Emerald Training and People Development, Didcot (2026)

10/04/2026

Yesterday, I had a lovely piece of feedback during a Moving & Handling session.
“What did you like about the training?”

“Made me feel okay for getting things wrong.
Helped me do it and took time to do so.”

After my initial, “Ah, that’s a lovely thing to say,” I found myself dwelling on the word wrong.

As trainers, we don’t want people to feel like they’re getting things wrong. So what started out as a lovely comment made me feel a little melancholy… a little sad… and second guessing whether I could have changed that voice in her head saying she was doing it wrong.

After a while, I looked at the comment again and thought… actually, this is a really good comment.

Because:
· She felt comfortable enough to try
· Comfortable enough to ask
· Comfortable enough to keep going until it clicked

Which is brilliant and I am very proud of that.

I created a safe space for her, and the rest of the group, to make mistakes, learn, and enjoy the learning experience.

In knowledge checks or reflection questions at the end of a section in a course, I am rarely unhappy about people getting answers wrong, because when learners get things 'wrong', the learning of what is correct is robust and longer lasting.

It’s no different in a practical session.

· So what if it takes a few attempts?
· So what if it takes a bit of guidance?

If it just takes someone giving you the time to get there, so be it. Your learning will be all the stronger for it.

So, after all of that thought… it turns out, I did okay for that learner.

If you have any learning, training and development needs, where things are done properly-do get in touch.

25/03/2026

When good intentions miss the mark

Sometimes… we try to help too quickly.
We step in.
We take over.
We think we’re doing the right thing.

But in that moment…
We’ve taken away choice and possibly dignity.
And nobody wants to do that to another human being.

Inclusion isn’t about doing more.
It’s about pausing.
Asking.
And respecting the answer.

And yet… this is the bit many courses miss.
We learn the law.
We hear the theory.
But we’re not always shown, or challenged to think about, what it looks like in everyday interactions.

That’s where Dynamic Inclusivity – Disabled People comes in.
We build a clear understanding of disability, the different ways it can present, and explore what that means in everyday interactions..

Which means you’re not just aware of inclusion…
You feel confident in how to respond.
Turning what you already know into natural, confident behaviour.
Not seeing disability as something to fix or feel sorry for, but recognising the person in front of you as part of human diversity.

Take a look through the images 👇

20/03/2026

Last night, we were watching a documentary about children who went missing in the late 80s.
It was heart-wrenching.

Boys going out and not coming home. Those poor parents. How do you ever get over that?

My partner turned and said,

“It was safer back when we were kids. We were out at all hours.”

And straight away I thought of my own childhood.

Bikes. Fields. Blackberry picking. Calling at friends’ houses. Walking home in the dark without a second thought.

It felt carefree.

Although I do wonder if we sometimes look back through an Enid Blyton lens, remembering the freedom and adventure, and forgetting that not everything was quite as simple as it seemed.

But as we kept talking, I found myself questioning it.

Was it actually safer, or did it just feel that way?

Back then, what we knew was limited.
News on the TV and newspapers. That was it.

Now we hear about everything. Instantly. Constantly.

Then he said something else that made me think even further.
“He is on a roll,” I remember thinking.
“Back then, we didn’t have 6 foot fences.”

He was talking about how communities felt different.

And he’s right.

We could see each other. Talk over the garden. Keep a quiet eye out without even realising we were doing it.

There was a sense of community that didn’t need to be labelled.

And then another point.
“We didn’t have as much.”

No laptops. No smartphones. No high value gadgets in every room.
Less to take. Less to protect.

So maybe it’s not as simple as saying the world was safer.

- Maybe we hear more.
- Maybe we see less of each other.
- Maybe we have more to protect.
- And maybe all of that shapes how safe things feel today.
- In my mind’s eye, there may be little difference between now and then, except for the feeling of
safety.

I certainly feel less safe now than I did then, and yet I find myself asking… is that feeling truly warranted?

What do you think?

16/03/2026

Last Friday I went to a brilliant Breakfast networking event organised by The Oxford Business Community Network

While talking about the work I’ve been doing developing a new programme which I am now calling, Dynamic Inclusivity: Disability Inclusion in action, someone said something that summed up the challenge perfectly:

"We all know the law. What we don’t always know is what it actually looks like or how to put it into practice."

That comment really resonated with me.

Most organisations understand their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. People know inclusion is important. But what many struggle with is knowing what inclusive behaviour actually looks like in everyday interactions with customers, colleagues and service users.
That is the gap Dynamic Inclusivity: Disability Inclusion in action is designed to address.
The programme sits alongside my Dynamic Customer Service workshop, but it also works as a standalone programme across any service sector.

Rather than focusing only on awareness, it explores what inclusion means in practice i.e. the small moments in conversations, service design and everyday behaviour that shape someone’s experience.

A key part of the programme explores two important ways of understanding disability:
• the Social Model of Disability, which helps us recognise barriers created by environments and systems
• the Affirmation Model, which encourages us to see disability as part of human diversity

When we start from that perspective, the conversation changes. Disability is not a problem to solve, but part of human diversity.

