Tooled Up Member Webinars
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
Tooth Trouble
It’s that time of year again, when my children and I troop off to see the dentist for our six-monthly check and clean (though I must admit that our appointments are a smidgen late due to an overpacked schedule before the holidays).
Top Parenting Question of the Week
My daughter does a number of extracurricular activities throughout the week after school. How do I know if it is the right amount? She is starting to resist going to one class and there are lots of battles about it. How should I respond?
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
Dr Rachel Nesbit, Postdoctoral Research Fellow based in the Children and Young People’s Mental Health (ChYMe) Research Collaboration at the University of Exeter
University
University of Exeter
Research Interests
Dr Nesbit has a broad interest in developmental psychology, childhood mental health and play. She is currently researching the barriers and facilitators to adventurous play in schools, with the aim to inform school-based interventions.
Adventurous play is associated with many positive outcomes, but the barriers and facilitators of adventurous play opportunities in schools have, until now, been unclear. In an aim to change this, Dr Nesbit and co-authors systematically reviewed nine international studies, highlighting key factors to be adults’ perceptions of children, adults’ attitudes and beliefs about adventurous play, and their concerns about health, safety and legislation. The paper makes various recommendations for interventions, training and policy changes.
Risky or adventurous play has a range of benefits for children’s health, behaviour and development, but there is evidence that access to this kind of play is declining. This may have a detrimental impact on children’s physical and mental health and their ability to judge risk effectively.
The authors reviewed nine qualitative papers on play to evaluate barriers and facilitators to this kind of play in schools. They found that adults often hold positive beliefs about the benefits of adventurous play. However, they are also frequently uncertain about how to supervise risky play, which often leads them to intervene in ways which limit children’s experience. Findings indicate that adults often don’t consider children able to judge risk effectively or initiate play themselves. Staff are frequently concerned about the consequences of adventurous play going wrong, including the reactions of parents and judgement from outside agencies.
The study points to the need for a whole school approach to adventurous play, including parents and caretakers. Strong leadership and effective training are necessary to ensure that all staff are equipped with knowledge and understanding about how rules and practices affect children’s play.
Dr Nesbit’s study gives several explicit recommendations for policy and practice and concludes that training is vital.
Training must address anxieties and uncertainties around accountability and duty of care, and support staff to evaluate risks and hazards effectively. It should educate staff about the benefits of adventurous play and focus on children’s skills and capabilities in play, including their ability to judge risk. It should also inform staff about how intervening in, or directing, children’s play can limit their engagement and experience. Staff should be encouraged to reflect on the impact of their current practice. Engagement with parents about the school’s approach to adventurous play is likely to be beneficial.
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.
Tooled Up founder Dr Kathy Weston's @Parentengage quote of the week. Research shows that knowledge of #family history is significantly correlated with higher self-esteem, better family-functioning and lower levels of anxiety in #children - find out more: https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/my-family-tree/
You should really check out this brilliant video by the Centre for #Educational #Neuroscience @UoL_CEN - it aims to raise awareness of misconceptions related to #dyslexia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaULXRX9o1E
@sabilahe @CamEdFac @baicenews @REAL_Centre @CEID_IOE @PEDALCam We can't seem to send a direct message - can you please email us the details: research@tooledupeducation.com
This week's Wednesday Wisdom it out now! Tooth Trouble - read all about it here:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/wisdom/tooth-trouble/
We are so happy to welcome yet another brilliant #school to the Tooled Up community: @HabsHTGFS 🥳
@mcbdowney How lovely! Imaginative play, adventurous play are all critical for children's emotional and physical development. Parents can read more about the value of different types of play in our Tooled Up library.
@rachelnesbit We have already shared your recent paper and its findings in our Tooled Up parent talks. Thank you and we look forward to staying in touch with all your exciting work.
@HabsHTGFS @Parentengage loved every minute of the launch and particularly enjoyed hearing about your pupils' exciting range of hobbies and interests 😀
Good news, but schools can't wait for advice and resources to support students and their families. That's why we have plenty of evidence-based advice on self-harm in our digital library accessible now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60026475
Excited to announce our new Researcher of the Month: @rachelnesbit has a broad interest in developmental psychology, childhood mental health and play. She is currently researching barriers & facilitators to adventurous play in schools, aiming to inform school-based interventions.
