When training gets put off: five common assumptions worth revisiting
In busy schools with tight budgets, training is often the thing that quietly slips down the list. It is not that leaders do not want to book it. It is that when the pressure is on, other things always feel more urgent. Cover, safeguarding paperwork, parents evenings, the endless day-to-day. Training can end up as one of those things that will be sorted out 'next term'. Then next term arrives, and the same pattern repeats.
Some of that comes from genuine constraints. But quite a lot of it comes from assumptions about what training actually involves. When those assumptions go unchecked, they can put staff development on hold long after the real barriers have disappeared. Five come up more often than the rest, and each is worth a closer look.
Assumption one: good training has to be expensive
The first assumption that tends to slow things down is cost. If the picture in your head of specialist additional needs training is a full day in-person course with a hefty price tag per delegate, it is easy to conclude it is simply not affordable this year. In reality, prices vary enormously and many high quality online courses now sit at a price point that is very reachable for individual staff, small teams and stretched budgets. Affordable does not have to mean lower quality. It often just means designed with the realities of school life in mind.
Assumption two: training means a whole day out of school
The second assumption is time. A training day traditionally meant just that, a full day, often requiring cover across a team. That is still an option where a whole day INSET is genuinely useful, but it is no longer the default. Many effective sessions now run for around two hours, deliberately shaped to fit around a busy school day. A short, focused session that gives staff a genuine shift in understanding can be far more useful than a longer session that runs into diminishing returns.
Assumption three: you have to train everyone in the same thing
Another quiet blocker is the belief that training has to be uniform across a team. In reality, different roles need different depth. A SENCO may need something specialist. A group of teaching assistants may want something more practical. An early years lead may need something quite different again. There is nothing wrong with mixing and matching. A team where different members access different sessions based on what they actually need often ends up with a richer, more relevant base of knowledge than a team where everyone sits through the same content whether it fits their role or not.
Assumption four: staff have to travel to access the good training
Location used to be a genuine constraint, particularly for schools in rural areas or for teams needing specialisms only offered in a handful of places. Live online delivery has changed that considerably. Staff can now join from their own school, from home during a study day, or from a shared meeting room, without the time and cost of travel. That opens up training options that were once only realistic for schools within easy reach of a major city.
Assumption five: everyone has to attend live
Related to that is the assumption that if a member of staff cannot attend the live session, they miss out. In practice, recorded sessions with a licence period, often of twelve months, mean staff can access training in their own time. They can revisit content, share it with a colleague and use it to induct new members of the team as they join. That kind of flexibility can transform how a school uses its training budget across a year.
How Concept Training approaches this
At Concept Training, we have shaped our courses around the realities of school life. For over 28 years we have worked with schools, trusts, local authorities and care organisations across the UK and overseas to make specialist training on autism, ADHD, behaviour, sensory processing, PDA, intensive interaction, sensory circuits, complex needs and inclusion as accessible as we can. Sessions are available live and online, in shorter formats designed to fit around the school day, and can be booked for individual staff, whole school INSET or bespoke training built around your setting. Recorded courses with a twelve-month licence are also available where that flexibility is useful.
Every course is written and delivered by the same experienced practitioner, so what your team gets is grounded in years of direct work rather than repackaged theory.
Whatever your budget, timetable or team size, there is almost always a way to make training work. If you would like to explore what would suit your school best, you can browse our upcoming courses at www.concept-training.co.uk/courses or get in touch directly to discuss the options.