"I would say that the session was exceptional ." Effective Factual Recording with Coventry City Council, June 2024

So, here’s the thing, when I have a new audience, and this time it was a wholly new local authority, I can get a tad anxious.  Will they like me?  Will they appreciate the effort that has gone into the training? Will I overcome my own nerves!  Well… Was there any doubt!  Last week was the first of my various sessions with Coventry City Council.  Session one was, Effective Factual Recording.  I think some of the assembled learners were dreading a whole day of factual recording.  They then met me and the various learning aids that I created for the course and all was well with the world.

This time I created:

·         Four brand new films, bespoke for the people of Coventry, including the voices of their residents and workers.

·         Interactive, kinaesthetic, hands-on, learning tools that engaged and encouraged debate. 

·         Various activities that had them laughing, learning and yes, dare I say it – loving the training. 

A huge thank you to Caroline from Coventry for commissioning me to create the training and also in sharing both the good and not so good practice from the council.  She highlighting some of the issues that the team have faced and it is quite obvious that she has instilled a real sense of camaraderie in the team. They are working tirelessly with various groups of people across the city facing housing and homelessness issues.  Encouraging people into supporting living, hostels, hotels, private rented and of course housing association and local authority properties.  All the while, recognising that they are working with some of the most traumatised people in society. 

A really lovely group of learners.  I was on cloud nine when I ventured back home on the train. 

The collated feedback is below, as always 100% positive:

“Steven’s training was brilliant.  He kept us all engaged with tasks that were fun, made us think and were actually about Coventry!  He really made us think.  I believe that we would benefit from more training from Steven.”

“Steven was very accommodating, engaging and entertaining.  The training held my attention throughout!  Steven was non-judgmental and very welcoming.  Overall, I would say that the session was exceptional and I learnt a great deal.”

“This was really good training at a great pace and very engaging.  Steven made me think about my practice and supporting my staff to record effectively.  Thank you so much.  I would be interested in further training from Steven.” 

“Thank you so much!  I have learned so much today.  I will take what I have learned with me and I hope this will improve my note taking and my role within the council.  Plus, I’ll be better informed when working directly with my clients.”

“I really enjoyed this session.  Prior to the session I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The different activities, films etc were made just for us and you could see that he had put a great deal of thought into the training.  It was inclusive, we could speak openly, he had all of the handouts on different colour paper etc. which I’ve never seen on other training.  An enjoyable day of training.”

“Steven was very welcoming and the training was fun and informative, Steven took into account each of our learning needs. Thank you.”

“I found this training excellent.  It was useful to my role.  Steven is very engaging and I would recommend him as a trainer.”

“It was great fun and Steven made me feel comfortable, he made me think how I can do things better for our customers.  Fabulous trainer!”

“The training was relaxed, informal, interesting and will inform my practice 100%”

“REALLY ENGAGING!  Training made 100% by the style of the trainer!”

“Steven was really good throughout the day.  I learned while having fun and that’s a first.”