Talk The Talk oracy workshops for our MLD and CN students – lasting positive impression

Rian Ehlers, Interim Deputy Headteacher, Spa School Camberwell (Special School)

Talk The Talk in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation recently delivered the Talk About The Future workshop to our Year 11 students. Both the MLD (Moderate Learning Difficulties) and CN (Complex Needs) sessions were highly impactful and were thoroughly enjoyed by all students. These workshops were a genuine highlight of the term and made a lasting positive impression.

Specific recognition must go to the Talk The Talk trainer, whose delivery was exceptional. The trainer was the ideal facilitator for our school community and our autistic learners. The approach, communication style, and interpretation of the workshop content by the trainer were expertly tailored to our students’ needs, resulting in consistently high levels of engagement and meaningful participation.

Identifying high-quality external workshops that effectively meet the needs of students with complex needs is extremely challenging. In this context, the success of the Talk The Talk workshops was particularly significant.

Our students engaged exceptionally well, with every student actively participating. Students developed their communication skills in a range of ways, including building confidence in limited verbal communication and using non-verbal strategies such as body language and facial expression to interact with others.

Our students rely heavily on modelling and repetition to learn, and the trainer utilised these approaches skilfully to create a safe, positive, and highly effective learning environment. The workshops aligned closely with our highly adapted curriculum and reinforced the expected behaviours students need when navigating public situations and social interactions. This consistency is vital in supporting our students’ long-term development and independence.

We strongly believe these workshops would be even more impactful if delivered more frequently. Increased frequency would further embed learning through repetition, maximise progress, and create sustained positive outcomes for our students over time

One student’s progress during the workshop was particularly noteworthy. Despite being verbal, he has highly complex needs and rarely engages in group-based learning or whole-class activities. During the workshop, he was fully engaged, participated throughout, and clearly derived a great deal of enjoyment and learning from the experience. Awarding him the ‘Talk About The Future Champion’ certificate was a moment of genuine pride for both staff and his family and represented a meaningful milestone in his confidence and personal development.

We are grateful for the professionalism and impact of these workshops and sincerely hope to welcome Talk The Talk back in the near future.

Rian Ehlers, Interim Deputy Headteacher, Spa School Camberwell (Special School)

If you would like to find out more about how Talk The Talk could support the young people or teaching staff in your school or organisation, please do get in touch with us at info@talkthetalkuk.org or via our contact page on our website here .

Talk The Talk

Categories: Uncategorised