Training Offer

This Briarwood Standard has been written to provide anyone working with children and young people with complex SEND the core building blocks needed to design and deliver a framework of support that meets each pupil’s individual needs. It is intended to be both a practical guide and a reflective tool, supporting day-to-day practice while also encouraging deeper professional thinking about inclusion, wellbeing, and progress.

Staff and professionals can dip in and out of the different sections depending on their needs; whether they are looking for quick, actionable strategies or wish to explore the theory, research, and frameworks that underpin effective practice. Each section is organised to build understanding step-by-step, with clear examples drawn from our own context, as well as links to additional resources.

While developed to support practice at Briarwood, this handbook is also intended as a valuable resource for other schools, provisions, and professionals working with children and young people with complex SEND. It reflects our commitment to sharing good practice and contributing to the wider education community, helping to build a culture of collaboration, consistency, and high expectations across settings. Our collective goal is to ensure that every child, regardless of their needs or the setting they attend, experiences a sense of safety, belonging, and opportunity to thrive. This handbook acts as a starting point and overview of good practice, there will always be more research to be done, and of course, do consult with other professionals as appropriate.

The Briarwood Standard has been built around seven key areas, to make it easy to remember we have made these “The 7 S’s”

• Speaking (total communication),
• Structure,
• Support,
• Seeing the World Through My Eyes (empathy),
• Sensory,
• Surroundings,
• Special Notes

We have chosen these because, together, they represent the essential components of meaningful, accessible, and relationship-based practice for pupils with SEND. Each area contributes to a holistic view of the pupil, ensuring that their individual needs, strengths, preferences, and experiences are recognised and respected.

Those wishing to implement the Briarwood Standard can find out more here. Or book onto one of our training courses. 

The Briarwood curriculums are completely unique and has been designed and developed to take into account the needs of all pupils with SEND from ages 3-19. 

A curriculum is the basis for any school to provide a meaningful and effective education to the pupils who attend.
At Briarwood we believe this should be a broad and balanced approach which identifies and meets the needs of our pupils. 

Our curriculum is designed as a cohesive approach with pupil needs at the core; therefore facilitating greater involvement of families, the pupil and other professionals in their learning and development. The overarching curriculum vision is one that supports the idea of provision and curriculum linking together.

Consequently, what a pupil needs at that point in time, becomes both a provision requirement and a learning opportunity. This means there are closer, consistent connections between the schools curriculum and the provision we offer.

We provide positive challenges to foster individual achievements and promote confidence and self-expression. This allows the curriculum to show progress of pupils over time; celebrating the challenging, enriching and developmental progress of all pupils.

If you are interested in implementing our Early Years Curriculum, Briarwood Core Curriculum or Briarwood life skills and creative curriculum, please contact us. 

PBS is widely recommended as best practice for supporting individuals with SEND (see NICE guidelines, DfE publications). This  bespoke course aims to give you knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) and practical tools that will support the development and implementation of PBS within your setting. In brief, we will cover;

• The background, evidence and rationale for the use of PBS
• Understanding individual needs and profiles
• Positive and Proactive behaviour support
• Functions of behaviour and establishing positive replacement behaviours
• Developing individualised plans
• Step by Step behaviour support
• Stages of behaviour
• Debriefing and restorative practice
• Barriers to change
• Capable environments
• Working as a team to promote positive change

If you would like training delivered to your setting directly, please contact us.

The popular and accessible Level One (6hr) course in positive behaviour management is available for individuals supporting children, young people in low-risk Education settings.

Delivered by our experienced trainers this course will equip individuals with an understanding of the values and philosophy of the Team Teach approach. We are motivated by the need to support the individual with the aim of keeping those who have become distressed safe, as well as those around them. We believe that all behaviour is communication being driven by experiences and emotions. We deliver a toolkit approach that is 95% understanding behaviours and encouraging de-escalation. The 5% assesses the need for physical intervention in conjunction with a need’s analysis.

Who is this course for?

Anyone who is operating in a low-risk primary or secondary school setting would benefit from this course, which offers a grounding in positive behaviour management strategies applicable across these environments. 

Please note – Positive Handling aspects will be mainly guiding and escorting safely*. If a greater degree of physical intervention is required, please refer to our Level 2 – 12 hour course. *We do also cover small person holds within 6 hour.

We run regular 6 hour courses, please have a look at our eventbrite page to see when the next course is running and book onto a course. If you would like training delivered to your setting directly, please contact us.

Our engaging Level Two course (12 hr) in positive behaviour management emphasises positive relationships as being the key element in behaviour support, with physical techniques serving as only one part of an overall approach. As such, it is entirely compatible with Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approaches. Delivered by our expert trainers with current and relevant experience of supporting behaviour in schools, we offer a toolkit approach that is 95% understanding behaviours and encouraging de-escalation. The 5% assesses the need for physical intervention in conjunction with a need’s analysis.

Participants will learn how to;

• Understand the drivers and motivations displayed by individuals who are distressed and may become aggressive and disruptive
• Build a stronger team confidence around supporting behaviour
• Utilise a toolkit of holistic strategies on de-escalation and crisis intervention, including the importance of targeted communication, both verbal and non-verbal.
• Understand and know relevant legal standards and expectations related to use of force, and of the reporting, recording, monitoring and evaluating requirements of incidents involving physical controls and reasonable force.
• Execute simple and safe positive handling and personal safety techniques: including guiding, escorting and holding in standing, sitting and kneeling positions safely, appropriate for your service setting needs, which focus on maximum care -minimum force
• Improve expertise and confidence in staying safe, competence to carry out simple de-escalation strategies, and applying physical intervention in conjunction with a need’s analysis.

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for individuals operating in a medium-risk environment. It is particularly aimed at those working with individuals whose behaviour foreseeably poses a risk to themselves or to others.

We run regular 6 hour courses, please have a look at our eventbrite page to see when the next course is running and book onto a course. If you would like training delivered to your setting directly, please contact us.

We offer short twlight courses which aim to help you understand the definition of trauma, how trauma can impact a pupils emotional and physical wellbeing, and what we can do to create a supportive school environment that is trauma-informed. It will help you to develop a trauma-informed perspective that will guide your practice and interactions to with the aim of reducing the negative impact of trauma within school. 

Further trauma training is on an individual school basis so it can be appropriately tailored to the settings needs. Please contact us to discuss this further.

There is a twilight course for this training, please click below to find out more.