"Steven makes it so fun and engaging you don’t want it to end!” Effective Factual Recording
Greetings one and all,
Yesterday I delivered the totally revamped ‘Effective Factual Recording’ training to staff from Birmingham City Council. Let us be honest here, this course could be a VERY dry affair. In fact, I’ve attended a fair few effective factual recording sessions in my career and I swear I can’t recall much of anything. I do recall nearly falling asleep in one session… Oh blimey, the honesty eh!
Meanwhile, let’s cut to MY sessions and the amount of work that I have put into creating the course. All new films, all new interviews with both residents and professionals. These films have been the highlight of the sessions, with the learners stating how much they gained from following the lived experience journey, plus hearing about the fatigue faced by staff dealing with complex issues day after day. This along with brand new interactive activities has meant that the training is now better than ever.
The full day’s training is split into several areas. First of all, learners follow the story of Thomasina. The Thomasina story is based on lived experience and both the positives and the negatives that she faced when she was forced into homelessness. Rather than just focusing on what needs to go into case notes, the training highlights the trauma faced by people who face homelessness and / or housing insecurity. As we explore Thomasina’s story, we also start to focus on how stresses and strains can affect staff working directly with people who are experiencing trauma.
Here are the new aim and objectives:
Aim: To ensure that all staff can record information correctly, legibly and legally. To establishing effective communication with all customers / clients.
Objectives: by the end of today’s session, you will be able to:
1. Explain the importance of legal and legible case notes.
2. Explore barriers to communication, especially in relation to what has previously been stated about the client.
3. Describe some of the common pitfalls when completing notes.
4. Illustrate how to overcome any assumptions.
5. Determine how to ensure that the client’s voice is heard.
6. Express how to create excellent notes that tell the full story.
7. Recognised the need for self-regulation and being open and honest about stresses.
To say that the feedback has really perked me up would be an understatement.
“The training was on point Steven’s presentation was excellent and I could not fault him. I am looking forward to more training with Steven.”
“A very welcoming, enthusiastic, and engaging trainer throughout. There was not a dull moment other than when I was asked a question and my laptop horribly decided to freeze on me and I wanted to melt into the ground. The slides were very informative on how to effectively record concise information pinpointing the facts as opposed to assumptions and personal opinions which was insightful. Very thoughtful videos which made me reflect on my own practise on how to behave towards service users regardless of external stress. Brilliant drawings, I was in awe- they look straight out of a comic book 😊 THANK YOU STEVEN.”
“I have attended an on-line training session with Steven before and I have to say that I really enjoyed it, this one too. In fact, when I heard Steven was delivering this one it made me smile so I knew it was going to be alright. It was informative, fun and it was a pleasure to virtually meet other colleagues in Housing sector too.”
“Always a pleasure to attend Steven Talbot’s training sessions. He is knowledgeable and he creates a very good learning environment. I leant a lot of effective ways of communication, and it was relatable to my job role. This course should be on the list of mandatory training as it is very good and important to the way we handle citizens complaints and the way we write reports day to day. Excellent lecturer, thank you Steven.”
“It was very informative and interactive, engaging at all times during the training, very friendly approach and of course lots of information to take in. Overall, I thought it was amazing.”
“The training has been very helpful and informative, especially with the team activities which help keep it engaging.”
“The training session was very helpful, and gave me an insight on how I could change a few ways I write information down.”
“I really enjoyed the content of the training today well thought through and well presented. Good to react with other colleagues across the service. This helps in day-to-day reporting and instructions of how important it is to be factual.”
“I really enjoyed the training today and it was lovely talking with you, I look forward to more of your training sessions.”
“I enjoyed the sessions; I have learnt a lot. Thank you so much for today its been very uplifting and encouraging. You was very clear and I was able to understand you perfectly. I must say I have and been enlightened you was a joy to watch and listen to. The best bit for me was the mediation at the end of the session. I found this up lifting and encouraging. Thank you so much.”
“Thanks for the training, it was very informative and gave me a new way of seeing things. It also made me realise that effective note taking is essential to a proper work ethic as a tidy mind engenders proper work efficiency. I appreciated the training as it will help my support work moving forward and my recording of important client information.”
“Another fantastic training session. Steven makes it so fun and engaging you don’t want it to end!”