We are Learn Spark!

We provide training and facilitation programmes for the education sector, charities and businesses.

Watch to discover what we offer!

Discover Learn Spark courses and programmes

Teaching and Learning

Contact us to book a session

Every piece of research available tells us that high-quality teaching and learning is at the heart of improvements in students’ outcomes in the classroom. To achieve this teachers and classroom assistants need to be up to date with the latest research and strategies, and given time to consider how these fit into their classroom. Our sessions will give them the knowledge, inspiration and space to do just that. Teachers will leave the session feeling challenged, yes, but also empowered and inspired to make effective change with their students.

Courses
  • Great Lessons and How to Structure Them
  • Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning
  • ‘Thinking’ at the Heart of Classroom Practice
  • Next Level Differentiation
  • Marking and Feeding Back for Improvement
  • Targeting Effective Questioning
  • Structuring Classroom Dialogue to Deepen Learning


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Download Teaching Development Courses brochure

Leadership Development

Many are called to leadership but as many are unprepared for the trials and tribulations of the role. They can quickly find themselves on the back foot or in deep water when attempting to lead and inspire those around them. Whether they are new to leadership or in the role for a while, our leadership courses will challenge, empower and transform them as leaders and help bring new momentum to their organisation.

Contact us to book a session

Courses
  • Leading a Team During Challenging Times
  • Action Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating Standards
  • Handling Difficult Conversations with Staff
  • Handling Difficult Conversations with Parents
  • Leading Improvements in the Quality of Teaching
  • Moving into Leadership (Course for Aspiring Leaders)


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Download Leadership Development Courses brochure

Study Skills Development

Contact us to book a session

Our study skills programmes for students in all year groups and parents directly answer the question: how do we study? Our hugely popular sessions will empower students to study independently and effectively, enabling them to reach their full potential. They will leave the session ready to take on the exam challenge!

During the sessions, students will explore areas such as: organisation and time management; interrogating key notes; memory and retrieval practice; and wellbeing and resilience. Also check out our refreshed programmes for Year 8 students entitled KICKSTART, and our new advance study skills programme READY STEADY STUDY PLUS.

Courses
  • Year 8 KICKSTART: Big School Ready – Focusing in transition
  • Year 8 KICKSTART: Ready Steady Study – Preparing for early assessments
  • Years 9 and 10: READY STEADY STUDY – Building mindset, motivation and organisation
  • Years 11 and 12: READY STEADY STUDY – Beginning the pathway to exam success
  • Years 13 and 14: READY STEADY STUDY – Getting to grips with advanced study
  • KS4 and KS5: READY STEADY STUDY PLUS – Further study skills
  • TOTAL RECALL – Strengthening memory and recall during exams
  • PARENT READY STEADY STUDY – Supporting, motivating and guiding your child


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Really engage in your revision with these recommended visual note taking tools. They have been proven to help students deepen understanding and strengthen their ability to recall key information.

Each study tool has a photocopy version (Colour and back and white). They also have an explanation sheet demonstrating how to use them, along with some quick tips on how to make them even more effective.

Download Learn Spark Study Tools


If you would like us to visit your school or college to demonstrate these tools as part of our READY STEADY STUDY! Programmes contact us to book a session. We will provide details about content, duration and prices.

Check in regularly to this part of the site, as we are continually adding Study Tools to help students develop their understanding and recall.
For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Download Study Skills Development Courses brochure
Download Kick Start Programmes brochure
Watch more about Ready, Steady Study!

We all learn in different ways …

Learn Spark Education Seminars

Learn Spark Professional Development Seminars are open to Principals, Vice Principals, Senior/Middle Leaders, Teachers, Trainee Teachers and Governors to attend and will be held in locations across Northern Ireland.

This year’s seminars will explore LEARNING AND TEACHING, LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, GOOD GOVERNANCE and APPLICATION AND INTERVIEW SKILLS.

During the seminars our trainers will share their expertise and insights gained over years of experience working in the education sector. They will provide valuable information and opportunities for knowledge and skills development. The seminars also provide an opportunity for networking and sharing good practice, and every participant will receive hard and digital copies of all the resources and materials showcased.

Numbers at each course will be limited to ensure maximum interaction and opportunity for discussion. To ensure your place, booking early is advisable.

