Change Your Provider

1 Start with outcomes, not techniques

Look for a provider who can clearly describe how their approach improves confidence and decision-making, safety for staff and the people you support, respectful interactions under pressure, a reduction in restrictive practices over time, and changes in behaviour and culture.

Ask: “What will look different in our organisation after 3, 6 and 12 months? How should we measure that?”

2 De-escalation is not an add-on

High-quality programmes treat de-escalation as the core skillset — not a short module before physical techniques.

Look for:

• A coherent model of escalation — what drives behaviour and what maintains it
• Practical communication skills under stress (tone, language, proximity, posture)
• Decision-making under pressure: risk, thresholds, proportionality
• Trauma-informed, neurodiversity-aware approaches
• Scenario practice that reflects your reality, not generic role play

Red flag: training that over-focuses on “holds” while giving little time to prevention, early intervention and recovery.

3 Policies and practice must be legally robust — and usable

Policies should protect people, withstand scrutiny, and be workable on a busy shift.

Look for a provider who can help you align training with:

• Your duties of care and safeguarding responsibilities
• Proportionality, necessity, and least restrictive practice
• Recording, reporting, and post-incident review
• Clear governance: who can do what, when, and with what authorisation

Ask: “How do you help us ensure our policy and training match — and are defensible if something goes wrong?”

4 Build in-house capacity — without leaving you exposed

A good provider helps you build capability and consistency across the organisation.

• A clear pathway for internal sustainment, trainers and practice leads
• Support for operational leaders, so practice isn’t undermined on the floor
• Implementation support: briefings, coaching, refreshers and quality assurance
• Tools that make it easy to embed learning into supervision and ongoing CPD

See how we develop in-house instructors on our Train the Trainer course.

5 Avoid one-off “train-the-trainer” promises

Sustainable, safe practice requires ongoing development — not a single certification event.

• Trainer development programmes (mentoring, observed delivery, calibration)
• Regular updates and re-validation based on evidence, incidents and learning
• Continuing practice development, not just annual refreshers

Ask: “What ongoing support do our trainers receive after qualification?”

6 Look for support that sustains the practice

The value of a programme depends on what happens after the training day. A strong provider should make good practice easier to sustain, adapt and administer over time.

• A clear sustainment plan: refreshers, coaching, practice reviews and continuing development
• Ongoing access to credible experts when complex questions, incidents or guidance changes arise
• Responsive administrative support for bookings, records, certification, renewals and trainer coordination
• Flexible delivery: on-site, regional, online, blended and phased approaches where appropriate
• Delivery that can adapt to staffing pressures, school calendars, different settings and changing needs
• Practical resources that help leaders and trainers keep consistency between formal sessions

Ask: “What expert and administrative support will we receive after implementation, and how flexibly can delivery adapt to our needs?”

Red flag: a provider that delivers the course but leaves your team to manage implementation, administration and emerging practice questions alone.

7 Expect clear, transparent and simple pricing

Schools are there to care for and educate children — not to untangle complicated commercial arrangements.

• Pricing that is clear, complete, and easy to compare
• A straightforward explanation of what is included — and what is not
• No hidden obligations, unexpected add-ons, or unclear ongoing commitments
• Full visibility of any subscription, licence, renewal, assessment or re-certification fees
• A purchasing and renewal process that is simple for school teams to understand, approve and administer

Ask: “What will we pay initially, what could we pay later, and what ongoing commitments are we making?”

Red flag: a headline price that only becomes meaningful after adding mandatory subscriptions, licences, renewals or other continuing costs.

8 Check credibility, not branding

Don’t rely on badges alone. Test whether the provider can evidence impact and quality.

• Transparent trainer selection standards and supervision
• Clear QA processes: observations, feedback loops, incident-informed updates
• Evidence that the training reduces harm and increases confidence
• References from organisations similar to yours

9 Listen to the market — and ask the hard questions

Many organisations exploring change cite dissatisfaction with legacy models, including training that feels overly compliance-led, technique-heavy, or hard to embed.

If you’re switching, ask:

• “How do you prevent ‘tick-box’ delivery?”
• “How do you ensure consistency across different trainers?”
• “How do you handle post-incident learning and practice improvement?”
• “How do you reduce reliance on restrictive interventions over time?”