Tooled Up Member Talks
The home of evidence-based resources on all aspects of parenting, education and family life
Schools that are part of our Tooled Up Education community can provide their parents and teachers with access to Dr Weston’s exclusive resources, covering areas such as aspiration, resilience, mental health and behaviour.
As a member of the Tooled Up community you will have access to a whole host of evidence-based resources, which will enable you to support your children or students in a way that makes their lives and educational journeys both easier and more enjoyable.
Dr Weston's Wednesday Wisdom
In an ever increasingly busy and demanding world, Wednesday Wisdom provides a reflective 2 minute read every week that readers constantly tell us they look forward to. Full of topical and relatable experiences that help provide reflection, motivation and support in achieving a balanced family life.
Over the years, thousands of people have benefitted from and continue to enjoy the parenting and educational talks from Dr Kathy Weston at Tooled up Education and have subscribed to Wednesday Wisdom. Join them now for free and receive your own weekly digest of inspiring, engaging and mindful parenting directly from Dr Weston herself.
“I just wanted to say how grateful I am to read your Wednesday Wisdom email. Perfect size for the time I have to engage and reflect and think about the topics you touch on. It helps me to evaluate my parenting and take a step back to look at scenarios that play out.”
Parent – October 2020
Deciding What’s Best
‘Tis the season of mellow fruitfulness and… prospective school tours. Typically, they have been held online over the last year, but many schools are reactivating tours in person. My youngest was roped into showing interested parents around his school last weekend. “What questions did parents ask you?”, I enquired. “Whether I liked it here”, he replied. “Did the children ask you questions?”, I added. “Yes! They asked about the food and football”. So, what questions should parents be asking? And, how can children judge whether or not a school is really for them?
Top Parenting Question of the Week
My son is in year two of senior school, after starting a new school in year 5. He was just settling into year 6 when lockdown began and, since then, he’s not really been able to get himself fully going again. Last night he revealed that he’s often left out of groups or feels that he can’t join in. He’s not sporty and needs to be forced to go to the after school sports clubs, causing more anxiety. What can I do to help?
Our Promise: We will answer all questions, and, whilst we may share your question and answer to help others, we will never declare who asked it.
Researcher of the Month
Nora Trompeter, PhD student at Macquarie University, Australia
University
Macquarie University, Australia
Research Interests
Nora Trompeter is a current PhD candidate within the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University. Her research is focused on understanding how eating disorders develop in adolescents. Specifically, she investigates factors that may improve early intervention and prevention methods.
In this paper, published in August, PhD student, Nora Trompeter, sought to quantify how teenagers receiving treatment for an eating disorder (the clinical sample) differed in terms of symptoms and psychological distress when compared to teenagers with eating disorder symptoms who were not undergoing treatment (a large community sample). Most eating disorders begin during adolescence, yet only 10%–25% of teens receive appropriate treatment. Identifying distinguishing factors between teens who are in treatment and those who are not could help to inform strategies designed to aid early intervention.
Teens undergoing treatment were more likely to have a lower BMI, more frequent purging and higher weight/shape concerns. Their disordered eating symptoms tended to be more severe. However, the levels of psychological distress experienced were similar across both groups, regardless of the severity of the eating disorder. Problematic exercise habits (driven exercise) were more common in the group of teens who were not having treatment.
This paper highlights the fact that teens only seem to be accessing and receiving treatment when their symptoms become more severe. There is a need for greater mental health literacy around eating disorders, in order to increase early detection among teenagers.
Implications for parents – Nora notes that whether or not teens seek treatment often depends on the actions of their parents. Parents should familiarise themselves with the wide range of symptoms associated with eating disorders – not only a low BMI. Notice any shifts in your children’s attitudes to food and exercise, and consider their behavioural motivations. Look out for any rigid patterns or rules around eating. Seek medical advice if you notice anything concerning.
Implications for schools – The promotion of mental health literacy is crucial. Ensure that your setting promotes open conversations about mental health. Focus conversations about the body on function, rather than appearance.
Our Clinical Partners
We take pride in working in close collaboration with some outstanding clinical professionals who are leaders in their fields. We only signpost parents and carers to those that share our commitment to evidence-based approaches.
Mrs Pauline Riley-Hunte
Consultant Chartered Clinical and Child Psychologist.
Associate Fellow with the British Psychological Society (BPS), a ‘Registered Psychologist’ with the UK Health Care Professions Council ( HCPC) and a certified member of the Allied Paramedical Board, Barbados.