Dynamic Inclusivity is about translating those ideas into practical behaviour, helping organisations understand what inclusive service and interactions actually looks like day to day.

The interest and feedback I received in that networking conversation was incredibly encouraging and confirmed that this would be a high value programme for all services, customer facing or otherwise.

People don’t just want to know the rules. They know the rules and they know the law.
What they want, is to understand how to apply them in real life.

The half-day standalone programme Dynamic Inclusivity: Disability Inclusion in Action will be available from 1st April with a 10% discount for the first 5 confirmed bookings (and no, I’m not fooling about).

Details are on the graphic. Please leave a voicemail if you call as I may be training.

25/02/2026

What a week.

I was away from stupid O'clock Tuesday morning and returned stupid o'clock Thursday evening. Every journey whether it was long or short was never straight forward. The amount of road works, traffic jams and cars, well I cannot even begin to tell you.

However, I’ve had phenomenal feedback from last week’s learners and I genuinely couldn’t be more pleased.

Monday in Horsham was Safe Moving of People centred around a client who has complex needs. We also practiced fire evacuation but we didn’t just talk about it; we actually built and filmed a safe way to do it. The first group helped shape it, and the second group improved it by adding real-life factors like bed boulders/wedges and a catheter into the scenario. There was trial and error, problem-solving and proper thinking it through.

Every single learner mentioned the evacuation exercise as the part that helped them most. I was very pleased.

Tuesday was the Dynamic Customer Service Workshop in Surrey. A slightly cautious start from a couple of very experienced delegates… but once we got going (and yes, the chocolate appeared), it shifted. We walked the customer journey from driveway to reception to bedroom to bar. They spotted some lovely touches and also areas to refine.

Values 4™ came up repeatedly in the feedback, which always makes me smile. They described it as hands-on, practical and genuinely useful.

Then there was Kent.

Roadworks. Detours. Missed turnings. Ms Satnav confidently sending me down narrow, pothole-ridden lanes with grass growing in the middle in awful weather while insisting it was “the best route”. I now know Maidstone far better than I ever intended to.

Wednesday and Thursday was Train the Trainer Moving and Handling. I always enjoy these because I get to pass on not just content, but years of experience.
One learner told me he has ADHD, dyspraxia and anxiety. I offered him the option of doing his micro-teach with a smaller audience. He chose to do it with the full group and absolutely grew in confidence as he went. Later he thanked me for simply offering the choice.

Another learner needed a little more support first time round but came back stronger on the second attempt. Watching that shift in confidence is one of the best parts of the job.

Friday was theory and practical again, this time much closer to home which felt like a luxury after Kent.

Saturday? Certificates and invoices. Less glamorous, but no driving involved.

Was a tired? A bit.
Was I proud? Very.

To find out more about Emerald Training and People Development Services (Emerald TPDS), please visit the website www.emeraldtpds.co.uk

16/02/2026

I was genuinely pleased to read that the Government is now looking at AI chat platforms alongside social media in its plans to strengthen protections for children online.

Bringing AI into safeguarding conversation is important and needed.

If you remember, I previously shared some thoughts about under 16s and conversational AI. My concern was not centred on explicit content. It was about something much quieter.

The current discussion understandably focuses on obscene imagery and harmful material. That is important and safeguards around that are necessary.

But I do find myself wondering whether we are in danger of narrowing the conversation.

AI chat platforms are conversational. They respond instantly. They sound supportive. They validate. They are available at any time of day.

For adults, that is usually understood as a tool.

For someone under 16, still developing emotional intelligence, identity and critical thinking, it may feel different.

Adolescence is a stage where reassurance and affirmation carry significant weight. Young people are working out who they are, what they believe and where they fit.

I know that in my own teenage years, reassurance mattered deeply, particularly when I was being bullied at school and told I was fat or thick. Words stay with you at that age and many words spoken by bullies have followed me through to adulthood.

Repeated messages, encouraging language and supportive sounding responses can gradually influence confidence, thinking and self perception.

For some, that level of consistent affirmation may not always be present in everyday life. When a system reliably provides encouragement, understanding and positive reinforcement, it can begin to feel significant.

When a system consistently replies with empathy like language and affirmation, it can begin to feel relational.

Not because it is human.

Not because it replaces human connection.

But because it is predictable, responsive and always there. That repeated affirmation could subtly influence where a young person turns when they need reassurance, how confidently they test out ideas, and how they cope when relationships are not as instantly encouraging.

I am not anti AI. It will have an important place in learning and creativity.

I am simply questioning whether, alongside filtering harmful content, we also need to be thinking more openly about emotional and intellectual attachment.

Protection is not only about what children might see. It is also about how repeated interaction might shape what they feel and how they form relationships.

I think that part of the conversation deserves to be louder.

15/02/2026

I have been happily putting all the bits and bobs together for the Dynamic Customer Service Workshop, featuring Values 4™.

It took three shops to get all the chocolate bars, but that is fine. One had none whatsoever, the other had 11 bars, I needed 12 so I bought 4 more elsewhere-the extras are for just-in-case 🙃😉

I have a busy week ahead, but Tuesday is when I will be delivering the workshop that is so very close to my heart.

