Kate Benson

Kate Benson has over 25 years experience in teaching and learning. She has taught thousands of teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning, tutoring skills and classroom management.
With a degree in law and a trailblazing career in FE she co-founded and directed her first Education and Training company, Matrix in 1994 until 2009. Today she pioneers leading edge developments in teaching and learning and continues to drive Educational Excellence as Director of Matrix Essential Training alliance.

Kate is an internationally recognised trainer and the only Society of NLP Master Trainer working in the education sector today, frequently travelling to other countries to spread good practice
Kate is the only person in the world licensed to teach and certify the prestigious ‘Teaching Excellence’ qualification, an NLP in Education specialist course. Kate developed the Advanced Leaning Practices programme and building on this experience has developed the Learning Excellence programme for WBL, schools and colleges.
Kate’s focus, passion and commitment to education combine perfectly with her expertise in NLP and leading edge educational research. This powerful combination translates in bigger, easier, faster transformational results.
Kate’s publications include Take Tutoring & 96 Top Tutorial activities

Kate specialises in:

• Teaching disaffected and difficult learners
• Dealing with challenging behaviour
• Tutoring one to one
• Improving group tutorials
• Classroom management
• Quality Student support systems in schools and colleges
• Driving up achievement and promoting success for learners
• Accelerating learning
• Neuro Linguistic Programming
• Teaching Excellence (a unique qualification for NLP in education)

Julie Olsson

Julie has been leading learning for over 20 years, as teacher (of Geography, Physics, Work Experience and Careers, Business, and Vocational Studies), NQT development, personal tutor, middle manager, recruitment consultant, performance coach and now Trainer.

At the heart of her work is a passion for learning and a belief that everyone has an amazing capacity for excellence. She has shares her drive with teachers and students, managers and leaders, to unlock motivation, build self-confidence, and access the whole range of learning preferences. She is adept at utilising every opportunity to create success and provides practical tools and effective strategies. Julie designs and delivers courses that are engaging, fun and interactive, putting the learner at the heart of their learning experience.

Julie has had articles published in a variety of educational resources, including the Journal for Competency and Emotional Intelligence, The Journal for Special needs and Managing Schools Today.

Julie specialises in:

• Assessment for Learning
• Accelerating Learning
• Unlocking motivation in others
• How to develop Personalised Learning
• Peer mentoring
• How to make lessons outstanding
• Toolkit for Vocational Tutors
• Differentiation
• Skills for learning
• Coaching Skills
• Performance coaching
• Leadership in Learning
• Questioning Skills
• Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Francis Sikes

Frankie is a specialist in Motivational interviewing and professional and personal development trainer.  He began working as a counsellor in inner city drug and alcohol projects, specialising in Communication Skills and Motivational interviewing. Over the last 12 years Frankie has become known for his engaging style and, for the speed at which he is able to help people learn new skills and become more effective in what they do.

Frankie is a member of the Motivational Interviewers Network of Trainers, (MINT), a qualified counsellor (DIp), hypnotherapist (NSHAP Dip), licensed trainer with the society of NLP,  and a well known and experienced trainer in the substance misuse field. He has many years experience of training teachers and staff from Education and Health & Social Care and is committed to providing the right kind of training to suit your organisational needs.

Frankie is the facilitator of the London Motivational Interviewing Practice Group at Inspirit Studios and is a founding member of the charitable organisation - Inspirit Training & Development Ltd who provide training in the field of substance misuse.

Frankie specialises in:

• Motivational Interviewing
• Drug and Alchohol Awareness Training
• Counselling Skills for all mentors and tutors
• Neuro Linguistic Programming in Change work
• Substance misuse Training

Christine Rose

Christine Rose is a nationally recognised expert in equality and diversity (E&D). A former senior manager, she has worked as an independent consultant with over 200 providers, supporting a significant number to achieve a grade one for E&D at inspection. She works closely with organisations such as Ofsted, AoC, LSIS, NIACE, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Christine is the author of a range of national guidance publications, briefings and toolkits, including a suite of materials for the FE sector on implementing the Disability Equality Duty, national guidance for governors on equality and diversity, and briefings on the Equality Act 2010 and the specific duties. She has carried out published research on behalf of the EHRC on meeting public sector equality duties. Christine is a regular platform speaker and workshop leader for national and regional equality conferences.

