Life Long Learning Webinar Series, with Will Thomas
Our focus as an organisation is providing access to education for all children everywhere. The partners and teachers we work with are doing amazing work across the globe. We are trialling ways to share some of this learning so it’s available to an ever-widening audience. Introducing the Life Long Learning Webinar Series.
Our Life Long Learning Webinar Series starts on the 9th September with
A short introduction to Trauma-informed Practice with Will Thomas
We are living in the strangest of times, some of our coping mechanisms have been tested to the limits over the last few months. As educators, parents, students and just human beings, we have adjusted, mostly we have found our own rhythm and a new way of embracing life but what about the trauma brought about by COVID19?
How do we feel? Who do we talk to?
What is trauma?
Trauma is the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences. It does not discriminate and it is pervasive throughout the world.
While there are no objective criteria to evaluate which events will cause post-trauma symptoms, circumstances typically involve the loss of control, betrayal, abuse of power, helplessness, pain, confusion and/or loss. The event need not rise to the level of war, natural disaster, nor personal assault to affect a person profoundly and alter their experiences. Traumatic situations that cause post-trauma symptoms vary quite dramatically from person to person. Indeed, it is very subjective and it is important to bear in mind that it is defined more by its response than its trigger.
During this time of the COVID19 pandemic one thing that we can be certain of is that trauma is affecting many people across the globe. Will Thomas with his experience of working in the UK and Internationally has put together some tips that may help us all to cope with these challenging times.
A short introduction to Trauma-informed Practice
Aimed primarily at practitioners who work with people who have experienced emotional trauma, this short introduction covers some of the basics and may also be of benefit to those dealing with personal trauma.
There has been a groundswell of understanding about how the human nervous system responds to abuse, neglect and traumatising experiences, in recent years. The result is a very strong evidence base for understanding how trauma is created and how it can be treated and supported. This short webinar will help you understand something of the nature of trauma, how it can be treated using somatic-psychotherapeutic approaches and what can practically be done in non-clinical settings to support people with trauma.
Register Here:
At the Foundation we have been talking about ways in which we can support each other to cope with this everchanging environment and we have been sharing ideas with our colleagues, partners, parents and students too.
We think this is a timely and important webinar to start off our Life Long Learning Webinar Series and we hope you do too.
In the meantime, here are some articles we hope maybe of interest to you:
Eight ways to help children prepare
Listening grandmothers
I recently followed up a BBC World Service programmme that a friend heard in the middle of the night on 'Listening grandmothers' - very interesting. A bit on the model of the Chinese 'Barefoot Doctor' but less medical, this is a means developed in Zimbabwe to help people with depression who have few alternative sources of help. Amid successive traumas, Zimbabwe's 16m people have only 12 psychiatrists. The scheme is called 'The Friendship Bench', is free, and involves some 400 grandmothers in talk therapy with depressed people. The therapy is 'rooted in evidence-based therapy but equally rooted in indigenous concepts'. Proved to be effective though a randomised controlled trial, the concept is translatable to other settings, and there are Friendship Benches in deprived areas of New York. If you are interested, here is an account of it:
Cultivating Girls resilience by Dr Kathy Weston
Read the article on page 8 of the latest edition of Engage.
The Steve Sinnott Foundation • September 3, 2020
We have partnered with Octopus Legacies to offer all of our supporters a free and easily accessible way of writing your will. When you write your will, you’re shaping the story of your life and you have the power to make that story continue. By taking up our free will offer and leaving a gift to The Steve Sinnott Foundation, you can help ensure that children and teachers around the world continue to have access to the education and training that they need. The offer of a free will helps you to plan for the future with ease and reassurance, ensuring loved ones are cared for while also creating a meaningful legacy. It’s a simple, accessible way to do something that feels personally fulfilling and socially impactful. Leave a legacy — help education flourish for generations to come As part of the free will writing process, we hope you will consider leaving a legacy gift to the Foundation. Leaving a legacy gift ensures that your values live on by supporting the Foundation’s mission to advance quality education for all. Your gift can help transform lives, enabling children, teachers, and communities around the world to access learning opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach and make a lasting impact on global education. Why leave a legacy gift? 1. Make a lasting impact on global education Your legacy can open classroom doors, train teachers, and empower communities through the gift of learning. Every legacy, large or small, helps to build a world where everyone has the chance to learn and thrive. 2. Reflect your values and inspire others Your will is a reflection of what matters most to you. By including The Steve Sinnott Foundation, supporters can express their belief in fairness, opportunity, and the power of education to change lives long after their own lifetime and inspire future generations. 3. Peace of mind with a free, professional will Through our free will offer, you can write or update your will with trusted professionals at no cost to you. It’s an easy, reassuring way to care for your loved ones and make a meaningful difference to others at the same time. Your gift will: Provide access to quality education for all children Support teachers and educators around the world Promote gender equality and inclusive education Strengthen communities through knowledge and opportunity Take the next step Leaving a legacy is simple and it starts with a conversation. Find out more about our free will offer Contact our friendly team at www.octopuslegacy.com/will/ssf to learn how you can create your will and make a lasting difference through education.
