Reasonable Force – The Law is there to Protect You

When discussing personal safety,

The Law is there to protect you.

What do I mean by this?

For those of us who support and care for those who display challenging and aggressive behaviour, keeping ourselves and others safe is of utmost importance. Working in the health, education and care profession doesn’t diminish our right to defend ourselves and our right to remain safe and free from harm. You – as individuals, managers and employees – have rights and these rights are protected. Your right to defend yourself is not taken away from you when you enter the workplace.

We do not go to work to be assaulted on injured. This may sometimes be the case but it should not be the ‘NORM’. Our families need us to arrive home safe and free from injury.

Organisations have a duty of care towards their employees, this includes providing necessary training. What’s important is that we understand the law around the use of force. People often worry about using the word ‘force’. Force can simply be moving ones hand away from a part of your body to keep yourself safe.

Force is ok as long as it is “Reasonable in the circumstances”. Is it necessary, is it proportionate? These may just seem like words, but our expert trainers will provide further insight into their importance and how they are underpinned by law. For more information around ‘Reasonable Force’ along with tried and tested techniques to keep yourself and others safe, why not enquire about our Breakaway and Physical Intervention and Restraint packages?

Ignite Training Wales’ Breakaway and Physical Intervention packages are designed in a way which empower individuals by emphasising the importance of decision making around legislation, law and real life experiences..

What laws protect you?

To put it simply –

  • Common Law – a well established principal which entitles any person to defend themselves from attack by using “reasonable force”.
  • Criminal law – A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstance in the prevention of a crime

Our training will discuss these in depth and give trainees the confidence to make the right decision and keep themselves and those around them safe. Understanding these principles are crucial when faced with violence and aggression on a regular basis. When faced with violence and aggression it is important to act quickly and in line with the confines of the law. Ignite Training Wales can give your organisation the “edge” and ensure you meet your regulatory requirements.

Personal safety is a passion of ours at Ignite Training Wales, get in touch for a free video consultation and discounted prices for months March and April.

Best regards,

Life is the ‘C’ between ‘B’ and ‘D’

January is often a time of refection for most, but also a time to look forward. Looking ahead at the possibilities and potential troubles the journey of the coming year may bring. 2020 was a turbulent year for all of us, Covid 19 has shaped our futures in ways we could never imagine. But what we must all remember is the success of 2021 is down to us. It’s in your hands.

Many people wonder “What is life?” – I know this sounds a little deep but bear with me. Life simply is – the ‘C’ between ‘B’ and ‘D’. When I heard the phrase, it sounded more like an equation than a philosophical or religious viewpoint. However, when I untangled it some more, I drew a few things out:

B – Birth (pretty self explanatory)
D – Death (once again self explanatory and also not something I want to ramble on about during a cold and wet pandemic in January!)

The important part of this equation (if you can call it that) is:

C – Choices

Your life is a series of choices you make on a daily basis, mostly without thinking. You have made a series of choices throughout the course of your life, which have brought you to where you are today – the school you went to, the friends you chose, the college or university you enrolled in, the effort you put into your studies.  These choices have vastly influenced your journey and how you see the world.

You could make one “ Bad” choice that could impact your life forever. We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can ALWAYS control the attitude and mindset that we take towards situations and our day to day lives. Taking time in your day to reflect on some of the decisions or choices you have made and where they have led you can aid in better decision making in the future and better outcomes moving forward.

I will not lie to you – I have made some unwise, selfish and embarrassing choices in my younger years.  I now look back, reflect and can learn from these choices.  But this is ok. Be conscious and aware of the importance of the choices you make. Choose to be kind, choose to do something to help another, choose to do things that are in line with your personal values.

At Ignite Training Wales, we choose every day to go one step further for all our clients and trainers. We choose to make every training day exceptional and one to remember.

