Blog

When you’re starting out as a freelance trainer (or at any stage), it can be difficult to keep the cashflow in a reasonable state, particularly as you may take bookings for training courses which aren’t taking place until some time in the future.

The other difficulty may be your reluctance to talk about money/payment – if you’re much more used to getting a regular salary it can be quite a shock to be discussing fees and even harder to ask for it if it’s late!

So one of the decisions you might need to make is whether or not to charge a deposit when a booking is made.

In the early days of Can Do Courses,  probably for the first 2 years, I decided that I would request a deposit as soon as the booking was confirmed.  It definitely helped to guarantee the booking to some degree and I felt that it...

I’ve heard and read a lot of articles and viewpoints written by freelance trainers on collecting testimonials from your clients.

A couple of years ago I saw (on a social media platform) an individual having to defend themselves because they were promoting their services using a long list of written testimonials, which had been received from delighted customers.

The person was attempting to show that if you booked them for some training, they were going to provide good value, not just in terms of cost but also in relation to the potentially transformational content.  And they could prove it because they’d received such good feedback.

But in response to this person’s post, a number of others made comments that this person was “boasting”, “full of themselves” and other pejoratives.  A few other replies were given in defence of this person, stating that if they were to arrange any training for their teams,...

ADHD and children’s parties

I remember when my son was very young (primary school) and he had a lovely circle of energetic pals. He wanted to do everything and be everywhere.  His friends were mostly the same, to a greater or lesser degree, and we spent happy evenings at cubs, swimming, football practice, all the usual!

Being a December-born child, his birthday party had to be an indoor affair.  When he was the ripe old age of 4, I realised that this might be the last time that I could accommodate the rough and tumble of a predominantly boys’ party in my house.  They needed space and it showed – all the children were lively, it’s exciting to be at a party and let off some happiness.

But one of my son’s little friends (we’ll call him Joe) stood out above the others.  He was a little dynamo, far more active and...

Behaviour in class is something that most teachers need to take charge of at some time or another.  Attending training for behaviour management is always an important part of the development of practical skills, but isn't always convenient during a busy working week.

We provide online behaviour management training in several formats (including this one which is hosted on Teachable), and one of our regular offers includes access to free webinars.

Here's one of our bite-sized (30 minutes) behaviour management webinars which you're invited to watch.

This 30 minute webinar covers the following common classroom behaviour 'complaints':

• work avoidance (failing to start)
• calling out
• managing lateness
• angry outbursts

Grab your headphones and pick up a few tips and strategies.  You can watch directly on You Tube if your system works better that way.

Behaviour in class - managing lateness

Teaching in the Further Education (16+) arena often means adapting some management of behaviour  in class to be more ‘equal’ (ie adult to adult).

So as a newbie teacher some decades ago, when it was recommended to me that I stand at the door to greet my students I ignored this advice, believing that it was something that should be kept for the young ‘uns.  I preferred to busy myself in class while my students arrived.

But for many of my students, the initial euphoria of college life wore off, and the arrival on time became less important for some of them.  My diligence in dealing with those who preferred to linger in the corridor or dawdle to class was non-existent.  I was faced with poor punctuality and very few ideas about how to deal with it except to complain, berate, or discipline.

One day I happened...