agenda and understand how it is important within the OFSTED framework. It has also provided resources and links to resources that will be useful for future development around mental health. Lastly, it has given insight into the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) implementation framework which can be used across the school when implementing change in order to ensure that this is done with the greatest likelihood of success

What made you choose the Real Training course over other options?

I googled providers approved by the government funding scheme. I picked Real Training because the summary and details of the course were the clearest

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

The remote training days were well planned and delivered by trainers who were, I felt, responsive and empathetic towards the students. They adjusted the pace and content to our needs and presented the content clearly. I dislike remote training and my views on this haven’t changed as a result of this course. However, the technology worked well and I felt some features of the platform were helpful in encouraging interaction e.g. during break-out sessions. There was also the advantage of making links with people I might not have met if it had been face-to-face local training.

The virtual learning environment was clearly set out and easy to manage and the ability to ‘tick off’ sections and see how I was progressing through the course was quite motivating for me. I also found the breakdown about how to pace the course very useful. There were lots of excellent resources which I have saved for future use. However, I really felt I needed the course to be spread over a longer period of time in order to get the best out of the resources. I am in a privileged position in that I work full time, have no class, set my own timetable and have a fair amount of related back experience meaning that I could skim some of the reading content being already familiar with it. I had to be very organised and disciplined to get through it and meet the criteria required for the assessed piece. 

Lastly, what are the top 3 things you are looking to do within your setting, since completing the course?

  • I want to ensure mental health gets the status it needs within my school and that it is recognised as a necessary driver to school improvement by our Senior leadership team
  • I want to implement my plan around staff wellbeing and mental health
  • I want to establish the link between my role as SMHL and the Mental Health Support Team that is just establishing in our area

An Interview with Jemini Patel

Jemini Patel – NASENCO

Jemini worked as a teacher at the Whitefriars School in Harrow. She decided to study our NASENCO course as she believed the children in her school needed more support. She is now working as SENCO and Assistant Head Teacher at an all-through school for children aged 4 – 19 years old. Jemini Patel has recently won the Teacher of the Year Award at nasen’s sixth annual awards ceremony!

Our school and our pupils are lucky to have Jemini, and Jemini is a very worthy winner of this award. We are very proud of you”.

-Whitefriars School Headteacher, Jonathan Watson

What made you choose the Real Training course over other options?

The course was recommended by a colleague, as she completed her NASENCO course with Real Training and informed me about the flexible route into becoming a SENCO. I liked the modules where you could trial and implement strategies and projects in your school. I particularly enjoyed the Comparing Settings module, as it allowed me to compare provisions and learn about what other schools did.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

It really went above my expectations as I thought distance learning would mean researching everything independently. This was not the case, the up-to-date research being all in place really helped develop subject knowledge and the support given by my tutor was amazing. She really provided me with in-depth support and guidance. Support was consistently given so I never felt alone. Questions were answered immediately, and guidance was step-by-step so that I could fully understand.

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

I have developed a strong subject knowledge, as well as effective practices that I can take into my role. It has helped me to create effective action plans to guide provision for SEN pupils.

Lastly, what are the top 3 things you are looking to do within your setting, since completing the course?

1. Developing staff subject knowledge on SEN
2. Developing speech and language provision in the school
3. Using PECs as a way for children to communicate

 

An Interview with Aaron Pape

Interview with Aaron PapeAaron Pape – CPT3A

Aaron currently teaches Sociology at a Sixth Form College in Bexhill-On-Sea. Aaron completed the Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangement (CPT3A), which he was enrolled onto by his workplace. Aaron was happy to study with Real Training as his colleagues stated to him that it provided all the necessary elements to obtains the qualification needed.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

Real training provided very good provision of guidance in how to navigate around the website and how to access the resources available to the delegates. The tutoring was also of a good standard, guiding myself on where to improve certain aspects of my work but also allowing myself to steer the ship of my own learning. Some of the tasks required were of a challenging nature, which was very good for academic and professional practice. The course met my expectations and I would recommend it to those wishing to pursue a career within the realms of SEN or access arrangements.

How has the course helped make an impact at school?

Particularly with the AAC, it has allowed me to complete a Form 8 to the appropriate JCQ standards, which has helped the college with completing access arrangements.

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

I am now aware of the immense testing and research that is undertaken to compile these psychometric tests. It has helped me in further my educational development early on in my career. I hope to further my knowledge in the subject area and help those members of staff who may have questions about exam concessions and JCQ regulations.

Lastly, what are the top 3 things you are looking to do within your setting, since completing the course?

1. Educating staff members of the requirements of exam concessions.

2. How to implement and write effective normal ways of working testimonials.

3. As a teacher myself, being more vigilant in students who may be entitled to exam concessions.

An Interview with Susana Cortez

Susana Cortez

Susana Cortez – NASENCO

Susana is a SEND Specialist lecturer, she has worked with non-verbal students and has a special interest in autism, she is also very keen to develop her skills as a SENCO. Susana currently works in the Inclusive Leadership Department at West London College. She completed the NASENCO course with us in 2021.

What made you choose the Real Training course over other options?

