Our REACH (React with Compassion and Care) INSET workshops are aimed at all school staff. We seek to develop awareness, new habits and techniques for positive relationships while improving staff wellbeing in schools.
“Taking care of those that take care of others”
Creative perspectives on working with challenges in the classroom and beyond – ideas for positive behaviour management
In this workshop we focus on developing and maintaining strategies for self-awareness to employ when you are faced with challenging situations. Through non-judgemental dialogue/discussion and acknowledgement of the momentous task you have as a teacher we aim to create a supportive and enjoyable environment to examine the frustrations of difficult encounters with pupils and colleagues.
It is our belief that if you can strengthen your inner resources, you will be better equipped to generate shifts in difficult relationships and find fresh approaches to the challenges you face at work and beyond each day.
What the workshops might look like
We tailor our INSET workshops to the specific needs and requirements of each school, but a basic outline is as follows:
Workshops are usually 2 -3 hours long. They comprise elements of structured group discussion, presentations from the facilitator and experiential learning in the form of games and exercises tailored to bring out transferable skills.
We have run this successfully for whole-staff INSETs as well as smaller groups of staff.
Common themes for discussion
- Common classroom struggles and helpful/unhelpful ways of coping with them
- Learning our own ”triggers”
- Developing coping strategies and shared supportive techniques
- Dispelling myths and “monsters” – why does a child behave aggressively/undesirably? What are they communicating?
- Learning our own limits (finding compassion for ourselves and hopefully for others!)
Presentation themes
Transference and countertransference
We will explore at a very basic level a therapeutic dynamic that is commonplace in every classroom and in fact present in every relationship/encounter we have daily: transference/countertransference.
We will unpick the implications of pupils projecting outside familial relationships onto you as a teacher and share ideas of supportive ways to promote positive relationships and lines of communication between staff and children.
Techniques for awareness
We offer simple techniques throughout the workshop for participants to take away and practice in order to develop their resilience and self-awareness in daily life and in challenging situations.
The power of play
The next part of our session focuses on the power of play and creativity on the teaching relationship. Studies have shown that when a child sees their teacher in various roles other than that of teacher/pupil it can bring about a closer more fruitful relationship.
Taking into consideration the time constraints in a teacher’s schedule and mindful not to add more to this, we offer realistic suggestions of games, exercises and ideas which can contribute to a happy and trusting classroom.
“A joyful, playful and thoughtful workshop for school to end the term. We will look forward to having Jess back to work with us again next term”. Perdy Buchanan-Barrow, Head of Alexandra School, Harrow
