acorn psychology and support services

Training

We understand the demands of your role, and so we offer a variety of Training Options to suit your needs. Take a look below to view our In Person and Online Training Solutions.

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In-House Training

We offer In-House training courses to educational settings across the North West of England.

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Online Training

We offer a wide range of Online ‘ready to go’ trainings. We can also prepare bespoke training to respond to the needs of individual schools.

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In-House Training

We regularly provide in house training in our schools including some of the ones listed below. Please note that the trainings listed below are a selection of some of the trainings we have delivered recently to give you an idea of some of the things we offer the list is by no means exhaustive. If you have a training need please contact us to discuss. Courses can be adapted to meet your needs by topic, staff requirements, age range and length of training.
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In-House Training Courses

Autism Spectrum Condition

This training offers an indepth insight into Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) through outlining what Autism is, the associated characteristics and presentation, and evidence based strategies and approaches to support children and young people with ASC. This is an extremely accessible training course for all educational professionals and the information provided can be directly used within educational settings to support children and young people with ASC.

An introduction to attachment

This training provides an introduction to Attachment. It details what attachment is, how and why individuals develop attachments and the presentation of different attachment styles. Throughout this training relevant theory and research is outlined to support educational professionals in gaining a strong foundational understanding of Attachment.

The impact of speech and language difficulties
This training focuses on the impact of Speech and Language difficulties on a child’s learning, behaviour, social development and emotional development. It also clearly sets out strategies and approaches to support children and young people’s speech, language and communication skills within school.
Precision Teaching
This is an extremely popular training package which Acorn Psychology frequently delivers in educational settings. This informative and interactive training provides an introduction to the purpose and process of Precision Teaching and attendees are given information and materials to plan a successful Precision Teaching Programme within school.
Behaviour as Communication
This training explores the idea of ‘Behaviour as Communication’. It will support school staff to uncover what a child/young person is communicating through their behaviour and how to support them to manage their emotional regulation and behavioural responses more positively.
Working Memory
This training explores working memory and cognitive load theory and will support school staff to develop children’s working memory and reduce the cognitive load of children in their classrooms.
Building Positive Relationships with Parents

This training explores the factors that can contribute to communication breakdowns between home and school, with a particular focus on early disagreement resolution, supporting families of children with additional needs, Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), and key transition points.

We also consider common pressure points for families—such as navigating SEND paperwork and provision discussions—and offer practical strategies for managing emotionally charged conversations with greater confidence and empathy.

Throughout the session, we draw on real-life examples: from rebuilding trust after complex behaviour incidents through facilitated joint meetings, to clarifying SEND provision by supporting staff in holding sensitive, productive conversations with parents.

The training provides tools to help schools develop more collaborative, transparent communication pathways that keep the child at the centre. Ultimately, it aims to build staff confidence in engaging families early, maintaining constructive dialogue, and fostering positive, long-term partnerships that support children’s wellbeing and educational progress.

Resilience

This training looks at what resilience is, what happens when children/young people lack resilience and how to promote the development of resilience through relationships.

Quality First Teaching and the Code of Practice
We regularly deliver training on schools on how to support children and young people with additional needs through quality teaching. We look at the four areas of need outlined in the code of practice and ways to support children with these needs in the classroom.
Lego Therapy
We will explore what Lego therapy is, the research that underpins it and learn how to deliver it as an intervention in your school setting. This training includes a practical element.
The Amazing 5 Point Scale
Learn how to use the 5 Point Scale approach to support children who struggle to regulate their emotional or behavioural responses. This training includes a practical element.
Social Stories and Comic Strip Conversations
Social stories and comic strip conversations can be used to support the development of social skills in children and young people. We will look at what they are and how to use them effectively. This training includes a practical element.
Attention Autism and Intensive Interaction
We will look at how to use these interventions to support the development of language, attention and social interaction in children with social communication difficulties. This training includes a practical element.

Please note that the training packages Acorn Psychology can provide are not limited to those outlined above. We also offer training on a bespoke basis, so if the above courses do not meet your current requirements, contact us to discuss a bespoke training solution. The courses offered can be adapted to meet your needs by age range, by staff needs, training topic and by length of the training required.

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Online Training

Due to the success of our in-person training, we wanted to offer a solution for staff in the education sector to access anywhere. As a result, we developed our Online Training Hub.

We offer a wide range of online ‘ready-to-go’ training courses including Autism, Attachment, An Introduction to Trauma, Behaviour as Communication, Restorative Practice, Working Memory, The Amazing 5-Point Scale, Social Stories and Comic Strip Conversations, Emotional Regulation, and Maximising the Effectiveness of TAs. We can also prepare bespoke training to respond to specific needs.

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Happy Clients

“I felt the training was extremely useful. I started using the strategies Claire gave us immediately on returning to the classroom. Her knowledge and her way of sharing this knowledge on the subject leaves a lasting impression. I could listen to her way of teaching all day. You never feel that you have heard it before because, even if you have, her way of delivering enforces its usefulness and you know that it works and gives you a better understanding of why.”  

Duke Street Primary School

“I was fortunate to have training with Claire Colclough in School. After over a decade as a Teaching Assistant I have received quite a lot of training. This training has had one of the biggest impact on my role within school. Claire’s knowledge is incredible. Claire understands the pressure of staff in school including a Teaching Assistant, who is often just told to get a job done. We covered theory that unpins the skills we took to the classroom, that helped me understand the approaches more. Claire was also able to offer advice / solutions to our own questions. Thank you Claire for these sessions, I most certainly changed how I question children, I think of how I can support children learning themselves without them having my work on their page.”  

Miss Maple – General Teaching Assistant

VIG: Video Interaction Guidance

Several of our psychologists are trained in using VIG. VIG is a strengths-based, effective, brief intervention which enhances relationships between two people. It has been used effectively to enhance adult child relationships and also to help adults to support relationships between children. Adults will be supported by our VIG Practitioner to view and reflect together on strengths-based micro-moments of video. Through this process of active engagement and reflection, adults become aware of, and build on, their skills in attunement and relationship. VIG is client-centred –moving at the clients’ pace, with their goals in mind.

VIG has a strong theoretical base: attachment theory, co-operative intersubjectivity, mediated learning, mentalization, and positive psychology. The evidence base for Video Interaction Guidance is an international one. VIG is recommended in the NICE guidelines.