Customer facing sectors are having a rough ride at the moment and the last thing many are thinking about is training. Give me a call and I will explain why it is exactly the right time to consider this workshop.

The Dynamic Customer Service Workshop is not a generic off-the-shelf course, and it is definitely not a tick box exercise. What it is, is an active, honest, practical and bespoke approach to your own customer/guests’ journey. That’s because, your team walk the journey, spot the micro-moments and translate them into actions that makes a difference.

Customer facing sectors are under pressure with tight margins and greater customer expectations and in many cases, teams are stretched.

That is when service must show its true value, especially so that it is consistent and inclusive.

Tuesday cannot come soon enough 💚

05/02/2026

I am delighted to have been shortlisted for Female Entrepreneur of the Year. I am so surprised and I have to admit, I did all the checks to make sure it was real (the imposter syndrome is never far away) and yup, it's real.

12/01/2026

Over time, you start to notice patterns.

What helps people grow. What gets in the way. What really makes a difference.

I’m stepping into more speaking and podcast conversations to share what I’ve discovered about people, learning, technology, and the way the world is changing, in the hope it provokes thought, helps others think differently, act more confidently, and create better experiences for the people around them.

Over the last few years, I’ve built training programmes that raise standards, challenge thinking, and genuinely change how people work and make decisions in their roles. Along the way, I’ve learned what works - and, sometimes the hard way, what doesn’t.

I’m now sharing that learning more openly.

I’m saying yes to speaking, podcast conversations, and panels, especially where there’s space for honest discussion about:

✅ Customer service as a driver of growth

✅ Understanding disability at work: moving from sympathy to confidence

using the social and affirmation models

✅ Inclusive customer service that is practical, human, and confident

✅ Care from both sides: what I’ve learned from my mother’s care, as a

daughter and from working behind the scenes

✅ Why families can be challenging, what sits underneath the behaviour,

and what it means for people delivering care

✅Why I love AI but I have real concerns about its impact on under-16s and

vulnerable people

✅The impact of tick-box culture in compliance training and why it holds

people back

✅Why classroom and eLearning are only part of the story : what really

needs to happen next

✅Lessons from starting a business, including the money I wasted

✅Why I loathe loyalty cards

If there’s a topic here where I have a useful perspective, I’m happy to talk about it. Curiosity has taken me a long way, and I’d love to pass that on.

If you’re hosting an event, podcast, or panel and want someone who speaks from experience rather than theory, I’d love to connect.

07/01/2026

I’ve spent the last few years building a suite of training that helps organisations across many sectors raise standards, promote safety and inclusion in a practical, organic way.

Current programmes includes:

• Dynamic Customer Service
• Inclusive Customer Service
• Values 4™ Train-the-Trainer / Licensing — enabling organisations to deliver
Dynamic Customer Service in-house while still maintaining quality
and consistency
• Equality & Diversity
• Epilepsy Awareness
• Sexual Harassment Prevention
• Supervisor in Action
• Falls Prevention

Several of these programmes link together, so there’s real potential to create a consistent approach across your workforce while also building confidence and capability.

There are many courses and workshops on offer so do visit the website and take a look.

If you’d like to explore what might work best for your organisation, I’m always happy to chat.

🌐 www.emeraldtpds.co.uk

31/12/2025

Happy New Year! 🎉I hope you have had a successful 2025 and heading towards a great 2026.
I’m really excited about the year ahead — and especially about continuing the work that helps teams feel more confident in what they do every day.
For 2026, I’m focusing on practical, half-day workshops that are clear, relevant and easy to put into practice, including:
👉 Inclusive Customer Service – building confidence when supporting customers with disabilities or health conditions, face-to-face or by phone.
👉 Epilepsy Awareness – revised, practical, and highly rated, with options that can also be adapted for workplaces supporting colleagues.
If you think either of these could benefit your team, I’m always happy to have a chat and see what might work.
Here’s to a positive and purposeful 2026. ✨

19/12/2025

So here we are again… ’tis the season to be jolly.

This year has been busy in ways that don’t always show on the surface.

I’ve delivered training I’m genuinely proud of including the new Reablement training and all new Epilepsy training. I have developed bespoke eLearning in Customer Service, Sexual Harassment Prevention, and Equality and Diversity.

I’ve also built Dynamic Customer Service Workshop, with a powerful eLearning add-on which is focused on inclusive customer service: serving customers with disabilities in a practical and empathetic way. This add-on is exclusive to those who have attended and completed the Dynamic Customer Service Workshop.

Behind the scenes, I’ve strengthened what Emerald stands for, trade-marked the Four Core Values under the Values 4™ umbrella, and laid the groundwork for what’s next which will be more workshops and Dynamic Customer Service Workshop Train the Trainer that will include a five year licence to deliver Values 4.

Emerald Training and People Development

10/04/2026

25/03/2026

20/03/2026

16/03/2026

25/02/2026

16/02/2026

15/02/2026

05/02/2026

12/01/2026

07/01/2026

31/12/2025

19/12/2025

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