Training

“Young people leading change” is the motto of our organisation. Since the foundation of our charity, formerly known as Aik Saath, our training has been led by young people. Wherever possible, young volunteers are involved in the delivery of sessions, whether leading from the front, facilitating small group work, or running one of the many games and challenges which bring our sessions to life. Our team of young volunteers also inform the content of our sessions, ensuring that what is delivered resonates with young people.

We believe that our most impactful work is delivered over a series of sessions, with each session building on the next, and allowing young people time to reflect and absorb session content. Typically training programmes last 6-8 weeks and are delivered in the same time slot every week. Our sessions last approximately an hour and we work with schools to find days and times that work with existing school timetables. Together As One can also offer stand alone sessions, workshops and assemblies. We can deliver sessions at ‘drop down’ days and PHSE focus days.

Our training is suitable for young people from year 3 and upwards. We deliver workshops and training programmes for Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Sixth Forms, Colleges and Universities. We work with whole classes, targeted groups, and in specialist provisions including Pupil Referral Units and Special Schools. Our training team also delivers sessions for young people in community settings e.g. youth groups and scout groups. We work with teachers and professionals to share our approaches and we are able to deliver twilight and INSET training for school staff.

Together As One is based in central Slough and most frequently delivers training in Slough schools, colleges and youth centres. We often visit groups in Windsor and Maidenhead, West London, and have previously worked in Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire. We are open to travelling further afield.

Together As One is committed to ensuring our programmes are impactful and achieve the discussed objectives. We use a variety of evaluation tools and work with professionals to identify the most relevant to implement. At the primary level, we establish children’s baseline understanding at the beginning of each session, at the end, and 3 months after the programme ends to understand how much of the programme has been retained. Children are asked to hold up a different colour card at each stage to help us to capture evaluative data. Click here to see an example data dashboard.

We often ask young people to reflect on ‘where they are at’ prior to, and at the end of programmes. This enables us to measure young people’s perceptions of their own confidence, teamwork, communication skills, and other desired outcomes. Click here to see an example questionnaire.

Together As One has 24 years’ experience delivering training to prevent violence, promote cohesion and bring young people Together As One. We work with professionals and school leaders to link our session objectives to the national curriculum. In the past, we have delivered sessions to support schools with Promoting fundamental British values through SMSC, PSHE curriculum, RE curriculum and more. Although not exhaustive, the list below encapsulates our main areas of training. Please get in touch to discuss how we can deliver sessions on the themes below, on indeed others:

Conflict is a natural part of all of our lives. Our sessions unpick what conflict means, how we approach it, and the impact that it has. Conflict resolution strategies, mediation, and scenario based approaches can all be utilised to support groups to manage and resolve conflicts effectively. Programmes can be delivered preventatively or can be tailored to respond to specific tensions.

Our community cohesion work is predominantly engaged with ensuring that young people from different backgrounds feel a sense of belonging, are comfortable with each other, value their differences and understand their common humanity. Interactive activities help younger groups understand that they are part of many communities, and that they will be part of some communities that are the same, and some that are different to their peers. We facilitate the analysis of community cohesion to encourage young people to consider the various factors that impact how cohesive a community is.

Since 1998 we have been learning and developing different approaches to ‘race’ and racism. These approaches have focussed on preventing the development of racist attitudes, challenging existent racist attitudes and providing young people with constructive responses to racism. We recognise that the words used to describe race have the capacity to cause great offense and upset, or can ensure people feel valued and welcomed; therefore sessions on language and ‘race’ are frequently important parts of our anti-racism programmes.

Together As One, alongside colleagues in school and college recognise the positive impact young people can have on their peers. We train peer mentors in primary and secondary schools to support young people to reach their full potential. Together As One develop training programmes designed around each mentoring scheme and role. Peer mentoring programmes explore the role of a peer mentor, how to effectively communicate with mentees, and an overview of safeguarding to ensure young people understand what to do if they have a concern. Peer mentors can also receive training in mediation to support young people to resolve conflict, community cohesion to foster inclusive school environments, anger management to help young people develop de-escalation strategies, and mental health to ensure young people have positive coping strategies and promote wellbeing.

Through our delivery the Young Health Champions programme in Slough, we have been working with young people for over 4 years to better understand mental health. Young people’s mental health is of paramount importance, with 1 in 6 young people aged 5-16 experiencing a mental health problem. Our sessions help young people to define mental health, explaining that our mental health sits on a spectrum and can change based on a range of factors. There are things we can all do to support our own mental health which can be explained via a range of differentiated activities. To ensure young people know where to go for further support, Together As One ensure that signposting to local and national mental health services is included in all sessions. We are able to work with mental health champions, advocates, and mentors to support them to support their peers.

Anger usually leads to problems when it causes us to act without thought, at home, at school or in the workplace. Our workshops encourage young people to understand anger so that they may control it, before it controls them. We can train groups of young people directly or professionals in the techniques that we use.

Social action refers to the activities people to do make a positive difference to others or the environment. The benefits of youth social action are vast, from increased understanding of issues impacting the community, to higher levels of wellbeing, confidence, and developing skills that can help young people secure future employment. Together As One have experience delivering social action with a whole class, or targeted groups of young people. Facilitators support young people to consider the focus of their project, and they method they want to use to bring about positive change. Previously, groups have created a mental health podcast, collected items for a local homeless charity, and helped a charity for young people with special needs by painting play equipment, cleaning, and gardening.

Our organisation was established due to gang related violence within our community and have since worked to prevent further violence. We work with young people and professionals to explore the process by which young people may be drawn into criminal exploitation, including country lines and gang involvement. Several members of the Together As One team have sadly lost family members to knife crime and share their powerful stories with young people to convey the impact that knife crime has on families and communities. Our sessions combine lived experience, with research and local knowledge to support young people to make safe and informed decisions as they navigate life in the wider community.

Please get in touch! All our training is bespoke, so please contact us through the relevant section of the website to discuss your requirements further. Someone from the Together As One training team will get in touch to set up a meeting; both virtual and face to face options are available. We will then develop a fully costed proposal for your consideration based on the needs of the young people or professionals. We are always open to amendments to make working together possible. From there, we will work with you find a mutually agreeable time to deliver the training programme or workshop.