Christine is passionate about supporting organisations to embed equality and diversity so that this becomes central and integral to practice, rather than a bolt on extra. Her training events are engaging, interactive and highly practical.

Christine specialises in:

• Embedding E&D in teaching, learning and assessment
• Prepared for inspection of E&D; the new inspection framework
• Improving the partnership of equality with quality improvement
• Equality Act 2010
• General and specific duties of the public sector equality duty
• Carrying out equality impact assessments
• Carrying out risk assessments with disabled students and applicants
• E&D for staff with particular roles and responsibilities, for example E&D managers, governors, senior managers, front line and support staff, equality champions
• Particular aspects of E&D, for example disability equality, gender reassignment, sexual orientation equality, race equality, supporting learners with mental health difficulties, faith equality

Anne O'Dywer

Anne is an independent Trainer, Coach, Consultant and Facilitator specialising in Communication, Leadership and Management skills. For the past 16 years she has been developing individuals and teams at all levels, including Board level, in the education, public, private and charity sectors, nationally and internationally.  Anne’s career before this was as an award-winning Producer and Director with the BBC.  With extensive hands-on management experience and many years as an Associate Lecturer in Management at Oxford Brookes University, Anne understands the real issues facing staff in a high pressure, changing educational environment, which ensures her courses are grounded and focused on producing tangible results to improve performance, overcome challenges and drive the enterprise forward.

Central to Anne’s work is a belief that everyone has resources and potential to excel.   She has built a strong reputation within the Education sector for developing courses that are focused, practical, engaging and immediately applicable in the workplace.  She’s dedicated to working with individuals and teams to develop their skills, confidence and motivation to make a real difference to their performance, improve working relationships and build the capacity of the organisation as a whole.

Anne is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute and is qualified in a range of psychometric tools including the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator), FiroB and Benchmarks 360 feedback.

Anne specialises in:

• Interpersonal Communication skills
• Leadership and Team Development
• Excellence in Customer Care
• Personal Impact and Presentation skills
• Performance Management
• Coaching and Mentoring skills
• Handling conflicts and ‘difficult’ people
• Time management, planning and prioritising in a high pressure environment
• Effective recruitment interviewing

Beri Hare

Until very recently Beri was Principal of a highly successful FE college, prior to that she was a Vice Principal where she took the college from recovery to outstanding. She has always had a belief in the power of education to change peoples’ lives. As a Principal she was heavily involved in developing outstanding teaching and learning and enriching the whole student experience. Beri is a very experienced inspector, having been with the service since 1994. In 2011 she was awarded an OBE for her services to FE. She undertook a fascinating PhD which explored how colleges can add more value to students and help them succeed.

Beri specialises in:

• Strategic Planning
• Quality Improvement
• Inspection
• Developing Outstanding Leadership and Management
• Managing and motivating people
• Innovative Teaching and Learning to meet student need
• Assessment for learning

Arnie Skelton

Having lectured in the FE and HE sectors for 11 years, Arnie formed Effective Training and Development in 1990, and has designed and delivered training programmes for over 100 colleges within the UK.  Arnie is passionate about personal development - and the capacity in everyone to transform their own lives.  He is highly regarded as an expert in helping managers, especially new or inexperienced managers, to understand their role and manage effectively.  Arnie’s reputation is for practical and pragmatic advice that gets to the heart of the problem and offers useable solutions.  His sessions are also fun, creative and engaging.

Arnie has published numerous articles and two books ‘ ‘The Wizard Book of Management’ and ‘Are You Sitting Comfortably…?’  He is also a Society of NLP Master Practitioner and Trainer.

Arnie specialises in:

• Key management skills
• Managing from the middle
• Tackling difficult conversations
• Managing poor performance and absence
• Response management (staying calm under fire!)
• Supporting staff in difficult times
• Interview coaching
• Personal and student motivation
• Effective group and individual tutorials
• Engaging learners