Learning and Teaching Courses

Crafting Meaningful Homeworks

Developing policies and strategies to ensure the efficacy of homework.

They say there are only two things certain in this life: death and taxes. Well, for many students we could add a third – homework! Its critics believe it sabotages family life, creating a student/parent ball and chain that can lead to meltdowns and sometimes tears, and it limits learning by reinforcing bad practice. However, others highlight its positive aspects such as: when applied correctly, good homework can support learning, practice and rehearsal of learned information; it also supports personal development as it strengthens organisation and independent learning skills.

This course explores and develops our understanding of: the purpose and rationale for giving out homework, the core components of ‘good homework’, and how to get students motivated to engage in and complete homework. We will then consider how to represent all this good practice in the form of a ‘Homework Policy’ that provides guidance and structure for the whole school/college.

Newry: 16 May 2024
Omagh: 21 May 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Students Doing More for Themselves!

Approaches for cultivating learners with strong self-regulation skills.

As a teaching profession, we have seen over the years a greater move towards supporting students to become stronger, independent learners. This has centred on students being more able to plan, monitor and evaluate their approach and the strategies they use to support their own learning when completing classwork, homework, assessments and tests. It’s been about helping them to better use their teachers (and classroom assistants) as a resource in their learning journey as opposed to being the sole directors of their learning.

This course supports teachers in their endeavour to develop independent learners by exploring evidence-based strategies and approaches. We will explore, in a truly understandable way, what metacognition is and how it can be translated into classroom practice. We demonstrate how it’s a real and tangible component of all lessons. We will consider how to support students to better plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning, and then use ‘Memory Development’ as a tangible example of how to develop metacognition in the classroom.

Antrim: 14 May 2024
Newry: 15 May 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Getting Students Talking 

Deepening learning through structured classroom dialogue

‘Oracy is to be able to express oneself well’ (Andrew Wilkinson. 1960). It directly relates to having a broad range of vocabulary to say what one needs to say, and having the proficiency to structure thoughts [thinking] so that the person makes sense to others. We have always known that ‘student talk’ is important because we know that discussion (and listening to discussion) is central to the development of language, grammar, understanding and thinking development but how much consideration do we give to structuring dialogue in our classrooms to deepen students’ learning?

This course will explore strategies and approaches to get the most out of classroom talk, looking at ways to help students to ‘learn to talk’ and ‘learn through talk’. We will consider how to plan for structured discussion (talking and listening) in classroom, and what we can do to encourage reluctant talkers to share their thoughts, reflections and partially formed ideas and opinions.

Newry: 30 May 2024
Omagh: 4 June 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Price: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Thinking Through Questioning

Fostering higher order thinking through refined questioning techniques.

By far, questioning is the most frequently used tool by teachers in the classroom. How many questions must we ask in a day, a week, a year? Research suggests that in most circumstances the types of questions we ask require only a very basic level of challenge, i.e.: to get students to focus and check recall to strengthen memory; typically,’ low level’ thinking skills. These are, of course, important and should be asked but questioning can be used much more strategically in the learning process. For example, to seek the views and opinions of students, asking them to articulate their reasoning and get them more involved by sharing, what will be, their partially formed ideas.  Or even, to foster speculation, hypothesis and idea/opinion forming (encouraging curiously and wonder); typically, ‘higher order’ thinking skills.

This course explores the research and evidence-base for questioning as a learning and teaching tool but then moves quicky to consideration of the range of higher order questioning techniques available for use in the classroom that will stretch and challenge learners serve to deepen their learning and understanding.

Antrim: 22 May 2024
Omagh: 23 May 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Closing the Gap with Marking

Strategies to enhance marking and verbal feedback.

Think of the amount of time teachers spend marking and feeding back to students. The endless hours writing comments that in most cases are not read, and in many cases not understood. Comments that result in little or no action taking place in that piece of work, never mind in the next piece of work.  What is that time spent marking and feeding back for? Is it to please senior leaders, parents, or in the event of a surprise visit, the Inspectorate? In order for assessment to be truly formative, action should result; action taken by the teacher yes, but also action taken by the student. The marking and feedback should be generative in the learning process, strengthening the students in this topic and even teaching them lessons (content or process) in the next piece of work and assessment.

This course takes a practical look at the process of commenting on work (written and verbal) and helps to regain perspective on the objective – to support improvement in the students’ understanding. We explore the latest research from around the world and suggest more effective approaches that puts the focus on learner improvement.

