The training was great. It was very thorough and well delivered. The content of this course has really changed my view of dealing with pupils in distress and I feel I am a better teacher because of it. Thank you!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the course. Des was an amazing teacher and I learnt a lot. I’m so glad I was able to go onto this course - and would highly recommend it to anyone.

This is how all care and support training should be carried out. I feel so reassured that my family member is being cared for by a team that has this training and work ethic. PBS works and it should be the norm across the service network. Thank you Des.

Very informative and helpful, as well as being fun.

The course was great, very thought provoking, I have learnt many new skills to take forward into my job roll and would recommend this course to everybody!!

A very interactive course which have given me some skills that I will find useful in my job.

It was very enjoyable and despite the serious nature of the course Des made it fun.

D.escal8 is the most relevant and informative training I have untaken in the last 12years! I have always worked with young people with 'care seeking' behaviours and this course has a completely different and brilliant way of responding and interacting with the young person.

Inspirational, I left the 3 day course feeling empowered and full of encouragement, des is possibly one of the best trainers I’ve ever had the privilege to have train me , Thankyou des for an amazing 3 days that literally changed my outlook on not only my job but my own live xx

It was a helpful and practical training to reflect about people relationships

When I first went on the course I couldn't see how it would work but after listening on how to look at situations from other angles and how to defuse situations before they escalated it made senseThank you for changing MY mindset

A great course giving in depth content from how to stop things escalating but if they do how to ensure the child/person in your care is safe as well as yourself

The course provided me with essential skills that has improved my knowledge. Gave techniques and information that was relevant and could be applied.

Just to say the last group have been buzzing about the training ‘the best I’ve ever received in 30 years’ was said by 2 members of staff!

Training was done in a relaxed environment so was earlier to learn, just wish we were able to do the full three days!!

All the staff have improved their knowledge and understanding of positive behaviour support. The course has increased their confidence in managing behaviour which is then, replicated in their practice throughout school.
Once again, you have delivered an excellent and interactive course!

the day was very interesting and informitive

Well presented and informative.

I just wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for the fantastic course last week. I genuinely mean it when I say it was the best course I have ever been on. In my line of work I am used to going on many courses and usually come away feeling like my time has been wasted and completely bored. Not this time. I would recommend your course to anyone.

v refreshing and relevant training for my role. Really enjoyed the experience, thank you

This course truly is the gold standard, encouraging participants to reflect upon their own practices and experiences, to expand upon their understanding of ‘duty of care’ in their chosen field and that there is always another way to handle difficult situations. I have been on several courses and this is the first that focuses entirely on the individual in distress and how to support them in the best way possible. If you have the opportunity to attend, take it as you and your practice will benefit greatly.

Having worked in education, care and special needs for over ten years I have been on many intervention courses. The one constant between all of the courses has been a large gulf between the training and the real world application. The D.ESCAL8 is, by a large margin, the course that has closed this gap to what I would consider the smallest possible. This allows it to be as useful and informative to both experienced professionals, and someone brand new to the field.

It was very interesting to be invited to attend a course in something I teach myself. The first thing I noted was a welcome recognition that any form of physical intervention should be the last possible resort, when everything else has failed. It was very clear that this was a bespoke course tailored exactly to the students and their workplaces.

The students were learning a new system, replacing one from another provider. No time was devoted to denigrating their previous training or trainers even though the previous system used included types of restraint that are now considered dangerous.

Skills were layered on each other in ways that made it easy for students to learn. Techniques were not overtly complicated making recall under stress conditions is more likely. Students were mildly stressed in training, simulating real life conditions.
Demonstrations were clear, practice sufficient. The pace was exactly right, neither too fast nor too slow.

All in all, this is one of the better systems and more competent trainers in the market today.

I first met Des about 15 years ago when attended a course that Des was teaching. It occurred to me during the course that my behaviour and my actions had added to, if not caused some of the people I supported to become distressed. How I had handled these situations in the past hadn’t been planned and I could of not only put the individual, but myself and others at risk. This had a big impact on me as I had always thought of myself as a good carer. I now understand that I need to have a more flexible approach to reduce distress and to de-escalate the situation.
Over the years Des has been of great support helping me find solutions to difficulties we were facing with individuals and seeing how we can meet their needs, and reduce their distress.
I am very grateful to Des for imparting his knowledge and skills and for the positive changes I have managed to achieve as a result. Lowering individuals distress as soon as you can is vital in a care setting. This will ensure the individuals in your care are more settled and the staff team are less anxious.
Des has been great designing bespoke packages and I look forward to learning more from DESCAL8 in the near future.

The course was absolutely fantastic and I believe everyone in the care industry should receive this training as standard. I felt particularly empowered by the whole philosophy of de-escalate and its client centered approach. The course encourages you to challenge personal beliefs and societal presumptions which could be unhelpful when assisting an individual in distress. Instead it allows you to develop confidence in knowing how to act in a high arousal situation which you may find challenging, this confidence then in turn assists youto respond in more helpful low aroused ways rather than resorting to touch and restraint which is likely to distress clients further.

Des is a fantastic trainer who delivers course content in an engaging way which meets all learning styles. His knowledge of the subject was above and beyond including psychology, law, case examples, research and much more! I particularly enjoyed the role plays which was an invaluable way of learning, I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say the pressure you’re put under compares to VERY realistic situations which was an invaluable learning experience!

This training has given me the knowledge and the confidence to handle many difficult situations that arise in our working environment. The course was well structured and kept interesting throughout. The trainer was also very supportive and encouraging. I would recommend this course.

The course was very informative and a great confidence builder

I thought as a refresher course the content was absolutely spot on. Des was able to adapt to the specific needs and queries of the group very easily and I felt that the staff all had positive outcome from the day.

It was interesting to compare with the pbm course that I’ve done for 20 years .Enjoyed learning new ideas .

Brilliant course. It has given me the confidence to remain calm when my son is very upset – keeping calm is the best thing for him.

I intend using you for all my staff as an essential part of our training requested by CQC

Very worthwhile three days - gave me additional skills and a greater sense of confidence in my caring role and made some new friends too. I’d recommend this to anyone interested in providing good quality care.

The course was well delivered and it reinforced the low arousal approach that we advocate and support here. Highly recommended!

Very good course. Trainer was knowledgeable and enthusiastic & made the 3 days enjoyable + interesting.