Two blog posts in one day!
What is the world coming to Steven? Well, I’ve been remiss in not highlighting the fabulous work of Staffordshire County Council Youth Offending Team. That is until today, after all, the training was only yesterday... 😊 A huge thank you to Kasey Whiting form Staffordshire who commissioned me to create a bespoke Respect and Inclusion session for the Youth Offending team.
As you can see from the feedback below, the learners were very impressed with the hard work and research I put into creating the training. They also thoroughly enjoyed the films that I’ve created for them, especially the short ‘living a trans life’ film starring the sterling, Jamie.
Some of the subjects that we discussed can be difficult to address and I pride myself on creating open, encompassing environments in which people can talk honestly about their thoughts and feelings, especially in relation to gender, sex, sexuality and race.
Here are the collated feedback comments, as always 100% supportive of my endeavours and a wonderful end to a very busy and rather hectic week:
“A safe space to discuss and explore the subject in a way that increased knowledge. Enjoyed that it was move exercises and guided learning rather than a high level of power point. Don’t usually enjoy on line learning but this was done in a way that encouraged participation and everyone joined in the discussions and exercises. Really enjoyed the debate- thank you.”
Nicola
“Thank you for your time today, Steven, it is always nice to have an environment where you can have an open and frank debate.”
“Great training. Particularly liked learning about the protected characteristics as made me think.”
Jo
“Best training I have been on since Covid because it was very interactive. I used to enjoy training but then stopped enjoying it as on most training online it’s easy to hide and put off the camera and go on mute. Steven didn’t allow this so the chance to interact again was a breath of fresh air. Enjoyed the DESC element of training too. Brilliant thanks so much”
Adam
“Enjoyable and informative training. Really useful.”
Adam B
“Very good. Well done Steve, you got the balance right in discussing topics, allowing time for group discussions and videos were good too.”
James
“Thank you for this training session, I really liked the mix of main group and small group work and the opportunity to talk to different members of staff and yourself about our experiences and opinions.
I found the DESC task particularly helpful and will use that going forward with my young people and families. It’s really helpful to split it into sections so it’s clear and concise and I think that will be good for informing our assessments.
I found it easy to concentrate on the information as there were so many different tasks put forward in different ways, I felt that there was a lot of thought and preparation involved to ensure it wasn’t ‘death by PowerPoint’!!
I also would like to note that your presenting skills were a massive help as well, your humour and engaging personality helped me keep attention the whole way through, which I must admit doesn’t always happen on training sessions!
I also liked that you were keen for everyone to have their cameras on, I always keep mine on in training (because I think it’s a bit rude for the trainer otherwise!) but I have been on a few different training sessions in Staffordshire recently as I only joined the authority in June and a lot of people have had their cameras off, making it difficult to get to know colleagues and also meaning I’ve been picked on a lot to talk! I don’t mind talking so this isn’t a direct problem but I really like hearing other’s experiences and from someone who’s new to the authority it’s also really beneficial for my learning to hear from other people so this was really helpful for me.
Thank you and I hope to come on another training session of yours in the future.”
Leanne
“I found the camera-on a bit oppressive but have delivered plenty of online training so appreciate the reasons why. I really like the DESC, it mirrors ETE’s ‘I Language’ which I use a lot but is a useful re-frame. I also like your summary not to beat yourself up when you make a mistake, I think is particularly important for people who are feeling under pressure, where the temptation is to catastrophise. It’s really good that you related this back to the children we work with and their own experiences in order to improve the way we work.”
Saul
“Really good course to attend. Though we would all like to believe that we show respect and inclusion it is always good to refresh your knowledge and understanding of the law and legislations. It is very easy to become complacent and get stuck in your old ways and not making changes to the ways you come across can have long lasting effects.”
David
“I was a little nervous about how interactive the training was to start with however Steven made me feel at ease with the tone of the training. The activities brought about some good discussions. Steven was very knowledgeable and it was goo to hear and learn from his experiences. Really enjoyed it!”
Joanne
“Fantastic and informative. Steven is a great trainer that got me thinking about my own experiences and made me reflect on them. Despite the training being on Zoom it was still interactive and I felt that it worked!”
Olivia
“Steven’s training made me think about my unconscious bias and how quickly opinions and stereotypes can form. I think the trans discussion can be difficult. I feel that Steven created a space for discussion and ultimately acceptance.”
Jack