Thank a Trainer: Barbara Davis

"You're never too old to learn new things" 

Each month, we celebrate the valuable role our Thrive trainers play and share messages of thanks from the delegates they've supported. 

Thank a Trainer Interview: Barbara Davis

Q1. Please tell us about your career journey and what led you to becoming a trainer for Thrive.

I have worked across all phases of education in one guise or another, I even did a year in social care. However, my time in East Sussex was what really directed me to my current role.

Whilst working for the Virtual School in East Sussex, I was incredibly lucky to be able to access a huge amount of training which really rekindled my love of learning (you’re never too old to learn new things!).

When I was introduced to the Thrive Approach, to say I was excited would be an understatement.

I completed my Childhood Licensed Practitioner training and immediately wanted to learn more, so I signed up to the Adolescent Conversion course and later completed Course Leader for Family Thrive training. The training was invaluable as it meant I could work with all ages of children along with their foster parents.

Not content with reaching what was now a larger group of people, I wanted more. Becoming a Thrive trainer seemed like the obvious progression.

I took the brave step to become freelance in 2017, offering my services to several local schools as a Thrive practitioner and advisor along with my Thrive trainer work.

Q2. How do you feel about being thanked by your course delegates for the role you’ve played in their development?

Being a Thrive trainer always feels such a privilege. It is wonderful to know that I can play my part in my delegates’ development towards becoming a Thrive practitioner.

I am sure I am not alone in saying that we don’t do this role to be thanked, we do it because we want to make a difference to children’s lives! However, having an acknowledgment of the knowledge I have shared with my delegates is deeply appreciated and gives me huge feelings of pride in the work that we do at Thrive.

Q3. How does this nomination remind you of the impact you are having on the social and emotional development of children and young people?

For someone to take the time out of their already busy lives to nominate me is such an honour and truly warms my heart.  If they are bothering to thank me, I can only imagine how much they care about the children and young people in their settings.

Q4. What about the schools your Thrive delegates work in? Can you share any examples of how they’ve been able to reduce exclusions, boost attendance or improve learning engagement and outcomes for the children and young people in their care?

During the training you hear such fabulous stories from delegates when they realise that using the Thrive Approach really works.

This particular story is one that I love to share (this lady knows who she is!):

At the start of the training, I had asked everyone their reason for being on the course. One lady sat with her arms folded and replied, “not sure really, but you need to convince me I am not wasting my time!”.

I took a deep breath and continued, thankful for my secure stress regulation system! By the end of day 2 I had shared some of the neuroscience behind Thrive and how to use PACE and the VRFs.

Day 3 came around and this lady practically ran into the room saying, “it really works, and I totally love everything already, I can’t wait to learn more!”. She went on to explain how she had supported a very dysregulated little girl using the VRFs and for the first time this little girl was not excluded. 

Her setting trained more staff, hosted courses and delivered Family Thrive sessions. At the time, the school was graded as ‘Requires Improvement’ by Ofsted, however they are now an ‘Outstanding’ school as well as a Thrive Ambassador School. I am so proud to have been part of their Thrive journey.

Q5. Why should people consider becoming a Thrive trainer? What’s been the most rewarding aspect for you?

Over to you

Each month, Thrive will be inviting you to thank a trainer who has consistently demonstrated a high degree of excellence and delegate care. If you've experienced Thrive training and you’d like to thank your trainer, please do so here. If you're already a Thrive Licensed Practitioner and interested in learning more about becoming a Licensed Trainer, click here for the detail and to book or here to book a 20-minute Discovery Call with Jo Glazier from our Member Services Team. These calls are designed to fit in around your schedule and to give you an opportunity to have your questions answered. We want you to spend your time, your money and your energy wisely so Jo won't sell to you - but she'll help you decide whether or not our transformational Train the Trainer course is a fit.