Twilight sessions and ongoing support
Our twilight sessions give staff genuinely useful skills and understanding in 1–2 hours, delivered online or in person, for individual schools or whole trusts. Below are two main routes – building a trauma-informed approach to behaviour and inclusion, and developing motivational interviewing skills for attendance and family engagement.
ROUTE 1 – BELONGING, INCLUSION & BEHAVIOUR
The Trauma-Informed Pathway
Helping staff understand behaviour through the lens of attachment and trauma and turning “we want to be inclusive” into everyday practice.
1. Understanding Trauma & Attachment
1 hour twilight – online or in person
A foundation session introducing staff to how trauma and attachment affect behaviour, learning and relationships in the classroom. Gives every member of staff – teaching and support – a shared language for understanding why some pupils respond the way they do, and a first set of practical strategies to try straight away.
Best for: Whole-staff INSET, or as a starting point for schools new to trauma-informed practice.
2. Trauma Informed Principles & Practice
2 hour twilight – online or in person
Builds on Stage 1 with a deeper look at how trauma-informed principles translate into day-to-day decisions – classroom environment, transitions, de-escalation, and how staff respond in the moment. More scenario-based and discussion-led than Stage 1.
Best for: Schools ready to move from awareness to practice often booked a term after Stage 1, once staff have had time to try the basics.
3. Reflective & Trauma Informed Supervision
Ongoing – frequency agreed with your school
Protected, regular reflective space for staff working most closely with pupils with complex needs – pastoral leads, SENDCOs, key workers, TAs. This is where training is embedded long-term: staff have somewhere to process what they’re carrying, talk through specific pupils or situations, and build consistency in how the whole team responds.
Best for: Schools that have completed Stages 1–2 and want to sustain the change, or settings with staff regularly supporting pupils with significant emotional or behavioural needs.
4. Consultation & Ongoing Support
Tailored – school or trust-wide
For schools and trusts wanting a longer-term partnership – combining training, supervision and consultation around specific pupils, policy development, or whole-school culture work.
ROUTE 2 – ATTENDANCE & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Motivating Engagement in Education
A different way to have attendance and family engagement conversations, built on evidence-based motivational interviewing techniques.
What it is
Most attendance strategies focus on policy, tracking, and escalation but the conversation itself is often where things break down. Families who feel judged or lectured tend to disengage further; families who feel heard are more likely to work with the school, not against it.
Motivating Engagement in Education trains staff in motivational techniques – a well-established approach used widely in health and social care, adapted specifically for school contexts. Staff learn how to:
- Open conversations in a way that reduces defensiveness
- Ask questions that help families identify their own reasons for change
- Respond to resistance without it becoming a standoff
- Move conversations from “compliance” toward genuine engagement
Trauma-informed principles are applied to create a safe, empowering, and collaborative environment that acknowledges the impact of trauma on behaviour and decision-making.
Option A – Twilight Session – 2 Hours
An introduction to motivational interviewing principles and techniques, with practice scenarios specific to attendance conversations. Suitable for pastoral teams, attendance leads, SENDCOs, family support workers, and senior leaders.
Option B – Extended Training Day
A fuller training day for staff who hold regular attendance conversations, with more in-depth practice, role-play, and bespoke scenarios based on your school’s context.
Option C – Coaching & Follow-Up
For schools wanting the skills to embed further – follow-up coaching sessions for staff after initial training, to review real conversations and build confidence over time.
STAFF WELLBEING, BURNOUT & RETENTION
Other Twilight Sessions
Shorter standalone sessions (1–2 hours), available individually or as part of a wider wellbeing programme.
Supporting Wellbeing During Change
This training session is designed to equip managers with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate and lead through periods of change effectively.
Burnout Awareness
Burnout Awareness Training for schools, trusts and education settings equips all staff that work in education with the knowledge and tools to identify, prevent and manage burnout effectively.
Menopause Awareness
Menopause Awareness Training is designed to educate all staff that work in education settings on the physiological, psychological and social aspects of menopause.
Emotional Intelligence & Resilience
Empowers individuals and organisations to cultivate emotional intelligence and resilience, enhance wellbeing, communication and performance across the workplace.
Not Sure Which Route Fits Your School?
Many schools are juggling more than one of these pressures at once and that’s completely normal. If you’re not sure where to start, we’re happy to talk it through.
Not yet a Hub subscriber? Find out about the Alliance Hub – the whole-school starting point that unlocks
discounts on everything above.
