Time to Heal Together

12/10/2025

Another new experience ticked off today volunteering at a local cross country event.

I like to give back to the running community from time to time and this event had a little extra importance as I have been able to cheer on some members from my youth group.

Having seen our club go from three regular members to now over 20 attendees every week has been a fulfilling experience and now we are able to join with other clubs at these types of session feels like the next chapter.

I hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect when I offered to give up a big chunk of my Sunday but it’s reminded me that when we do something in support of others with no expectation of anything in return it can provide an unexpected wellbeing boost.

11/10/2025

Whilst the feeling of grief has shifted and changed for me as the years have passed, there are still days when it can be felt more keenly and the hole inside created by my mum’s death when I was a teenager feels a bit rawer.

In the build up to my accreditation day I felt conscious that there could be a moment or two of upset and sadness at the cold hard fact that this was yet another important occasion she would not be there to share. Tuesday evening these emotions came to the surface as I held one of her photos and thought of how much she has missed.

Thursday morning, the big day as it were, I placed my locket containing a small image of her around my neck as a way of feeling she was with me and then whilst driving along to the venue spontaneously pulled my car to the side of the road. I decided to play her favourite song on my phone to use a different sense to feel her presence.

Returning home later I had some gifts and cards from my family. My dad, a person very much brought up with the Unwritten Rule of men don’t talk about or openly show emotions, had chosen the card on the left in which he wrote just a few words: “Yet another achievement to make me very proud of you.”

I chose on this rare occasion not to make a teachable moment of the point that in PBs we can’t make people feel anything but rather to focus on the beautiful sentiment expressed within, whereby he was openly saying he felt proud of me.

This provided the third piece of connection with my mum on that very special day as I often crave to ask her whether she feels proud of what I do, and more importantly, who I am becoming. I like to think she would agree with my dad’s words and would feel the pride he does too.

09/10/2025

Not many days in your career, indeed your life, that you can genuinely say one of your dreams came true as mine did today.

I was determined that on my accreditation day as a Protective Behaviours Trainer for Education staff that I would do my very best and give those participants a great experience.

In truth, I felt happiness and excitement throughout it and pure joy that others have placed confidence in me as a competent and knowledgeable individual capable of teaching this material to others.

Hearing that I had successfully completed the day felt magical and left me with a deep sense of pride that I am ready to join this incredibly special Protective Behaviours training family.

07/10/2025

06/10/2025

It wasn’t time for a secret makeover at the weekend so why a nearly three year-old photo from October 2022?

Today is in effect my Protective Behaviours birthday- the day on which PBs first came into my life as I attended my Foundation Training. Little did I know how transformative it would prove to be not only for my work in education but my own emotional wellbeing too.

I considered over the weekend just how monumental the changes have been for me in that three year period and how different I have become from the person in the picture.

There seems a beautiful synchronicity for me in this anniversary occurring at the beginning of the week in which I will complete my accreditation day as a Protective Behaviours trainer for Education staff. Whilst I’ll always be a student of PBs in the sense that I will continue to learn more about how PBs really works and applies in different contexts, I can’t wait to join the ranks of this inspirational training group.

04/10/2025

Who said stickers are just for children?

Less than a week to go until my Protective Behaviours accreditation day and I felt pleased to receive a delivery of some I had made. A small yet important piece of reinforcement which references the two themes.

These will be placed on the sign-in area at the start of the day. Like almost everything in PBs, it’s an invitation not an expectation for participants to take one. This shows, I hope, that the ethos of the Protective Behaviours process is present from the moment people arrive and applies to us as adults as much as the pupils we support within education settings.

03/10/2025

Especially when the days feel dull and grey it helps to feel seen, heard and valued. An unexpected Protective Interruption this morning which went a long way to helping my feelings of safety.

01/10/2025

One vest, two different purposes.

I’m a big believer in showing up for those who are grieving beyond those initial first days and weeks after someone important has died.

This time last year I was in training for a 22 mile event in memory of a colleague’s son. Having completed that and an additional challenge back in August, a year after he died, I decided it was time to get it made into a memory bear- something for his family to keep and know that I continue to think of them.

In my experience grief can feel an incredibly lonely and isolating place. My hope in this small act is that this family will continue to feel seen in their grief despite life continuing “as normal” for society at large.

29/09/2025

Today I was the provider of cake. I think allowing ourselves to pause and enjoy something sweet after a busy day before moving onto the next task is a good way to support wellbeing 🙂

28/09/2025

I’m the sort of person who tends to make plans in advance and rarely chooses to be all that spontaneous.

Nevertheless yesterday at around 11am I decided that I would make some effort to go into Coventry to cheer on some intrepid colleagues who were taking on an abseil.

They were doing this in aid of a local hospice and much braver than me but I too chose to push myself outside my comfort zone in a more low key way. I tend to feel quite nervous driving somewhere unfamiliar, especially if I am unsure about the parking set up. However, I decided the outcome of seeing them there was worth a few minutes worth of discomfort on my drive in.

Both the abseil and my journey could be considered examples of Risking On Purpose from Protective Behaviours, through which we decide to put ourself in a situation which may not feel entirely safe or comfortable because there is a perceived benefit.

Judged by the happy smiles on their faces after they were back on the ground and my feeling of happiness at seeing them there, I would say our risks paid off 😊.

26/09/2025

Maybe you’ve been wondering why my work within Protective Behaviours is so important to me?

Within PBs there are two themes:

1. We all have the right to feel safe all the time
2. We can talk with someone about anything, even if it feels awful or small.

They resonate for reasons more than just being very relevant within my teaching and promotion of emotional wellbeing.

For over two decades following the death of my mum when I was a teenager I neither felt safe, even though I appeared so to the outside world, nor was I able to talk with anyone about the depths of my emotions.

Discovering this process has given me new tools to process my grief and honour 15-year-old Kelly who didn’t have the help she needed when she needed it.

How lucky I feel to have something which helps others but myself as well 🙂

25/09/2025

This was my venue today as I took some of my final steps as a Protective Behaviours trainee trainer.

I loved introducing colleagues from a range of education settings to this fabulous process as I lead the day with input from my wonderful mentor. Now on the big countdown for two weeks time when I complete my accreditation 😊