Certificate in Effective Communication and Managing Difficult Conversations for Frontline Staff

Course Duration: 2 hours 53 minutes (approx.)

Frontline staff must be confident in dealing with difficult situations in the school environment, including their interactions with parents, leadership teams and each other. By understanding how to handle difficult conversations, staff can resolve and diffuse situations effectively. This ensures that schools maintain excellent customer service and a positive external image.

This essential CPD course provides you with the core content you need to ensure you understand how to manage difficult situations and tackle difficult conversations using effective communication techniques confidently.

Split into bite-size modules, the training has been designed to provide maximum learning potential in the leanest, most cost effective and most time-efficient manner. It has been produced in high quality remote video CPD format which is accessible on any device, anytime, anywhere.

Delivered by Stephen Burnage, a school leadership specialist and expert practitioner with over 25 years’ teaching experience, the course has been divided into seven modules with a knowledge assessment at the end to help you evidence your learning.

Designed in line with the following guidance:

• Ofsted School Inspection Handbook 2019

Learning outcomes

• Evidencing the three Is of intent, implementation and impact and supporting positive behaviours for staff and student wellbeing.
• Knowing how to identify and appropriately address ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ issues through using opening lines, applying interaction strategies and de-escalation techniques.
• Developing skills in assertiveness, evidence gathering, effective questioning and target setting to tackle complacency and underachievement.
• Understanding how to offer success-based solutions and develop win-win outcomes.
• Knowing how to evidence the effective leadership of challenging behaviours while putting staff and student wellbeing at the forefront.

Modules

Module 1: Effective communication

Module one will explore the critical components of effective communication, how to become an engaged listener using nonverbal signs and managing stress, and positively communicate and build relationships with difficult people by understanding barriers to effective communication.

Module 2: Avoiding aggression and defensiveness

Module two shows the benefits of using evidence-based conversations to diffuse aggression and defensive feelings and how to engage anger management techniques to de-escalate aggression and defensiveness during a difficult conversation.

Module 3: Confidently tackling difficult situations

This module offers practical tools and techniques to enable both parties to reach a ‘win-win’ situation after a difficult conversation. It shows examples of languages that calm, deflect and resolve difficult situations and covers how, when and why saying ‘no’ can be beneficial.

Module 4: Developing empathy and resilience

Module four covers how to recognise and combat stress in the workplace to develop a calmer, constructive and positive environment. This module demonstrates the importance of developing confidence, resilience, and empathy to lead to more positive outcomes for all.

Module 5: Defining your customers

Module five explores how effective communication can add value to the school and the importance of providing a quality service to parents and visitors. It also addresses how to define and know your customers and how controlling your instinctive reactions can help you handle difficult situations.

Module 6: Positive communication

Module six explores what positive communication looks like in practice and how customers' needs can inform this. It explores case studies and shows how to apply the Magnificent 7 tips for great communication.

Module 7: Summary

The final module will provide a re-cap of the course and provide a review of the learning outcomes and effective strategies that have been covered.