Mr Will Napier
Chartered Counselling Psychologist (C Psychol)
Chartered Counselling Psychologist (C Psychol), Post-Masters Certificate in Counselling Psychology (PGCert Couns Psych), Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology (MSc, Couns. Psych), Cognitive Science (First Class) (BSc Hons) and Theology MA (First Class, Oxford University)
Tooled Up News
Hot off the press! The results are in
The Tooled Up team have just returned from the IAPS National Conference in Bournemouth where our founder, Dr Weston, presented a keynote speech on the findings of a staff survey that was jointly commissioned by IAPS and Tooled Up. The survey provided a snapshot of how staff were feeling during a particular period of time back in May (13-31st 2021). Fourteen months into the pandemic, 86 questions explored the following areas
Celebrating a summer of play
Our Researcher of the Month, Professor Helen Dodd, has recently launched a new campaign called #SummerOfPlay, which Tooled Up Education is pleased to support. The Summer of Play campaign, coordinated by Playfirst UK, Save the Children, Play England, Play Scotland, Play Wales, Playboard Northern Ireland, and others, is appealing for a major national effort to get children playing this summer, in order to bolster wellbeing and reduce the risk of any long-term impact on children’s development as a result of recent lockdowns.
Without a little bit of planning, #schoolholidays can whizz by. Encourage #children to make the most of them by setting a few goals! Use this template to work out what you’d all like to spend time doing over the break.
#halfterm #parentingtips
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/school-holiday-planner/
We, the #TooledUp team, wish everyone in our Tooled Up community a wonderful and restful #halfterm break! #Parent, staff or #child - you all deserve a great #holiday 🥳
Very excited to soon be in conversation with @Parentengage of @TooledUpTips
Taking place online on Thursday 4 November, I’ll be discussing what #parents, carers and professionals need to know about #children and their relationship with #fire
Do join us
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tooled-up-education-and-joanna-foster-childrens-relationship-with-fire-tickets-194411168037?aff=estw&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-source=tw&utm-term=listing
Once online, it’s impossible to shield children entirely from seeing inappropriate content. But there are tools which can help! We outlined instructions for settings on common devices & provide a list of apps that can help to protect our children online:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/protecting-children-from-inappropriate-content-online/
Dear criminology colleagues @BritSocCrim @criminology @OxfordCrim @SAGEcriminology , please spread the word about this brilliant webinar coming up soon with author/expert, @fabtic_ltd - it's going to be a good one!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tooled-up-education-and-joanna-foster-childrens-relationship-with-fire-tickets-194411168037
We are so happy to announce that with @NotreDameCobham another brilliant #school has decided to join the Tooled Up community. #TooledUp Schools subscribe to evidence-based approaches and believe in engaging & working with parents in partnership to help children thrive.
"‘Tis the season of mellow fruitfulness and… prospective school tours." - This week's Wednesday Wisdom is out now. Have a read at:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/wisdom/deciding-whats-best/
Have you had a chance to check out our #parenting question of the week yet? Read Dr Kathy Weston's @Parentengage advice here:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/parenting-question-of-the-week/how-can-i-help-my-son-to-make-more-friends-and-feel-less-left-out/
Note that you're always welcome to send Dr Weston your own question! More information on how to do so can be found on our website
In anticipation of our upcoming #mentalhealtheducation week, we'd like to share yet another expert profile with you: Professor Ellen Townsend @SelfHarmRes, one of the national experts on self-harm. #TooledUp parents can find more information on our website.
We are so happy to share with you that two more brilliant schools of the @MethodyBelfast have decided to join the #TooledUp community!
Holly Cram @AspireUSA1 works with young athletes from the UK & Europe, helping them to access sport scholarship opportunities in the USA. You can view our webinar recording with Holly where she talks about parenting strategies, building resilience & more! https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/excellence-in-sport-boosting-young-athletes-emotional-and-physical-resilience/
Thanks @TooledUpTips for featuring this important study! Had a great time chatting about the importance of mental health literacy. https://twitter.com/TooledUpTips/status/1448576175639498753
We're absolutely thrilled to announce that @n_trompeter is our new #researcher of the month! Read more about her work on #EatingDisorder symptoms and the need to increase #MentalHealthLiteracy here: https://www.tooledupeducation.com/research/nora/
We're absolutely thrilled to announce that @n_trompeter is our new #researcher of the month! Read more about her work on #EatingDisorder symptoms and the need to increase #MentalHealthLiteracy here: https://www.tooledupeducation.com/research/nora/
Absolutely living for @TooledUpTips (Tooled Up Education) right now! Post Parents Evening, I have a tonne of info, articles and resources at my fingertips to share with parents with a whole host of things such as anxiety, focus and even times tables!! Thank you @Parentengage
Our founder, @parentengage is excited to launch Tooled Up at @mcbdowney @mcbfullerton tomorrow evening! After her talk, parents will be given *full access* to the resource library and free access to all TUE webinars. Parents. register using the link circulated by your school.