Playtime: Is it time we took 'play' more seriously? - Did you know that you can find resources on the importance of play in the Tooled Up library? Simply type "play" into the search bar to find expert interviews on the topic and more!
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59950823
We are very excited to announce the third #school that has joined us this week: @EtonEndSchool is part of the #TooledUp schools community now 🥳
Why we do what we do @TooledUpTips https://twitter.com/IWFhotline/status/1481642653439561734
IWF CEO Susie Hargreaves OBE, on today's announcement of record numbers of images and videos taken down, said that “one good conversation" between a child and their parents can "make all the difference" in stopping a "lifetime of hurt.” https://news.sky.com/story/record-levels-of-child-sexual-abuse-online-in-2021-internet-watchdog-finds-12514679
We're proud to present lunchtime CPD talks for staff in Tooled Up Schools...on.. spotting eating disorders in school, talking to teens about sexual health and effective parent partnerships. Hosted by @parentengage and expert clinicians. See: http://www.tooledupeducation.com
@zara_kyris Thank you for the wonderful feedback!
This week's Wednesday Wisdom is out now! You can read all about it here:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/wisdom/challenge-accepted/
We have been busy at Tooled Up Towers this week, advertising an exciting new carousel of webinars for Tooled Up staff and parents (see front of site), publishing Wednesday Wisdom, chatting to schools about what they need and launching *four* new schools. #wehavegotthis
We are so excited to announce that @HallfieldSchool has joined the Tooled Up #schools community as well!
Visit our website, to see all Tooled Up schools and to find out how to become one: http://www.tooledupeducation.com
Thank you to Dr Kathy @TooledUpTips for an excellent presentation this evening to @HallfieldSchool parents. We’re really excited about working with you and developing our children’s resilience!
We're absolutely thrilled to welcome Holland House School into our Tooled Up community! Click this link to find out how your #school can become a Tooled Up school as well: https://tooledupeducation.com/how-to-get-tooled-up/
Research shows that when we set our own personal goals and find purpose and meaning in tasks, we are less reliant on social inclusion or feedback from others as levers for self-esteem!
Encouraging children to be purposeful and set some achievable goals for the year is a great way to help them build self-confidence. Tooled Up #parents can download our 2022 Goal Setting Planner for their #child and help them set goals for the year ahead:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/2022-goal-setting-planner/
Don’t miss the tomorrow’s webinar on “Transforming Children & Young People's Mental Health Services”!
Register here:https://bit.ly/330HCBj
@CYPMentalHealth @YouthAccess @TooledUpTips @JPFaulconbridge @Feganscharity https://twitter.com/PublicPolicyEx/status/1479137825647996933
Discuss the impact of the pandemic on child mental health, examine strategies for prevention, early intervention and improving collaboration.
Join us on Tuesday for our event “Transforming Children & Young People's Mental Health Services”
Register here:https://bit.ly/330HCBj
We love Tooled Up and their resources! Some great tips here as schools start again. https://twitter.com/TooledUpTips/status/1479459452365557760
When children have ‘wobbles’, or anxieties, one of the best ways to overcome them is to take gradual steps towards having a go at the thing that worries them. This Wobble Ladder is a useful tool for setting out small, step by step goals:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/wobble-ladder/
When children have ‘wobbles’, or anxieties, one of the best ways to overcome them is to take gradual steps towards having a go at the thing that worries them. This Wobble Ladder is a useful tool for setting out small, step by step goals:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/wobble-ladder/
If you are feeling a little bit wobbly at the start of the year, we understand. We even have a resource that might help you identify what you are feeling wobbly about and give you something to talk over with a kind and understanding friend...#January2022 #inittogether
2022's first Wednesday Wisdom came out yesterday! You can read the full issue here:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/wisdom/soothing-self-talk/
Our stunning new planner is has just been freshly added to our library - and is hopefully a welcome addition to those family chats around goal setting in the New Year. Enjoy!
New Year's resolutions like organising your home are a brilliant way to start 2022. As well as aesthetic benefits, clearing clutter from our environments can actually make us more productive. See professional organiser Tracy Ross' @BlissfullyOrg top tips:
https://www.tooledupeducation.com/resource/top-tips-for-organising-your-home-expert-advice-from-tracy-ross/
Wishing you a happy festive season from all at Tooled Up ♥️
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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