Antrim: 5 June 2024
Newry: 7 June 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person:  £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Empowering & Engaging High Achievers

Approaches to elevate the performance of high ability students.

Behind every scheme to be covered and/or specification to be finished there are students trying to understand all the ‘stuff’. There are many students trying to make sense of how it all links together and how it can be applied to the question, scenario, problem and/or decision being presented. The need for differentiation has been around since the dawn of teaching. It’s centred on supporting and guiding all students to the promised land of ‘Mastery’, a state where they completely ‘get it’. However, all too often the focus of this differentiation is on the lower ability students and helping them to catch up. Of course, they need a lot of support but what about the higher ability students, the ones who can spend a lot of their time in class simply repeating already learned work or gashing key concepts early and having to wait for others to catch up? How can we stimulate these learners taking them out of their comfort zone, encouraging them to push towards the outer edge of what is possible for them to achieve?

This course initially explores the history and definition of what it means to be ‘exceptionally gifted’, moving beyond its usually exclusive academic aptitude focus, and considers the many other ways in which students can be considered ‘gifted’. The course considers how various other nations stretch and challenge these students. Then, we consider numerous practical strategies and approaches that can be employed by schools/colleges and specifically within classrooms to provide the appropriate level of stretch and challenge. The course will seek to present food for further thought to senior leaders about how they can better cater to the needs of these often forgotten students.

Antrim: 11 June 2024
Omagh: 13 June  2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Literacy Development Courses

Reading Support and Development

Empowering school staff to contribute to narrowing the reading gap.

Victor Hugo stated that ‘to learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable spelt out is a spark.’ To imagine that spark never igniting to a fire is to imagine a very dark and isolating world. To be able to read effectively opens doors, broadens horizons and enables our students to reach their potential and live fulfilling lives. More and more of our students are struggling to or refusing to read, be it due to a lack of importance placed upon it at home, developmental delays or just believing that it is ‘not cool’ to read. It is our duty to support our students to access the curriculum, and the world, so that they are enabled to succeed in whatever path they choose. Reading is a skill that needs modelled, guided and taught – all of our students have the capacity to develop this skill and thus ignite the fire that will burn for the rest of their lives.

This course supports all school staff in employing research-based reading support and development strategies to enable students to read more effectively. We will explore what makes for skilled reading and strategies that will enhance their ability to recognise words when reading and to read for meaning and purpose. This course would be suitable for all teachers and any member of staff who may be involved in intervention strategies, e.g.: Learning Support Teacher/Classroom Assistants. Reading underpins students’ ability to access the curriculum across all areas of learning and thus it is imperative that we are developing and enhancing the skills to be able to do so.

Antrim: 15 May 2024
Newry: 22 June 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Post-Primary Disciplinary Literacy

Strategies for Co-ordinators to promote Whole School Literacy

The importance of Literacy in the success of students and their ability to fulfil their potential has long been recognised in society. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951) recognised that ‘the limits of my language are the limits of my world’, seeing communication as a powerful tool for knowledge and progression. George Sampson, an English Inspector, as far back as 1921 was positing the idea of Literacy as a whole school responsibility: ‘Every teacher IN English is a teacher OF English.’ A view also held by Sir Michael Wilshaw, who believes Literacy improvement in schools to be a ‘shared responsibility’. For Literacy Co-ordinators, though, it may not seem that it is recognised in school! It can sometimes feel like you are a lone voice in the wilderness promoting and delivering your initiatives on your own because you are seen as the ‘expert’ or because you don’t want to burden colleagues with more work to do!

This course explores the research-based concept of Disciplinary Literacy as a way to promote Literacy as a whole school and shared responsibility. It provides the research that will empower and inspire Literacy Co-ordinators to support their colleagues in recognising the importance of Literacy within their own area of learning. It will also provide practical strategies that can be implemented to ensure the whole school community is developing and promoting Literacy skills together across all areas of learning in order to improve achievements and standards for all students.

Antrim: 31 May 2024
Omagh: 12 June 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Literacy Action Planning & Policy Development                                                                                                  

Assisting Literacy Coordinators in assessing progress and developing their vision and aims.