In its 2024 election manifesto, the Labour Party pledged to, ‘...rebuild Britain’s reputation on international development with a new approach based on genuine respect and partnership with the Global South’. The National Education Union (NEU) warmly welcomed this new approach and the opportunities it presented to tackle the global teacher shortage. Just as thousands of additional teachers are required in the UK, millions more teachers are needed globally. 44 million additional teachers must be recruited by 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals for education, including 15 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone. A promise in peril Just over a year into office, the Labour government’s commitment to rebuilding trust and relationships with the Global South is in jeopardy. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to reduce the UK aid budget to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027 — to fund increased defence spending — has been condemned by humanitarian organisations as, ‘...cruel and shameful.’ Governments across the Global South, including a group of African education ministers, have also urged the UK to rethink its cuts. The consequences of UK aid spending retreating to its lowest level in almost thirty years are already being felt. Schools are closing, teachers are going unpaid, and students are at risk of dropping out of education permanently. In South Sudan, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has cancelled its flagship girls’ education programme, which had quadrupled girls’ enrolment in school, reaching over 1.2 million girls with cash transfers, helping them to enrol in school and complete their secondary education. Rethinking the cuts As the UK redefines its aid spending priorities, the NEU is calling on the UK government to sustain funding for education in emergencies and prioritise investment in teachers in emergency contexts. Evidence shows that teachers are the single most important factor in children’s learning and recovery. In emergencies their role is even more vital. In addition to teaching, they are frontline professionals, supporting children’s psychological needs and fostering an environment of safety, belonging and routine. Despite their indispensable role, teachers in crisis contexts face severe challenges including low or no pay, threats to their safety and wellbeing, and little or no access to professional development and support. Pupil-teacher ratios often exceed 80:1 or even 120:1, and there is an acute shortage of female teachers. Prioritise teachers to unlock education in emergencies To mark World Teachers’ Day 2025, the NEU published a new policy briefing urging the UK Government to prioritise teachers across its policy, programming and financing. This means committing to advance the rights, working conditions, and supply of qualified teachers in emergency and protracted crises, ensuring that they are trained, paid, protected, and supported. Achieving this is impossible without genuine international partnership. Fragile, conflict-affected, and refugee-hosting countries need sustained cooperation and support to implement strategies that address teacher shortages and uphold teachers’ rights. The role of the wider international community is also crucial. The UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, established by the Secretary-General, highlighted the urgent need for donors to work together on sustainable, long-term mechanisms to ensure the timely and adequate payment of teacher salaries in crises. The UK Government has a key role to play, by providing both financial and technical support. To unlock the transformative power of education, in Palestine, Ukraine, and every place where children’s futures hang in the balance, we must put teachers and partnerships at the heart of the UK’s global education and development agenda. Read the NEU’s new policy briefing at www.neu.org.uk/about/international BY Oliver Mawhinney International Policy Specialist at the National Education Union
In our continued commitment to ensuring quality and inclusive education for every child, we’ve taken our advocacy to a new level by empowering the next generation to lead the conversation. In partnership with The Gambia Teachers’ Union, we recently convened The Foundation’s Young Ambassadors for a vibrant day of engagement dedicated to promoting the right to education for all. The event brought together passionate students from selected senior secondary schools across Region 1, including St. John’s School for the Deaf, to explore what it truly means to make education inclusive, equitable, and accessible to every learner.
