Linwood Training, Support and Advice (LTSA)

Training and Events

Initial Teacher Training

LTSA plays a fundamental role in developing a self-sustaining system where new teachers learn from the best teachers, supported through a culture of coaching and mentoring.

Our School Direct partnership is with the Poole SCITT. We offer a PGCE in General Primary with SEND. We also work with a range of other local universities and SCITT providers to augment their programmes with school-based SEND experiences.

The programme content is delivered through four taught modules and a series of non-assessed and assessed school-based placements. These placements are in both mainstream primary and special school settings.

Trainees are guided through their learning by experienced SCITT and school-based mentors, to enable them to gain the skills and confidence to become effective, successful teachers of primary-aged children, especially those with SEND. The programme is designed for trainee teachers wishing to enter the profession in either mainstream or special school settings.

Trainees are based at Linwood School and in our partner schools which include primary mainstream and other local special schools.

For more information, visit www.getintoteaching.education.gov.uk

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Continued & Professional Development

AET Transitions

Date: Tuesday 23 March 2027
Duration: 09:30 – 12:00 (2 hrs 30 mins)
Price: £95 (Boost funding available for BCP Schools)
Venue: Coastal Training Suite, BH11 8HB
Event Leaders: Soraya Monzon Diaz, Deputy Head Teacher and Kate Webster Assistant Head teacher, Springwood Campus, Linwood School

Details

The Autism Education Trust ‘Transitions in Schools’ module aims to equip delegates with an understanding of:

What we mean by transitions and the range of transitions encountered across the Primary and Secondary phases of education, both micro & macro.
The impact of transitions on the education and wellbeing of autistic children and young people and the reasons they may require specific enhanced transition support.
How to support autistic children and young people effectively with transitions in schools

For more information on Autism Education Trust training visit: www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk

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Autism, OCD & Masking

Date: Thursday 11 March 2027
Duration: 09:00 – 12:00 (3 hrs 0 mins)
Price: £95 (Boost Funding available for BCP Schools)
Venue: Online via Zoom
Event Leader: Dean Beadle

Details

In this session Dean will look at anxiety from an autistic perspective. He will examine common causes for anxiety before focussing on practical ways to support autistic learners who may be experiencing it. This interactive session will also look at executive functioning before finishing with highlighting ways to promote autistic wellbeing by maximising and facilitating autistic joy.

Dean Beadle has toured the UK for over fourteen years sharing his experiences of being autistic. He has also delivered keynotes in Ireland, Denmark, Belgium and Germany as well as undertaking four seminar tours of Australia and New Zealand. Through his humorous and insightful speeches Dean outlines his positive outlook on being autistic, and challenges negative public attitudes.

In 2011 Dean’s work was brought to a wider audience, as a clip of one of his speeches was viewed globally on YouTube. In recent years he has also become an in -demand inset trainer and delivers training to staff across the UK.

He is also an experienced journalist, having been a reporter, reviewer and columnist in local and national publications. Between 2012 and 2014 Dean sat on the judging panel for the NAS Professionals Awards. Dean has co-chaired the NAS Professionals Conference, hosted charity balls, conferences and diversity festivals and co-hosted the Autism Uncut Film Awards at BAFTA in 2017. An interview with Dean is featured as a key resource in the Autism Education Trust training programme which has reached 200,000 schools’ staff.

Dean is also a singer and performs at charity balls and various events nationwide.

Dean is honorary president of APCymru- an autistic led parent charity in Cardiff and is also patron of SPACE, parent led charity in Hertfordshire, and ONE to ONE Enfield, a charity providing meaningful activities for LD/autistic adults.

Facebook: dean beadle speaker

Twitter: @deanbeadleuk

youtube.com/deanbeadleuk

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Comic Strip Conversations

Date: Thursday 12 November 2026
Duration: 13:00 – 15:15 (2 hrs 15 mins)
Price: £95
Venue: Cobham Sports and Social Club, Merley Park Road, Ashington, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3DA
Event Leader: Desre Spencer

Details

Comic Strip Conversations were developed by Carol Gray as a method of unpicking social situations and helping young people to decipher the social world. We will look at how to use Comic Strips and how to imbed them into your classroom practice by looking at Linwood case studies.

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Down's Syndrome

Date: Friday 12 February 2027
Duration: 9:00 – 12:00 (3 hrs 0 mins)
Venue: Coastal Training Suite, BH11 8HB
Event Leader: Katie Hinchliffe

Details

Every child will be unique and what works for one, may not work for another. It is important to create a Specific Learning Profile, individual to the child. This should include: what they enjoy, what supports them, what they do not like, strategies that work, things they find tricky, whether they wear glasses etc, things which dysregulate/regulate them, and so on.

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Fun with Foods

Date: Postponed to Autumn Term
Duration: 09:00 – 12:00 (3 hrs 0 mins)
Price: £95 (Boost funding available for BCP schools)
Venue: Canford Magna Complex, Magna Road, Canford Magna, Wimborne. BH21 3AP
Event Leaders: Kate Tuck

Details

Led by Lindsay Bowen & Beccy Ridge – on the Early Years Team at Linwood School

Fun with Foods programme supports children to learn to tolerate a greater range of foods. It will address postural, sensory, motor and behavioural needs surrounding eating. Aiming to support the children to be more comfortable exploring and learning about food through a playful, non- threatening approach. The long-term aim is, rather than focus on the quantity of food eaten, that they are willing to explore and try new foods, being comfortable with a wider range of foods.

