Latest news
New! Dyslexia: Promoting reading for all. A new webinar from OLT
Date 17th May 2023
Enjoyed our recent dyslexia webinar with Dr Helen Ross? Then why not join us for our upcoming webinar session? To celebrate dyslexia awareness month this October, we’ll be joined by Dr Joanna Stanbridge (Senior Educational Psychologist for Cognition & Learning, East Cambridgeshire) for part 2 of our Dyslexia: supporting able reading and writing webinar series: Dyslexia and Literacy Difficu...
Autism Acceptance Month 2023: a free toolkit for schools
Date 21st Mar 2023
As we approach Autism Acceptance Month in April 2023, it’s important to recognise the importance of creating an inclusive environment for students with autism in our schools. It also gives us the opportunity to raise awareness, promote acceptance, and empower students with autism to reach their full potential. To celebrate, we're sharing a free Understanding Autism toolkit, which provides ...
Let's connect: children's mental health week. Your free teacher toolkit.
Date 2nd Feb 2023
Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 takes place this year from 6 – 12th February 2023, and for schools across the UK, it marks an opportunity to focus on the importance of making meaningful connections that support good mental health and wellbeing. The theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Let’s connect, so, download our free toolkit of targeted resources below and dis...
Your International Stress Awareness Week Toolkit
Date 4th Nov 2022
International Stress Awareness Week 2022 takes place this year from 7th - 11 November, and for schools across the UK, it marks an opportunity to focus on the importance of good mental health and wellbeing. The theme for this year’s International Stress Awareness Week is Resilience: the power to succeed, so, we’re sharing this toolkit of targeted resources, to help schools highlight the theme of...
Top 5 resources for Dyslexia awareness month
Date 28th Sep 2022
With Dyslexia awareness month only a few days away, we’d like to highlight just how exceptional 2022 has been for the dyslexic community: Firstly, 2022 was the year that LinkedIn, the world’s largest careers platform, added Dyslexic Thinking as a skill on their platform. Now, over 10,000 people have proudly added Dyslexic Thinking as a skill on LinkedIn. Secondly, the term “Dyslexic Thinkin...
How to manage persistent disruptive behaviour in the classroom. Enrol and save 49%
Date 13th Sep 2022
Concerned about persistent disruptive behaviour in your school or setting? During 2020/21, the DFE reported persistent disruptive behaviour as the main factor behind 3,900 permanent exclusions and 352,500 suspensions in UK schools. In response to this and to further support educators in understanding and managing behaviour we have launched our 3-part expert webinar to help you discover how t...
Enrol in the SEND Summer challenge for a chance to win a £30 Amazon voucher
Date 9th Aug 2022
Summer is here, and to celebrate we've launched the OLT 30 days of summer challenge! To take part, simply enrol in one or more of our webinars or free short courses between August 1st - 31st and further unlock your understanding of SEND! Whether you are a busy parent / carer looking for further support or part of a school or larger organisation looking to strengthen your knowledge ahead of...
Transforming education with The Golden Teacher
Date 7th Jul 2022
Originally launched by OLT, following advice from UNESCO in 2013, The Golden Teacher (GT) was developed as part of a commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Now established as a charitable incorporated organisation, independent of OLT, the GT seeks to transform education and reach as many teachers as possible in developing countries. This is part of a social commitment ...
Changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2022: What you need to know
Date 27th Jun 2022
The Department for Education (DfE) has published updated guidance for Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE). This new guidance will come into force on 1 September 2022. It sets out the legal duties that must be fulfilled to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and college. This guidance is for: senior leadership teams governi...
Have your say: Ofsted launch formal consultation around local SEND inspections
Date 17th Jun 2022
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have launched a consultation to seek feedback from those who have experience with or expertise relating to, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Ofsted and CQC are welcoming views on their proposed changes to the way they jointly inspect area SEND arrangements. All feedback collated will be used to help them refine their plans and dra...
Visit us at the 2022 Inclusion and Wellbeing MENA conference!
Date 13th May 2022
We’re excited to announce that OLT will be presenting at the 4th annual Inclusion and Wellbeing MENA conference in Dubai. Taking place from 17th – 18th May 2022, this two-day event gathers experts within the SEND community together for two days of ideas, inspiration, networking and innovation. What to expect: Day one will focus on leading and developing inclusion to ensure impact. Lead ...
Save the date: 10th May. Gwyn McCormack returns with a new webinar on vision impairment. Register now!
Date 20th Apr 2022
Following a highly popular and successful webinar back in November 2021, OLT are excited to welcome back leading vision impairment specialist and director of Positive Eye Gwyn McCormack for a new live session on vision impairment (VI). About this event: Title: Learning to Access: Models of Opportunity (for children and young people with vision impairment) Host: Gwyn McCormack Date: May 10th ...
Get ready for Autism Acceptance Week (March 28th - April 3rd) with our top 5 resources
Date 25th Mar 2022
Did you know that one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK? With both world autism acceptance week and autism awareness month taking place from March 28th onwards and continuing throughout April, we’re sharing our five most popular resources for teachers, parents, and carers to help raise awareness and offer support childre...