As Literacy Co-ordinator, it is vital that we know where we want Literacy to go within our educational setting and plan for how to get there, as ‘to the person who does not know where they want to go there is no favourable wind’ (Seneca). The first part of this course supports Literacy Co-ordinators in exploring their vison, mission and aims, aligning them with the aims of their educational setting and creating a long-term policy and plan that will ensure there is a pathway to achieving these. By having a clear and articulate idea of how to promote Literacy, along with a roadmap of how to do so, Literacy Co-ordinators will find that getting the ‘buy-in’ and support from their colleagues to reach their destination will be a lot easier and collaborative.

In the second part we will explore the key components of an action plan, as well as different strategies for monitoring and evaluating the Literacy initiatives that have been put in place in order to inform further steps. We will consider examples of good practice in these areas and support Literacy Co-ordinators to be more aware of what is expected of them when it comes to effective planning, monitoring and evaluating – making them more confident in their understanding of how they are contributing to raising and improving standards and achievements.

Newry: 24 May 2024
Omagh 29 May 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Leadership Development Courses

Mastering Difficult Interventions and Conversations

Techniques to secure alignment on shared objectives.

Effective leaders set out their vision, train and support their staff. They work hard to keep them motivated and resourced with all that they need to do the job. They then take time to set out detailed action plans to communicate milestones and responsibilities. With all this in place, they should then feel that change will happen, progress will be made. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Even with all this in place, resistance can arise with some staff pushing back, slowing down or even attempting to stop progress. In this event, leaders know they have to deal with the situation and people. Having these difficult encounters and challenging conversations is what’s needed. However, many leaders shy away from these encounters; they typically lack the confidence and they choose, instead, to navigate around the problem or to refer it further up the line of management.

This course is about strengthening leaders in their approach and providing space to practise their technique, with the aim of taking control!  We explore the ‘Rights’ a leader has to challenge, balanced with the ‘’Responsibility’ to support staff. We explore various scenarios set around the different kinds of difficult people and situations leaders typically face. We examine the language we should use to de-escalate and even detoxify situations, allowing the encounter to remain calm, focused and, most importantly, productive. The central messages in the course are based around our ‘Core Considerations’:

Newry: 30 May 2024
Omagh: 11 June 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Per Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Leading Advancements in Teaching Excellence

Ensuring a sustained focus on high quality teaching and learning.

The key to success in any school is ‘leading on our vision whilst managing our short-term operations.’ (Andrew Hammond, 2023). Schools and colleges are busy places with lots of demands pulling leaders and teachers this way and that on a daily basis. In the midst of this ‘firefighting’, it can be difficult to remain focused on the core business of ensuring there is high-quality learning and teaching taking place in the classroom.

During this course we begin by exploring teaching as a science and an art form. We seek to uncover the ‘magic ingredients’ of a successful lesson, from the viewpoint of a number researchers, and discuss whether it’s being actioned on the ground consistently. We then explore the role of leadership in delivering on quality and consistency. The course focuses on the 4 main steps for delivering on improvements in the quality of learning and teaching:

  1. Promoting and developing a school/college-based language and vision for learning and teaching.
  2. Developing effective feedback and dialogue through a culture of trust.
  3. Developing evidence-based and informed approaches to improve learning and teaching, drawing on and contributing to research.
  4. Providing meaningful support and challenge.

Antrim 4 June 2024 
Newry 13 June 2024 
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

School Self Evaluation: Unleashing Excellence

Exploring self-reflective practices at the whole school and middle leadership level.

In an increasingly complex educational environment, it’s crucial that we prioritize assessing our performance and continually striving to offer the best opportunities for our students. Self-evaluation plays a pivotal role in enabling school leaders, both at senior and middle levels, to acknowledge achievements and foster a culture of success within the school community.

The primary objective of self-evaluation is to enhance school effectiveness, elevate the quality of teaching and learning, enrich students’ learning experiences, and elevate standards. Moreover, it enables leaders to pinpoint areas for enhancement and develop targeted action plans for the future.

Our course is designed to delve into the fundamentals of effective school-wide and middle leadership self-evaluation, drawing insights from the latest research and sharing practical examples and experiences from real school scenarios. Participants will gain clarity on their role in spearheading self-evaluation processes, ensuring their robustness and efficacy.