Aims for session include:

Understanding the causes of feeding difficulties and differences in children Food exploration through the senses
Challenges and developing skills
The Fun With Foods Learning Ladder
Ideas for food based messy play

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Grow Your Own SENCO - 2 Day Course

Day 1: Tuesday 10 November 2026
Duration: 09:00 – 15:30 (6 hrs 30 mins)
Venue: Canford Magna Complex, Magna Road, Canford Magna, Wimborne. BH21 3AP

Day 2: Wednesday 10 March 2027
Duration: 09:00 – 15:30 (6 hrs 30 mins)
Venue: Merley House, Merley Lane, Wimborne. BH21 3AA

Price: £150
Event Leader: Kate Tuck

Details

An induction programme for all new and future SENCOs and those wishing to refresh their skills.

Attendance at both days is essential.

Lunch & refreshments are provided on both days.

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PDA for Educators (2-Part Course)

Dates: Tuesday 12 & 19 January 2027
Duration: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 hrs 0 mins)
Venue: Online via Zoom
Price: £95 (Boost funding available for BCP schools)
Event Leader: Kate Tuck

Details

This course is designed to build knowledge and confidence in understanding the PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile of autism and how to support PDA learners in educational settings. Participants will explore practical strategies to help reduce demand anxiety and support engagement with learning.

Delivered by experienced facilitators who combine lived experience of PDA with professional knowledge and expertise – including PDAers, professionals, parents, carers who live and breathe this work every day.
Core content is tailored to schools/ educational settings.
All delegates receive a CPD certificate on completion.

Training will be delivered in 2-parts via Zoom.
It is essential to attend both sessions.

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Stammering / Dysfluency

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2027
Duration: 9:00 – 12:00 (3 hrs 0 mins)
Venue: Cobham Sports and Social Club, Merley Park Road, Ashington, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3DA
Event Leader: Ella Moreland, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist – Stammering Lead

Details

The session offers a clear, compassionate understanding of stammering, exploring the many ways it can present and the experiences that sit beneath the surface. It considers factors such as neurodiversity, and challenges common assumptions, highlighting the real-life impact stammering can have on children and young people. You will learn about communication as a whole, how to create supportive, low-pressure, environments, and what helps children as they grow, including confidence, expression and self-advocacy. The aim is to support adults to feel more comfortable with stammering, know what support is appropriate, and to affirm children and young people who stammer so that they feel confident to communicate, whether they stammer or not. The training provides detailed information, activities and opportunities for discussion.

Please note, this training is more in-depth than the Stammering Workshop mainstream schools can access via their Link Speech and Language Therapist.

Suitable for: SENCOs, Class Teachers, Teaching Assistants and Early Years Practitioners.

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Supporting GLP Workshop

Date: Wednesday 25 November 2026
Duration: 13:00 – 15:30 (2 hrs 30 mins)
Price: £95 (Boost funding available for BCP schools)
Venue: Coastal Training Suite, Andrews Close, Bournemouth BH11 8HB
Event Leaders: Kate Tuck

Details

Gestalt Language Process (GLP) was a term used by researchers in 1983. In 2012, Marge Blanc began using the term and exploring its meaning. Children who use ‘chunks’ of language, repeat familiar phrases or scripts or use delayed echolalia are often referred to as Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs).

In this session we will explore the differences between GLP and Natural Language Acquisition, the ways in which to support children who present as a Gestalt Language Processor and the current information and guidance provided by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. The session will be a mix of information sharing, discussion, and group activities.

Delivered by The Children and Young People’s Speech & Language Therapy Team.

Suitable for SENCOs, Class Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Early Years Practitioners and any staff working with children / young people with language acquisition difficulties.

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An Introduction to Autism and Neurodiversity for Parents

This half-day session provides parents with a basic overview of how Autism and Neurodiversity may present in children and young people. It includes:

Information about Autism and Neurodiversity, including the 3 areas of difference.
Young person input: ‘My Experiences’.

The session is FREE and open to families who live in the BCP area. Your child does not need to have a diagnosis for you to attend.

Please contact us (details below) to book your space and indicate whether you would like 1 or 2 spaces. Please also confirm if your child attends the school that is hosting the session to help us with allocation of spaces.

Day	Time	Venue
Friday 9 October 2026	09:30–11:45	St Walburga's Catholic Primary School, Malvern Road, Bournemouth BH9 3BY
Monday 23 November 2026	09:30–11:45	Moordown St John’s CE Primary School, Vicarage Road, Bournemouth BH9 2SA
Tuesday 2 February 2027	09:30–11:45	Christchurch Junior School, Clarendon Road, Christchurch BH23 2AA
Wednesday 24 March 2027	09:30–11:45	Glenmoor and Winton Academies, Beswick Avenue, Bournemouth BH10 4EX
Friday 14 May 2027	09:30–11:45	Bournemouth Collegiate School (BCS), College Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth BH5 2DY
Monday 14 June 2027	09:30–11:45	Oakdale Junior School, 3 School Lane, Oakdale, Poole BH15 3JR
Thursday 8 July 2027	09:30–11:45	Online via Zoom

Feedback from parents on the session:

“Lovely mix of information and experiences, thank you!”

“It was brilliant and enlightening, thank you.”

“I really liked it, thank you. Pitched at the right level and was a safe environment to be in. The ‘teachers’ couldn’t have been nicer or more engaging. Thank you.”

“Thank you, what an amazing team of trainers. You kept this very interesting and were all so open about your own experiences.”

“Thank you, a great session to help me understand my daughter.”

“Very thorough, very interesting & helpful. Feel I am moving in the right direction. Lots of great tips.”

“Thank you so much. It’s been really helpful as we start this journey as parents.”