As Raising Your Game’s regional coordinator in Hertfordshire, Natasha Cock co-delivers Talk about Talk training, with I CAN, to different organisations. She explains how it can be adapted to really make a difference

We recently trained prisoners at The Mount prison in Bovingdon. It was an adapted version of our Talk about Talk communication difficulty awareness training. It’s one of the first adult prisons that Raising Your Game has worked with.

Some of the prisoners were mentors. They are part of a funded scheme, delivered by the Southside Partnership, which trains up prisoners to mentor others who require advocacy support. It focuses on prisoners who may have mental health or learning support needs. We had a total of 16 trainees. Six were already in the role and the rest were on the waiting list to become mentors.

We asked the mentors what they wanted from the training. They wished to learn more about learning disability and communication difficulty, and find out how to support other prisoners who face these challenges. This would enable them to perform their mentoring roles more effectively.

It was a full day’s training. We covered the difficulties that people may have with their communication skills and strategies to support them. The session was interactive, with a mixture of discussions, activities and watching a DVD.

It was the first time many had considered communication. Several prisoners even identified possible communication difficulties in themselves, or their families, as well as the prisoners they were mentoring.

“I won’t make assumptions about what others understand”. That was one comment we got when we asked for feedback. Another was, “I got a great insight into what’s been staring me in the face”. Many asked for another session.

One prisoner intends to use the skills gained from the course in his career on release from prison. We hope that the training will support all the mentors to gain other opportunities – including possible employment, once they leave prison, as well as on the prison’s educational and learning schemes.

Flexibility is a key principle behind Raising Your Game’s training. It allows us to adapt to the needs of the organisation, to enable everyone to get the most out of the training. It means we can reach as many agencies as possible, to increase awareness of communication difficulty.

Talk about Talk training is easy to adapt. It consists of a number of activities with broad learning outcomes. This means that you can pick which activities are suitable to the audience and shape them to achieve the desired aim. Additionally, the training can be delivered in a variety of settings, to any number of participants.

To find out more, call Natasha on 07852 230 832 or email natasha.cock@mencap.org.uk

Liz Wood is a communication advisor at I CAN and helps Raising Your Game’s young people deliver Talk about Talk training. She explains what makes the project’s mentoring so unique

I train and mentor young people with a learning disability or communication difficulty to co-deliver Raising Your Game’s Talk about Talk communication difficulty awareness training.

It’s different to other mentoring schemes for young people, as it focuses on developing their language and communication skills. It allows them to deliver the training and excel at co-presenting.

The training aims to change their lives. By focusing on communication skills, we aim to develop the knowledge and attitudes needed for life success – including resilience, a positive outlook and self-awareness. These qualities may also increase their chances of avoiding crime, finding employment and living independently.

We help young people reflect on their skills. We use pictures and demonstrations to help them understand the skills and a scale to help them think about their own communication. If we were considering eye contact, for example, the young person would decide if they always, sometimes or never find making eye contact difficult.

This can be challenging for the young people. For many, this is their first opportunity to assess their strengths and goals, and putting these into words can be hard. Also, poor memory skills make the retention of agreed goals and strategies difficult.

We use several techniques to support the young people and enable them to engage with the process. These include the use of visual formats – for example, photographs taken during the training enabled one young person to reflect on his posture. He was able to evaluate his performance and plan to practice and consolidate this new skill.

The young people will evaluate themselves. Initially, the mentoring is led by the trainer, but over time the young person should be able to set targets, and monitor and modify their own skills.

The mentoring is based on each young person. There is no standard model, as it evolves with contact with the individual. The balance between how much we direct that person through the training and how much we let it happen and then reflect depends on the individual.

We are evaluating our approach. Over the next three years, we will be working with the University of Sheffield to do this. Feedback to date has been impressive. A tutor remarked that a young person had “become more relaxed and confident”. One young person cited mentoring and practice as the things that help most with the training.

Listening to the young people is key. Raising Your Game’s mentoring involves various techniques, including role play and peer observation. However, the key aspects of success are the relationship between mentor and young person, tailored support and supported practice and observation.

Contact Liz on: lwood@ican.org.uk