To finish –
One choice we have made as a team is to bring additional training to our clients and friends this year. We have now recruited a fantastic trainer who will be offering an extensive Safeguarding package to be included in our syllabus. This will cover absolutely everything your organisation needs to know about safeguarding and protecting vulnerable people. More on this in the next few weeks where the synopsis will be available online at www.ignitetrainingwales.com

Make the right choices for you and your organisational training needs this year.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

My favourite book of 2020 – (Nothing to do with behaviour management)

“Reading is to the brain, what exercise is to the body”

One of my goals for 2020 was to read or listen to one book every month. Not an unachievable or memorable goal I know. In a way, I did reach my goal – I did read 12 books, just not one a month! (The lockdown enabled me to read a lot more than usual)

Finding time in my morning (or evening) for reading has led to a significant growth in knowledge in an array of subjects. I have been astounded by the compounding effect of making little improvements consistently over time. Dwayne Johnson (more commonly known as The Rock) puts it like this:

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency.
Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come “

So what was my favourite book…? It was a gift from my father from a business trip he attended at the beginning of the year. The fact that it was actually a signed copy had nothing do with it being my choice as #1!

Never split the difference – Chris Voss

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It eBook: Voss, Chris, Raz, Tahl: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Chris Voss is a former FBI negotiator who has honed his skills and worked to make them suitable and usable in the business (and personal) world. The Author drives home the point that you are in continuous negotiations throughout your days, weeks and months.

Chris Voss keeps you intrigued and fascinated with ways to control conversations and make you want to start them with a “No” – an interesting concept and an apparently effective technique. According to Voss, people like to say no; it makes them feel at ease and comfortable. This is when the negotiation begins.  “No” provides a great opportunity for you and the other party to clarify what you really want by eliminating what you don’t want.

First of all, smile and be humorous. The human brain works 31% better when in a positive frame of mind. But remember, humour needs to be appropriate to the context of the conversation. Smiling at someone triggers the mirror neurons in the brain and even if they don’t smile back, the neurons have been activated. 

Below is a very brief overview of some key points I found particularly interesting. If the tools and techniques work during hostage negotiations with terrorists, then why not give it a go in both your personal and business life…?

Active listening
Negotiation begins with listening, making it about others and caring about what they have to say. After trust has been established, the author teaches you how to validate their emotions, creating enough trust and safety for a real conversation to begin. It’s a pretty basic principle that emphasises connection and empathy. Listening with an open mind is the first step to effective negotiation. They should feel that you fully understand their positions, beliefs, feelings and worldview. The beginning of a good negotiation can sounds similar to a conversation with a therapist.

Mirroring ( Not the original mirroring of visual cues but mirroring of words )

  • Use mirrors to encourage the other side to empathise and bond with you, keep people talking, buy your side time to regroup, and encourage your counterparts to reveal their strategy and open up. Repeating the last 3 to 4 words of a sentence back to them is an excellent way to prolong conversations and gain further insight to what they actually want. We are mirroring words to build a connection with the individual.
  • Mirroring gets you on the same “page” and level as your counterpart.
  • Repeat the last 1 to 3 words (ish) or a selection of key words. For example, if your counterpart says “I’m not going to bed“ you respond with “to bed?”
  • Mirroring will encourage people to state the issue in another way.
  • We want the individual to “repeat or expand” so we can gather more information and get to the root of what they really want.
  • Mirroring enables you to connect with people’s thoughts.

Labelling
Another very simple but effective way of showing you understand the other person is by labelling. Labelling is what Voss calls “verbally stating out loud what the other person is probably thinking and feeling right now.”

  • Labels usually start with “It seems like…” or “It looks like…” for example – “It seems like you’ve had a difficult day…”
  • When labelling emotions it is important to avoid using “I……”
  • Remember: a negotiation is about the OTHER person and their FEELINGS rather than your own.
  • Labels help diffuse negative emotions and improve feelings of understanding.

I highly recommend this book for individuals in all organisations. Check out some of his videos on YouTube to get a taster of what he’s all about.