Newry: 16 May 2024
Omagh 6 June 2024
Time for each session: 10am to 2pm.
Cost Person: £159
(Prices exclude VAT)

Download Education Seminars brochure

Student Development

Contact us to book a session

Every school and college seeks the holistic development of their students. These courses will equip and empower students with the skills, attitudes and drive they need to achieve and thrive in school, work and life. The sessions are completely interactive with practical activities throughout. Students will be involved in team challenges, debates, discussions, self-reflection and role-plays. Their feet won’t touch the ground. They will leave the session energised and inspired, ready to take on the world!

Courses
  • LEAD Workshop – Building confident and inspirational leaders
  • STUDENT PRESENTATION Workshops
    – KS3: Steps to Success
    – KS4: Targeting Success
    – KS5: Delivering Success
  • PEER MENTORING COURSES
    – Subject Based Mentoring
    – Paired Reading Mentoring
  • YEAR 8 Programmes
    – Year 8 KICKSTART: Big School Ready – Focusing in transition
    – Year 8 KICKSTART: Ready Steady Study – Preparing for early assessments
  • STUDY SKILLS PROGRAMMES
    – Year 8 KICKSTART: Big School Ready – Focusing in transition
    – Years 9 and 10: READY STEADY STUDY – Building mindset, motivation and organisation
    – Years 11 and 12: READY STEADY STUDY – Beginning the pathway to exam success
    – Years 13 and 14: READY STEADY STUDY – Getting to grips with advanced study
    – KS4 and KS5: READY STEADY STUDY PLUS – Further study skills
    – TOTAL RECALL: Strengthening memory and recall during exams


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Download Student Presentation Workshops brochure
Download Peer Mentoring Courses brochure
Download Kick Start Programmes brochure
Download Study Skills Development Courses brochure

Literacy Development

‘Lacking vital Literacy skills holds a person back at every stage of their life. As a child they won’t be able to succeed at school, as a young adult they will be locked out of the job market, and as a parent they won’t be able to support their own child’s learning.’
– National Literacy Trust

Literacy permeates all aspects of life and is essential to allow all students to access the curriculum. Guiding students to effectively speak, read and write is at the core of high-quality learning and teaching, and in preparing students to acquire life-long Literacy skills.

Our courses are research based, and provide strategies and resources to help promote Literacy throughout the school community. Teachers, classroom assistants and parents will leave the sessions feeling confident, enabled and empowered to support children in developing their Literacy skills.

Courses
  • Empowering Classroom Assistants to Support Literacy
  • Strengthening Literacy Across the Curriculum
  • Roles and Responsibilities of Effective Literacy Co-ordinators (course for existing and newly-appointed Lit-Cos. Course available for delivery to partnering schools.)
  • Guiding Parents and Guardians: Helping Your Child with Literacy
  • Enabling Students with Literacy Difficulties (course for teachers in all subjects)


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Download Literacy Development Courses brochure

Personal Effectiveness

To be effective in work and life we need to make use of all our talents, strengths, skills, energy and time. It’s the focus on the development of these areas, both personally and professionally, that will determine whether we achieve our career and personal goals. Our Personal Effectiveness courses will equip your staff with the skills and confidence they need to push through their barriers and overcome their obstacles helping them achieve success.

Contact us to book a session

Courses
  • Giving Great Presentations
  • Time Control

Effectively Managing your Time
  • Resilience Training

Building Coping Skills
  • Assert Yourself

Take Control of Communication


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330

Watch a Student Session in Action!

We have the recipe for successful training!

Facilitation Services

We’ve been running highly successful facilitated workshops for years. Our bespoke sessions are guaranteed to have everyone collaborating effectively by harnessing their collective strengths. We’ve facilitated hundreds of brainstorming sessions, meetings, focus groups, strategy workshops, team-building events and conferences. We are known for keeping the energy high and for building motivation and momentum that result in dynamic ideas and solutions.

Contact us to book a session

Courses
  • Framing the Future

Reconnecting with Ethos, Vision and Values
  • Strengthening Partnership Working

Supporting Collaboration
  • Releasing Stakeholder Voice

Informing Strategic Planning
  • Team Energy

Building and Motivating Teams


All courses can be delivered as half or full day sessions. They can also be grouped together to make a programme of development.

The courses can be delivered ON-SITE or VIRTUALLY to any location from our Learn Spark Studio.

For more information contact us at:

Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk
Office: +44 (0)28 3083 3942
Telephone: +44 (0)79 8955 2330