Learn Spark deliver sessions to governors, principals, vice principals, senior teachers, teachers, classroom assistants, students, parents and school support. We deliver to everyone and anyone interested in reaching their potential in the education sector.
Learn Spark has been working with schools and colleges for over 13 years and has worked with over 400 schools across Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Great Britain to date. Most of our facilitators have been involved with education for over 25 years working as principals, vice principals, middle management and subject teachers.
Most of the training programmes delivered to schools and colleges are paid directly by the schools and colleges. Learn Spark is not directly paid by any education authority, our funding comes directly from the schools and colleges themselves. We have, on occasion, successfully obtained council tenders to deliver training and support services to schools and colleges.
When we deliver training to a school/college we will invoice the school directly. If they manage their own budget/funds, they will pay Learn Spark directly. However, some schools/college have their budget/funds managed by an external authority. In this case, the invoice will be forwarded to the school/college, and they will then forward it to the relevant authority for payment to Learn Spark.
Prices for courses can vary depending what is required and the number attending the course. If you would like to book a session, simply let us know and we will provide you with a no commitment quotation for your consideration.
At the end of each session, your facilitator will carry out an evaluation with attendees. These will be collected by your facilitator, collated and an evaluative report will be returned to you for your consideration and records.
We can provide half and full day sessions, depending on numbers and the preference of the school/college. A half-day session usually runs between 9/9:30am – 12/12:30pm, and a full day would usually run between 9/9:30am – 3:00/3:15pm. An appropriate number of breaks would also be included in these times.
Your facilitator will liaise with you to determine what timings would best suit your attendees and timetable. We will endeavour to make the timings suit your needs, and sessions can be lengthened or shortened in order to do so.
The number of sessions delivered in a day will be determined by the length of session(s) you require and the number of attendees you have. Your facilitator will liaise with you to decide on the best way to split groups across the day, to suit your timetable and include breaks. Typically, we deliver 2 sessions in a day, am and pm, however, if you wish to shorten a session to approximately 1 hr 30mins, we can deliver 3 sessions in a day.
It is important to note that when delivering a number of sessions in one day, your facilitator will need time in between these to reset the room for the next session.
Most school/college staff sessions (teachers and/or classroom assistants and/or other support staff) from one school can be accommodated as a group over a half day or full day. When two or more schools are attending at the same time with exceptionally high numbers (i.e.: in excess of 140 attendees) we adopt a lecture style approach with all attendees seated in rows.
For our student sessions, which are typically interactive and practical, we recommend that if there are more than 60 attendees then they are split across a number of sessions, which happen in a single day or across a number of days. There are some sessions such as our ‘Peer Mentoring’ and ‘Team Leadership’ sessions where we advise numbers of attendees are capped at around 30. However, contact us directly with your specific requirements and we can explore the options.
Sessions are typically delivered on-site in your school/college or virtually. If a school/college wishes to have their session delivered virtually, a Zoom link will be sent from the facilitator in advance of the session.
Your facilitator will aim to arrive 30mins before the agreed start time to set up. They will need access to the room at this time to get ready for the attendees’ arrival.
We typically recommend that attendees are seated around tables, with no more than 6 at each table, and all attendees facing the screen. There is no problem if this is not possible, please just seat them as necessary.
Your facilitator will require a projector and screen. They will bring along their own laptop, along with all the relevant adaptors. They will also require access to your sound system and a microphone. It would be very beneficial to have technical support available before the start of the first session to ensure all the technology is connecting correctly.
Learn Spark facilitators will provide all the necessary resources for the session(s), e.g.: booklets/session materials. However, if attendees wish to bring their own stationery, such as colouring pens/markers, this is perfectly acceptable. All attendees should bring along a pen.
Students attending study skills sessions should bring relevant notes in order to engage effectively with the practical activities. During these workshops they can apply the study strategies demonstrated to their subject notes.
If you let us know in advance of any students or staff requiring special consideration during the session(s), e.g.: hearing or sight issues and/or difficultly with loud noises, and/or difficultly working with others, etc. then we will endeavour to ensure that they are accommodated and enabled to fully access all aspects of the session(s).
In the event that a session is cancelled by the school/college, the following charges will apply:
If a session is not cancelled but rescheduled for an alternative date, the above charges will be applied at the time of rescheduling and deducted from the balance when the session is delivered. If for any unforeseen circumstances Learn Spark needs to cancel a session, the school/college will not be charged, and we will endeavour to provide an alternative date. If a school/college has pre-paid for a session that Learn Spark has had to cancel, and no alternative date is suitable, we will provide a full refund or a credit note.
Bookings for the August training period.
Please note: For all training booked before the start of the summer break (in this case, 31 June) for delivery in the following August, if cancelled over the summer break (in this case, July or August), a 50% cancellation fee will apply. This is to cover the preparation of materials already completed and the revenue lost as we can no longer offer that date to another client.
We will take photos during the session(s) for use with our social media. Please let us know if you would not like us to take photos during the session(s). We are delighted when schools/colleges take photos and share them on their social media; can you please tag us when posting at: @learnspark and #learnspark.
All our facilitators come from an educational background having been principals, vice principals, governors, middle management, teachers and college lecturers. In addition to that experience, they receive training by Learn Spark.
We are always interested in attracting new facilitators who feel they have the experience and skills required to deliver training to students and educationalists. To apply, candidates must be experienced educationalists with a proven track record of delivering training to groups of students and/or educationalists.
Forward a CV to:
Ciara Doyle (Learn Spark Finance and Personnel Executive)
Email: cdoyle@learnspark.co.uk, or Phone: +44 28 3083 3942
