Talking Mats offers comprehensive training for practitioners in healthcare and therapeutic environments, including:

• Speech and language therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Psychologists
• Mental health practitioners
• Nurses
• Rehabilitation teams

Our training courses for health and therapy practitioners involve:

• Improving participation in assessments, reviews, and planning, informing patient –led practice
• Helping people think about and express their feelings and concerns in a straightforward, structured way
• Adapting communication styles to suit different needs and abilities
• Building confidence using Talking Mats in practice

Our training courses are suitable for staff in educational settings such as early years settings, schools, colleges, universities, and specialist settings. Our training helps provide inclusive communication and is suitable for:

• Teachers
• Special Educational Needs (SEN / ASN) teachers
• Teaching assistants
• Teaching support staff
• Educational psychologists
• School pastoral staff

Education practitioners who take part in our training sessions will learn to:

• Help pupils express views about learning and school life
• Support children with speech, language, or communication needs
• Encourage participation in all aspects of school life
• Explore wellbeing and friendships
• Build practical communication strategies that can be used daily as part of a supportive learning environment
• Understand how to uphold a rights-based approach, ensuring pupil voice has a meaningful impact

The Talking Mats framework is ideal for those working in social care and support roles. Practitioners in adult social care, children’s services, and support roles are required to listen well and involve people in decisions. Our training helps you use our framework effectively to support better planning and outcomes when working with people with communication needs. We help:

• Social workers
• Support workers
• Care workers (residential, domiciliary)
• Key workers/case workers
• Family support workers

Our training helps social care and support professionals to:

• Use Talking Mats to support person-led care
• Gather feelings and preferences effectively from those being supported
• Reduce frustration caused by communication barriers
• Structure conversations more clearly – especially those that may be sensitive
• Embed supported decision-making within practice

For those working in justice, safeguarding, and advocacy settings, for example;

• Youth justice workers
• Probation staff
• Independent advocates
• Safeguarding professionals

Our training helps these professionals learn how to:

• Structure conversations where there are communication barriers
• Support individuals to think about and express concerns and preferences
• Improve understanding during complex discussions
• Use a visual framework to open up conversations about sensitive topics

At Talking Mats, our training is targeted to practitioners who work with or support people with additional communication needs. This may include working with:

• Intellectual disability
• Autism
• Brain injury / neurological conditions
• Mental health needs
• Non-verbal or minimally verbal individuals

Training helps practitioners understand how to:

• Adapt the Talking Mats framework for different communication needs
• Use visuals to reduce pressure and improve understanding during conversations
• Support people to think about and share their views in a more accessible way
• Build confidence in inclusive approaches
• Create more opportunities for those with communication difficulties to participate

A licenced trainer, you can train others to use Talking Mats, whether that’s within your own organisation or as part of a partnership. Our licenced training courses are delivered either face to face, or via online sessions.

If you’ve never used Talking Mats before and want to understand the core principles, how it supports communication, and how to use it in practice, our Foundation Training Course is the best place to start. Completion of this level allows you to take part in more specialised modules or webinars.

If you want bespoke training for your specific goals, operational context, or sector, our Organisational Training Course is the most effective route. We can tailor your training session to focus on what you need and provide examples based on the context of your business.

If your organisation is looking to scale and train others on our award-winning framework, we offer Licensed Training that supports staff to become approved trainers. This is great for long-term rollout plans or larger organisations expanding their use of Talking Mats.

If you’ve already completed our Foundation Training and want to deepen your confidence, refine your skills, or explore specialist applications, we offer Advanced Courses that are designed specifically for professional development.