I was recommended via google, it was a great option because it was online. I could work it around my own routine and complete the course on my own time.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

The course was fantastic and extremely informative, my tutor was absolutely amazing and she always supported me with constructive feedback. The course was really helpful and it helped me to understand some areas I wasn’t so comfortable with (founding, leadership). The online library is spectacular and the resources are really appropriate, everything is well organised between each strand. The course met my expectations and I would definitely enrol onto another course.

How has the course helped make an impact at school? 

This course gave me the support to go back and reflect on our LSA support and on what we could eventually do to improve it by creating action plans and new CPD using LASs views and perspectives. Our CPD week is now also based on LSAs views and we covered a range of different topics to make staff more confident. 

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

This course helped me to develop my leadership skills and this will help me to go further in my career and accept/look for jobs on management and SEND coordination. This course gave me better skills on the way that I work with teacher’s assistants and I am now feeling more confident on this area too understanding the big impact of working well with all staff around our students.

Lastly, what are the top 3 things you are looking to do within your setting, since completing the course?

  1. CPD – Levels of support – LSAs
  2. Visual impairment resources and strategies  
  3. Teachers CPD – How to make an effective use of our LSAs

An Interview with Catherine Burton

                                                             Catherine Burton – CPT3A, AAC

Catherine BurtonCatherine has worked in education for over twenty years. She currently works in a Catholic Secondary School in West Yorkshire. Catherine has a keen interest in SEND, especially in Autism and Dyslexia.

What made you choose the Real Training courses over other options?

After doing extensive Google research I chose Real Training. I was impressed with how clear and easy to navigate it was. There was lots of background information about the group and also clear information for each training course they had to offer.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Real Training. My course tutors were incredibly helpful and patient. Even though they worked part-time, I always received replies to any queries I had on the same day I sent them. Talk about going above and beyond! It has been a while since I have done any training but at no point did I ever feel unsupported. The customer care team were also excellent, I had a technical issue which was entirely my fault and it was dealt with quickly and efficiently.

How has the course helped make an impact at school? 

The SEN department had gone through a complete staff change prior to me starting my role, the previous two qualified assessors had retired. The school had to ‘buy in’ an assessor for the class of 2022 students as their Access Arrangement Applications had not been processed. My qualification has had a significant impact on the school. The knowledge I have gained has allowed me to audit the current documentation which has resulted in four students now having Access Arrangements in place. We also have had several students whose parents have been challenging the school about what support their child should get, the knowledge which I have obtained has allowed me to advise the SENCO on what is and isn’t allowed. We now have two other staff members undertaking the course.

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with your new knowledge/skills in the future?

Having worked in education for over twenty years I thought I had a fairly good understanding of the evidence needed for Access Arrangements and how applications are made. The course allowed me to increase my prior knowledge bank and ‘fill in’ the blanks, meaning I now have a comprehensive understanding of the process from beginning to end.

An Interview with Katie Lohan

Katie Lohan – CPT3A

Katie has been working in SEND for ten years and is currently based at an international School in Oman. Since joining her current school as a SENDCo, working for students in early primary, she has done lots of work in literacy difficulties, speech and language, speech delay and engaging the children in picture communication. Since September 2020, with a history as a Primary teacher, she has now become SENDCO with responsibility of all students within the school. Katie also has interest in parent engagement. She spends a lot of time working with parents of children experiencing SEND, helping them navigate the systems and empowering them with knowledge which is not readily available in the Middle East.

What made you choose the Real Training course(s) over other options?

When researching a course to undertake to gain qualifications for assessing, Real Training came highly recommended from many sources. As I am in Oman, a face-to-face course would not have been an option for me. The flexible nature of the Real Training course was a huge advantage for me as a lot of courses available have live classes at times that don’t line up with our time differences. The option to complete at my own pace was a huge positive also due to a busy workload and online school delaying some of the sections for me. It was easily accessible at all times.

What was your experience of learning with Real Training? 

From the very start, Real Training were great to deal with. I received my training manual in very quick time by the courier and was able to get started right away. The material in the manual was very well laid out and using it along with the online resources was great. The videos in particular I found very useful. The sample submissions and other downloadable documents were of great help also. The personal aspect to the course in terms of tutor feedback was excellent and one of the highlights for me. The feedback given was always constructive and supportive and well placed to guide and support. The forums where you could communicate with other participants was good also. It was comforting to read other’s thoughts and questions as often they were similar to mine. Campus Online was a very user-friendly platform and was always functional with no technical issues. This was reassuring when studying fully online. It was easy to navigate and well laid out section by section. Across the board, the Real Training team must be commended for their commitment to its participants and the quality of courses.

How has the course helped make an impact at school? 

Since completing the course I have successfully undertaken a schedule of different assessments to include the YARC, CTOPP2 and DASH. This was only possible through the experience gained in the CCET course. I have also put through a number of online applications for Access Arrangements for our GCSE students. The AAC section of the CPT3A was excellent in guiding me through the process. 

How has the course helped develop you as an educational professional and what do you hope to achieve with the new knowledge/skills in the future?

As the only trained assessor in my school, it has been a great opportunity for me to develop in many skills particularly in assessing students of all ages. It has given me a lot more confidence in my assessing across the school. I hope to develop a coherent system of record keeping and assessment pathways for the school. Due to the school having no SENDCo up to now, this is something I will endeavour to achieve with the new qualifications to support me.

Speak to us

01273 35 80 80

or Make a booking

Complete the online booking form to
enrol on one of our training courses