From the team at Ignite Training Wales –

Nadolig Llawen
Merry Christmas

Tomos, Sian, Dean and Owen

A time to reflect – Physical intervention training day with a group of childcare officers in Neath Port Talbot

I can speak on behalf of all the trainers involved in this week’s physical intervention training when I say that it was an incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable day.

Capturing and enjoying these moments is why we do what we do.

Doing something you love, and improving people’s confidence, competence and knowledge is extremely motivating and is something we at Ignite will never take for granted.

The day was a mixture of informative PowerPoints around the Use Of Force, Health and Safety and Manual handling with the addition of more sensitive topics like positional asphyxia and excited delirium.

We moved on to the physical elements of personal safety which involved breakaways and disengagement. Teaching individuals how to stay safe, ensuring they reunite safely with their loved ones at the end of every day made it a satisfying start to the afternoon.

The trainers utilised a scenario based approach with frequent interaction while making the optimisation and understanding of skills a priority. The group absorbed the information and by the end of the session had mastered the techniques,

Sian once again blew everyone away with her knowledge and delivery, tactfully supported by her right hand man Dean.

We at Ignite aim to simplify training and try not to overcomplicate – in the “heat of the moment” you are not going to remember complex skills and techniques.

When it comes to physical intervention, simplicity = success.

What was great about the group was their ability to bring their experiences into conversations which led to a relaxed and nurturing atmosphere which meant a better learning (and tutoring) environment.

Who did we train?

The group were a number of childcare officers for a local children’s home in the South Wales area. The age, experience, background and confidence level of the group members were varied.

The medically audited skills and techniques (taught to us as trainers through the NFPS) once again made the training a success for the trainees and meant that myself, Dean and Sian felt encouraged and excited about what the future holds for Ignite Training.

My personal highlight from the day was seeing the change in confidence and belief in one trainee in particular and watching her leave as if she’d had a new lease of life. This wonderful lady began the training day having just left a long night shift where she had been dealing with some particularly challenging behaviours. However, a few strong coffees later, she was ready to go. Her character and eagerness to learn was contagious.  We didn’t mistake her warmth for weakness; she was not one to be messed with. She nailed all the techniques, proved herself one of the best, and took so much out of the day.

Approaching situations with the right attitude and mindset, surrounded by the right people (and doing so consistently) will bring success.. Maybe not immediately, but when the accumulative compounding affect of these finally hit, the changes you’ll see and the successful outcomes you’ll experience will be more than worth the wait.

I leave you with some wise words from a great leader:

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill

Make a small, positive improvement every day and be astounded by what the future brings.

Ignite Training Solutions have a trainee centred approach, striving to meet the unique needs of the organisations with whom we work. This, along with developing long term relationships, is our main aim and will be paramount in our vision moving forward.

Tomos

Physical intervention and restraint – removing the stigma

For us, physical intervention and restraint training is about keeping people safe – Plain and simple! We want to assist in demolishing the stigma that surrounds the subject and shine a new light on how far the industry has developed over the last decade.

The world of “C and R” (Control and restraint) is no more – Physical intervention now accentuates the importance of personal safety.. Trainees are now taught how to utilise the skills and techniques to manage difficult and often dangerous situations in a controlled manner with the best interests of individuals as an underpinning priority. The techniques and skills taught are medically audited and begin by being least restrictive..

We would be naïve to state that all situations are managed in this way.. But contrary to popular belief the majority of restrictive interventions are used in order to keep individuals safe and prevent injury or harm to themselves. In this new world of distress and emotional vulnerability, self-harm and suicide is on the rise. Many individuals from a variety of organisations have to physically intervene regularly to prevent serious injury or potentially death. This is done with the sole purpose of caring and helping someone in need..

