The Wellcomm (EY) Toolkit is still hugely popular and used extensively not only nationally but also locally, here in schools where Soundswell delivers a service.

Why book refresher training?

Over time, staff move on, incoming staff may have never received training and they have ‘just picked things up’ from others.  With the best will in the world, corners can be cut and rigour can become diluted.

About Soundswell training

In order for our training to be effective, demonstrate value for money and ultimately benefit the children in a setting, we identify anticipated outcomes. 

Key points (or descriptors) are  identified: these describe the areas of learning covered during the course.

We  rate  how confident (i.e. knowledgeable) participants feel before the training, whether their confidence increases and to what extent.  In this way we can help settings to think about next steps.

At the end of any of our courses, the setting will receive an outcome report detailing the learning which has taken place and suggestions for next steps. 

The report demonstrates that the training provides value for money and justifies the investment made by the school.

Why book Soundswell Wellcomm training?

A number of the original Wellcomm (EY) research team of therapists are part of the Soundswell team.  They know the Kit inside out and recognise that staff will benefit from understanding the reasons behind how the kit is used.

At the end of the Soundswell training participants will:

• Understand why we need universal screening
• Know where to start screening with individual children
• Be confident carrying out the screen and knowing when to rescreen
• Be confident to use the Big Book of Ideas and in grouping children successfully
• Know which children to refer on and when to do that
• Understand the variety of different information that can be collected and how to make effective use of the data
• And what to do with children who just aren’t ready for Wellcomm

Senior leaders at Hall Green primary in West Bromwich recently booked a refresher for their  EY team.

At Hall Green, the pre-training ratings indicated a spread of knowledge and confidence across the staff group. This is likely due to the fact that school had been using the WellComm tool for a while and some members of staff had been previously involved with the screening and running of groups (although some reported it had been a while since using the kit and felt they needed a refresher).

However, the post-training ratings showed that significant positive gains were made across all of the key learning points. 8 out of the 9 descriptors showed an increase of a minimum gain of 85% and the final key point saw a 79% increase.

The final part of the session produced a raft of practical suggests as to what to do going forward – including planning a pathway of intervention for those children who are not yet ready for WellComm/unable to access the small group teaching.

Find out what sendco Kristina MacDiarmid though about the session by clicking here 

If you want to know more about Wellcomm training or any of the other packages available from Soundswell, here is a quick preview: SOUNDSWELL STAFF TRAINING OFFER