'Change the D’s in ADHD' with our new live webinar
Date 3rd Mar 2022
‘Distractable, Difficult and Defiant’. When we think of ADHD we can often associate it with a challenge, so join behaviour expert Fin O Regan this March and discover how you can turn this challenge into an opportunity! With our new webinar ‘Changing the D’s in ADHD’ learning and behaviour specialist Fin O’Regan will change how you think about ADHD. Aimed at newly qualified, experienced teach...
Now available on catch up! Conflict management in schools: strategies for working with pupils and parents in challenging situations
Date 18th Feb 2022
We’re excited to announce that our latest webinar with Dr Jane Calcutt ‘Conflict management in schools: strategies for working with pupils and parents in challenging situations’ is now available to view on catch up! To view, simply click the link below to watch it for FREE! WATCH NOW What you’re saying about our webinar: We’ve had some fantastic feedback following this session, including an...
Growing together. Join us for children’s mental health week 2022
Date 28th Jan 2022
It may be Children’s Mental Health Week from 7th - 13 February, but here at OLT we believe it’s essential to provide support for children’s mental health all year round. A massive 1 in 6 children and young people are reported to have a diagnosable mental health problem, and without help, many continue to struggle with these problems into adulthood. The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Hea...
Book now! Conflict management webinar with Dr Jane Calcutt
Date 17th Jan 2022
We’re excited to announce that the next session in our popular ‘Access to learning’ webinar series: Conflict management in schools is scheduled to take place on 16 February 2022. In this free, 90-minute webinar, Dr Jane Calcutt will explore the impact of conflict (and emotional investment) on parent/pupil-teacher relationships and learning and development opportunities. The webinar is aimed at ...
New NAHT survey reveals ‘insufficient’ funding for learners with SEND
Date 10th Sep 2021
A new survey from the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) published in September 2021 has highlighted significant funding concerns for schools, particularly around learners with SEND. The survey features responses collected from over 1,500 school leaders in England and reveals that England’s school children are suffering from the government’s ‘failure to invest’ through a ‘chronic under...
Latest DFE update to COVID-19 contingency framework
Date 20th Aug 2021
In preparation for the Autumn term, The Department for Education (DFE) has updated its Covid contingency framework for schools with suggestions on how and when to tackle outbreaks. Updated on August 17th, the framework describes the principles of managing local outbreaks of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in education and childcare settings. This covers the types of measures that settings should be prep...
From Chaos to Calm: 2021 online SEND Conference. Book now
Date 13th Apr 2021
The COVID-19 virus pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for schools and colleges, as teaching staff moved to remote education with little preparation or training (Bubb & Jones, 2020). With the return to proximate learning on 8 March 2021, there has been widespread concern about the impact of closures not only on pupil progress and attainment (UK Gov, 2021) but also on their mental health and ...
Free mental health training for schools. Live webinar
Date 4th Mar 2021
With schools set to return on March 8th pupil wellbeing has become more of a priority than ever. But just how much has the pandemic impacted childrens' mental health? In recent research undertaken by Place2Be, which coincided with Children’s Mental Health Week, almost one in six (15%) parents rated their child’s mental health as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’, with 31% stating it is ‘worse’ or ‘much wor...
Flexible and Social Learning!
Date 25th Feb 2021
OLT has introduced some changes to course requirements, which you will now see in the Set Up a Cohort form. Participants are now expected to reply to posts in the forums. The default setting is 3 but you can opt to set the number from 2 - 11 replies. This change will help to increase the exchange and flow of ideas in the forums and will reward participants for replying to each other's posts. As a ...
Lost learning? DfE report shares pupils progress for the 2020 / 2021 academic year
Date 25th Feb 2021
The DfE have published a new research report presenting interim findings detailing the progress pupils have made during the 2020 to 2021 academic year. This research was commissioned by the DfE in 2020 estimate the impact of the disruption to schooling as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on that progress. The interim findings are based on more than 400,000 reading and maths as...
Fourth annual report. The state of children’s mental health services 2020-21
Date 3rd Feb 2021
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, has now published her fourth annual report on the current state of children’s mental health services in England. This report examines the progress that has been made over the past five years, including lack of adequate access to mental health services for children as well as looking at the impact of COVID-19 on children’s mental health (up t...
DFE back to school guidance for September. What you need to know.
Date 7th Jul 2020
New guidance from the Department for Education (DFE) regarding plans for the full re-opening of schools in September is now available for schools. The guidance published on 2 July includes details to help schools prepare for all children and young people to return to full-time education in the new academic year. It includes plans to: •lift current restrictions on group sizes to allow scho...
SEND Practice webinars from OLT available now on demand
Date 9th Jun 2020
Our first series of SEND Practice webinars may be over, but we’re excited to announce that all of our webinars are now available to view post event by clicking the webinar link in my hub. Created during the covid-19 crisis, for teaching professionals who work with young people/ children with SEND, including teachers, specialist teachers, and teaching support staff, the webinars offered a way t...
DFE guidance update. The wider opening of schools for SEND pupils.