The training team at Ignite have a mindset of compassion. We care about those we teach, and for those they care for. Training days with Ignite are filled with knowledge, mutual respect and an element of humour to bring the best out of individuals and to work towards a new era in the world of physical intervention and supporting vulnerable individuals…

Feel free to reach out.

Tomos

A Starbucks lesson; Offering you more than just your favourite drink.


Howard Behar (former president of Starbucks International) and I have one thing in common: our favourite drink at Starbucks is a ‘tall triple shot americano’. Howard Behar has written a great book that anyone involved in leadership should read, it’s called:
It’s not about the coffee – lessons on putting people first from a life at Starbucks.

Bearing in mind the importance of reorganizing life around what matters, I was stopped in my tracks when I read the following sentence in the book.
“Caring about people keeps you focused on what truly matters”

When I become the centre of my universe, I lose perspective. Initially this is just a small shift, but unless my focus changes, then the loss of perspective can be dramatic and damaging.

What Behar means when he says caring for others is “putting other people before yourself”. This is not a new way of thinking and behaving discovered to create the Starbucks Experience. It is a way of thinking that results from applying the Golden rule:
“Do for others what you would like them to do for you”.

A great speaker and prolific author named Zig Ziglar believed that:
“You Can Only Get What You Want, If You Help Enough Other People Get What They Want”
So what kind of person do I want to be known as – selfish or selfless? It depends on where my focus is and I agree with Howard Behar, not only on his choice of drink but that:
“Caring about people keeps you focused on what truly matters”

We at Ignite want to help you and your organisation “get what you want”
By starting with this as our “WHY”, we can stand out from others within the field by caring holistically about our clients and emphasising on integrity and relationship building.
We offer not only training, but reassurance and companionship with the aim of nurturing a mutually fruitful and beneficial relationship.

Tomos

Have a life plan, not just a training plan…

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? NOT MUCH.”

If I ever need to capture something in an impactful way then chances are Jim Rohn has a quote that does just that.

Rarely do I come across people who rubbish the idea of having a plan if they want to achieve something. However it’s one thing to recognise the importance of planning – it’s great to have good intentions about planning – but it’s another thing entirely to create and implement a workable plan.

Are you aware that if you don’t have a plan you are probably a part of someone else’s plan? And that plan might not be the best one for you!

Look at the examples below, do they trigger anything within you…?

  • If you don’t have your own financial plan you become part of Visa and Mastercard’s financial plan, because they’ve got a plan. Or you become a part of Debenham’s, or Next’s or Curry’s or Amazon’s plan, because they have got a well worked out plan.
  • If you don’t have a positive reading plan you’ll become a part of the plan The Daily Mail, Hello, Esquire, House Beautiful or Topcar have to increase their readership.
  • If you don’t have a plan to carve out time to spend in solitude – thinking, meditating and reflecting – then you will become a part of the plan Sky TV, BBC2, Coronation St and Countdown have to increase the number of viewers they attract.

Then, in 10 years’ time you’ll wonder why you are in so much debt, under so much pressure and working such long hours. Why you don’t have time for the important things in life? In other words, why have you drifted so far away from where you should be financially, spiritually, emotionally and physically?

Life won’t have gone according to your plan because you didn’t have one. Life will have gone according to someone else’s plan!

“Everyone ends up somewhere but very few end up somewhere on purpose.”

Have you set time aside to create your lifeplan?

I split my life into four quadrants –

  1. Health
  2. Wealth
  3. Love
  4. Fulfilment

Have a think of where you are in these four areas. The next blog will explore this further.

For the meantime, take time to think…
What is your organisations training plan?

Let Ignite Training Solutions assist you by adding value to your workforce and helping you meet your training needs.

Introduction

Welcome to Tomos’ blog. For me, writing a blog is all about sharing information and helping others. Information captured in my blogs will vary depending on what I have been working on personally and where I see that I can add value to others, both within the training and behaviour management industry but also in the wider environment of personal development, leadership and growth.

I hope you enjoy…

Tomos

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.