This week's Wednesday Wisdom is out now! Check it out at:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/wisdom/trick-or-truth/
Taking place tonight at 7.30pm! Get your FREE tickets 👇. Looking forward to chatting in-depth about #genderstereotypes and how best to challenge them,
@TooledUpTips 😊 https://twitter.com/LiftingLimitsUK/status/1447864602759413760
Tomorrow, Kirsty, our Head of Education, will be chatting to Dr. Kathy Weston from @TooledUpTips about why #genderstereotypes matter and how to challenge them. Still time to get your tickets: https://bit.ly/3zatqjJ
#genderequality #genderstereotypes #raisinggirls #raisingboys
Looking forward to our webinar tonight on gender stereotyping and how to challenge it with @LiftingLimitsUK hope to see many parents and staff from our TUE community there, so please spread the word @HarrisOckendon @belfasthighsch1 @NLCS1850 @habsboys @habsgirlsschool
Looking forward to our free webinar tonight on gender stereotyping and how to challenge it with @LiftingLimitsUK hope to see many parents and staff from our TUE community there, so spread the word @AbbotsHill @Roundwood_Park @MethodyBelfast @willingtonprep @StChrisNW3 @BWPSchool
Starting school is a big step for children, so help your child feel school-ready by completing our exciting sticker challenge! We’ve worked with early years experts to come up with tasks for them to try that will encourage independence and spark curiosity: https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/school-readiness-sticker-trail/
UPDATE 📢 This talk has been changed to an online webinar - check your emails for more information! @BWPSchool
We're very excited about tomorrow's #talk on evidence-based strategies for busy #parents, where our founder @Parentengage will be speaking to @BWPSchool parents #live!
@JStone_247 @ajhand_97 @SinhLu3 @MonashSleepLab @turnerinstitute Do suggest they apply to join our Tooled Up Researcher Scheme that offers them free promotion and dissemination of academic work across school communities. See: https://www.tooledupeducation.com/become-a-tooled-up-research-partner/
Yet another benefit of being a Tooled Up parent in a 'Tooled Up' School, you get to come to events like this! *for free*.
Tomorrow, Kirsty, our Head of Education, will be chatting to Dr. Kathy Weston from @TooledUpTips about why #genderstereotypes matter and how to challenge them. Still time to get your tickets: https://bit.ly/3zatqjJ
#genderequality #genderstereotypes #raisinggirls #raisingboys
Tomorrow, Kirsty, our Head of Education, will be chatting to Dr. Kathy Weston from @TooledUpTips about why #genderstereotypes matter and how to challenge them. Still time to get your tickets: https://bit.ly/3zatqjJ
#genderequality #genderstereotypes #raisinggirls #raisingboys
We're very excited about tomorrow's #talk on evidence-based strategies for busy #parents, where our founder @Parentengage will be speaking to @BWPSchool parents #live!
Ever wondered what you can be doing at home that can better enable children to thrive at school?
Beechwood parents are invited to hear Dr Kathy Weston share evidence-based strategies, live at Beechwood on Tuesday evening.
Reserve your seat via the link in Friday's newsletter.
At 7.30pm tonight our Head of Nutrition Dan, will be taking part in a nutrition seminar hosted by @tooleduptips!
If you are interested in attending tonight’s seminar tickets are available on the @tooleduptips website - http://www.tooledupeducation.com
#nutrition#nutritioneducation
Don't forget to book your place for our @TooledUpTips Launch Webinar: Optimal Ways to Support Your Child's Mental Health, Resilience and Ability to Thrive Academically, this Thursday at 7pm.
http://ow.ly/38uB50GdAoS
#downeyhouse #prepschool #tooleduptips
We already knew this at Tooled Up, which is why we created a video on increasing girls' participation in sport and have numerous resources within our library promoting sport activity and body image. Here for you, here for families. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58841868
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If you are interested in learning more about Tooled Up Education, have a technical question, press enquiry or any other query, please follow the link below or get in touch with Dr Weston’s team on email: office@tooledupeducation.com