Date 27th May 2020
As educational settings across the UK prepare for the return of pupils in Reception, year 1 and year 6 from 1st June, the Department for Education (DFE) has updated the guidance on 'Supporting children and young people with SEND as schools and colleges prepare for wider opening'. From 1st June, special schools and hospital schools are being asked to work towards a phased return of pupils but ...
Final Webinar date announced! Mental Health Designated lead in schools. Book now.
Date 21st Apr 2020
With COVID-19 social distancing and partial school closure, we understand that teachers are facing more complex challenges than ever before, including adjusting to smaller class sizes and/or delivering the national curricula online. Here at OLT, we have noted a significant rise in enquiries about how we can support the efforts of school/college leaders, which is why we’ve responded to these en...
Important information: Covid-19
Date 26th Mar 2020
During these difficult and uncertain times, we wanted to update our online community and provide you with some reassurance and support. It’s still very much business as usual for OLT, but we took the decision to close our office at the beginning of last week and have been working from home to keep our team and community safe. Rest assured you can contact us in just the same ways, and the se...
OnLineTraining set to attend Tes SEN North. Free registration now open.
Date 4th Mar 2020
Following the success of the London Tes SEN show, we are excited to announce that OLT will also be exhibiting at Tes SEN North, Manchester 2020. About Tes SEN North Taking place at the iconic Manchester Central on 24-25 April and now in its second year, Tes SEN North is the must attend event for everyone in the special needs community. Based on the best elements of the London show, Tes...
Children’s mental health week. Is your school ready? 2020 school leader survey results.
Date 3rd Feb 2020
Results of a new survey published by school leaders’ union NAHT and children’s mental health charity Place2Be reveal that the number of schools commissioning professional help for children’s mental health issues has increased significantly since 2016. In 2016, just over a third (36 per cent) of schools in England provided school-based support for students’ emotional and mental wellbeing. By 20...
World Mental Health Day 10th November 2019 Resources for schools and school leaders
Date 6th Nov 2019
Mental health and wellbeing should be ‘everybody’s business’ and with 50% of mental illnesses starting before the age of 14, teachers are often on the frontline when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. To mark World Mental Health Day on 10th October we’re sharing some practical and informative resources for primary school pupils and staff to help boost mental health. The resources aim to ...
The new Ofsted framework 2019. What you need to know.
Date 15th Jul 2019
From September the Ofsted framework is set to change. But, are these changes cosmetic or is there a real shift in focus, particularly for children and young people with SEND? Ofsted has announced that: “These changes will move Ofsted’s focus away from headline data to look instead at how schools are achieving these results, and whether they are offering a curriculum that is broad, rich and ...
Apply now for a funded place on our new course - Supporting Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools
Date 20th May 2019
We’re excited to announce that our brand-new course Supporting Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools is now available! It’s now estimated that three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health issue. With recent years seeing an unprecedented increase in the mental and emotional needs of children and young people this is a real source of concern for everyone working in a schoo...
April is autism awareness month
Date 16th Apr 2019
Autism Awareness month may be well underway, but for everyone at OnLineTraining autism is a year-round priority. We’ve been busy supporting our learners to achieve the knowledge and confidence they need with our range of online courses and raising awareness with some insightful blogs and inspirational content on social media. Missed out on our April Autism Awareness newsletter? No problem – you ca...
We have lift off! Our new Australian website has launched.
Date 5th Oct 2018
It’s official! After almost a year of hard work, we are delighted to announce the launch of our new OLT Australia website. As you may be aware, the new website went live on 8 October 2018. You can find it here: aus.oltinternational.net Designed to meet the needs of up to 2500 users a week across Australia, our fresh new website has been created with user experience firmly in mind. With impro...
OLT launching 'Attachment and Trauma' course
Date 29th Mar 2018
We are excited to announce that our new course, Attachment and Trauma, is now available. Many schools in the UK have children who may have difficulties in forming strong attachments and relationships. This can be a result of many factors, for example disrupted parenting, which can be a cause of attachment disorder and a potential source of childhood trauma. OLT have produced this new course ...
Sensory Impairment courses in partnership with NatSIP exceed expectations
Date 29th Mar 2018
The second year of sensory impairment training is coming to a close, and here at OLT we’re proud to say we have far exceeded our targets for the courses. Funded by the Department of Education for workforce development, we worked in partnership with NatSIP (The National Sensory Impairment Partnership) to facilitate professional development for teachers and teaching assistants, through evidence-b...
New - Guided courses alternative
Date 26th Nov 2017
All our courses (except sensory) are now offered as guided courses as an alternative to fully tutored courses. Participants have access to the full course for self-paced study for six months. They create one SMART goal instead of three, and receive guidance from a specialist to support this activity. This makes taking the courses a more economical option at only £90 (inc VAT). Fully special...
Try out the new NOTES feature!
Date 24th Nov 2017
On any course page you can write notes or select text – just click on the notepad or pen icon. View or print your notes at any time – select your course notes from the course menu. We hope you find it useful. ...
OLT Live chat is now open!
Date 4th Oct 2017
Check the home page for the orange chat balloon which will appear near the bottom of the page during normal office hours. Just click it to connect and chat to us! The live chat feature is available from our home pages and also when you've logged in under the support option....