Improving communication, improving lives

‘Communication requires more than just an exchange of words. When done correctly, it builds bonds and improves trust. The training has allowed me to not make assumptions about what somebody is thinking. I feel I am now more able to listen to what someone is telling me and summarise and feedback this information accurately.’ 

(Particpant Manchester training) 

‘I was a very skeptical convert to Talking Mats now Talking Mats is our team’s second language’ 

(Team leader Perth and Kinross Council) 

These are just 2 quotes from participants who have completed our Foundation Training, but the page could have been filled with testimonials. We get such enthusiastic feedback that it would be wrong not to share it!  We are very pleased to confirm that 

  • we have 2 new venues for our Face to Face Foundation Training for 2025,  
  • and we have increased the number of delegates we can support on our Online Foundation Training,  

This will allow us to welcome more participants into the Talking Mats community.

Foundation Training 

Face to Face: 

We have 2 new venues for our ever-popular face to face training; 

Glasgow – Robertson House, Bath Street.  February 25th  

London – Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy Headquarters, April 8th  

This is in addition to our course in Manchester at the St Thomas Centre, February 6th. 

Courses run from 9.30am to 4.30pm and with lunch and refreshments provided.

   

Jess Lane will deliver the training in Glasgow and London. 

Laura Holmes will deliver the training in Manchester.

To find out more about what is involved in the one day course and the venues . 

Online: 

We have increased the number of participants able to take part in our online Foundation Training and as always support is provided by a Talking Mats Tutor to guide you through the modules to gain your certificate.  These courses have a start date every month: 

  • January 6th 
  • February 4th 
  • March 4th  
  • April 1st  

There are various options to choose from when booking training, from training only to training with resource pack.  Our website shop shows all the options in one place.   

Finally, let’s have one more quote about the impact of Talking Mats from a young person who worked with his clinician to help him in school; 

“when I see my mat I understand myself more” 

In 2024 our Licenced Trainers delivered Foundation Training to 935 practitioners world wide. This week 9 new Talking Mats practitioners are studying to become Licenced, allowing them to be part of our amazing community of Trainers enabling them to run Foundation Training within their Organisations and Partnerships.  New trainers most frequently ask 2 questions as they come to the end of this course;

1.       How can they provide ongoing support to the people they train?

2.       How can information and ideas about Talking Mats be shared between teams that use the tool?

This 2 part blog post discusses different approaches to these issues.

Firstly, Brid Corrigan, Principal Speech and Language Therapist with CAMHS, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS, writes about the Virtual Community of Practice set up to support practitioners who have completed Talking Mats Foundation Training.

Talking Mats Virtual Community of Practice- CAMHS

Our Talking Mats TM Virtual Community of Practice is a Microsoft Teams channel where GG&C CAMHS clinicians who are trained to use Talking Mats can share information, collaborate, ask questions and stay up to date with relevant news, information and share resources. The virtual community was launched late last year, following our Talking Mats training initiative.  There are 48 clinicians trained in Talking Mats. 

It is an open channel for clinicians to come together and learn from each other about how best to use Talking Mats to support children and young people in a CAMHS setting. All Talking Mats trained clinicians are welcome, from those who have recently completed their foundation training to the very experienced. 

Our meetings are focused on a particular topic.  We recently spoke about using Talking Mats to explore a young person’s capacity to consent with a case example presented. Clinicians reflected on how Talking Mats made an abstract concept tangible and accessible so it was evident that the young person was making a meaningful decision.  There was also a wide ranging discussion about how we might use Talking Mats to ensure that the young person understood fully the implications of their decision making.

Our second Talking Mats Virtual Community of Practice event took place at the end of May and was well attended. Libby Mills, Specialist SLT, presented an absorbing case study exploring how Talking Mats supported a young person’s care journey. This was followed by a thought-provoking discussion where clinicians reflected on how the approach supported the young person to share their views and opinions about treatment, identify care goals in a collaborative way and review progress.

We are delighted how quickly our community of learners has grown and are very excited about our shared learning journey.     

If you are trained in Talking Mats and would like to find out more about becoming a Licenced trainer please contact licenced@talkingmats.com

This new resource aims to enable children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and sensory integration difficulties to have a voice in their therapy assessment, planning and intervention.  To find out more about the funding and development for this project please read the earlier blog here.  

The project is picking up pace and we are now in the pilot/feedback phase. The resource will be launched in April 2023 and as part of this final launch/sustainability phase, there will be an opportunity for practitioners working with children and young people with sensory needs and communication difficulties to access a free bespoke Talking Mats Foundation Training course.

 

The training: 

We are offering non-Talking Mats trained practitioners working in this field the opportunity to apply for a free Talking Mats Foundation live online training course, taking place in May 2023.  This training will focus on applying this resource using the Talking Mats key values and process.  Training will include a free copy of the resource. 

What is involved? 

Each course comprises of 2 half day sessions delivered via Teams: 

Option 1:          Session 1:  Wed 10/05/23 9.30 – 12.30  

                    Session 2:   Wed 24/05/23 9.30 – 12.30 (including video reflection/feedback)                                                                                                          

Option 2:         Session 1: Thurs 11/05/23 9.30 – 12.30  

                           Session 2:  Thurs 25/05/23 9.30 -12.30 (including video  

                       reflection/feedback)  

You will be asked to complete a video of yourself carrying out a Talking Mats session ready to present in Session 2 – this can be up to 5mins long (edited if needed) and ideally involving use of the sensory set, however we are aware that due to consent/privacy issues you may need to do the session with a friend/family member/ colleague and so can provide you with our leisure-home set if required.  

After training participants will need to:  

  • select 3-5 children or young people from your caseloads to use the resource with.  
  • provide written feedback (a template for this feedback will be provided) by the end of June 2023 at the latest.   

The children or young people you select will need to have recognised communication difficulties as well as sensory integration/processing difficulties, and be able to access Talking Mats: 

Selection criteria  

• Aged between 5-18    

• Comprehension skills/understanding at 2 key word level or above      

• No/limited visual impairment.  

Next steps: 

If you are interested in applying for a free training place, please contact Laura Holmes via email at laura@talkingmats.com, by Wednesday 01/03/23.  Please include details of your preferred training option/dates  (Option 1 or Option 2) and also of your role/ organisation and confirming that you would be able to use the resource post-training, as described above.  We will only be accepting one application per organisation.  

  

There are only 24 places available over the 2 training options so please get in touch quickly if you are interested in this opportunity. 

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