Forming Connections for Education
I’m Brenda, a SEND and Inclusion Specialist with over 20 years’ experience across mainstream, special and alternative education. As a former Local Authority Advisory Teacher for SEND and Inclusion, I have supported schools to meet increasingly complex needs through practical, evidence-informed approaches that strengthen wellbeing, regulation and learning.
Through Forming Connections, I help schools translate neuroscience and regulation science into realistic, classroom-ready strategies that improve inclusion, learning readiness and emotional wellbeing. My work focuses on building staff confidence, supporting pupils with SEND, and creating environments where children feel safe, connected and ready to learn.
Grounded in extensive school-based experience, my approach is relational, compassionate and highly practical, helping schools develop sustainable inclusive practices that make a meaningful difference for both staff and pupils.
Consultancy with Forming Connections
Let’s connect to create the change you’ve been hoping for.
Do you need support to strengthen SEND and inclusive practice in your setting?
Every engagement begins with a free 30-minute online consultation to explore your priorities, discuss challenges and identify the most appropriate support for your setting.
We work alongside schools, trusts and other educational settings to develop effective, sustainable approaches to SEND, inclusion, wellbeing and learning. Whether you need whole-school strategic support, guidance for a key stage or class, or consultation around an individual pupil, we can help.
Our consultancy supports all four areas of need within the SEND Code of Practice and can strengthen every stage of your Graduated Response. We work with leaders and staff to build confidence in identifying and meeting need, developing inclusive practice, improving provision, and creating environments where all children can thrive.
Drawing on over 20 years' experience across mainstream, special and alternative provision, including Local Authority SEND advisory work, our approach combines practical SEND expertise with neuroscience-informed understanding of regulation, behaviour and learning. We help schools look beyond presenting behaviours to understand the underlying factors that influence engagement, emotional wellbeing and achievement.
Support may include:
- SEND reviews and strategic development
- Graduated Response and whole school provision mapping
- Inclusion audits and action planning
- Individual pupil consultation and problem-solving
- Staff coaching, mentoring and CPD
- Behaviour, regulation and learning support
- SEND systems, processes and leadership development
- Preparing for inspection and strengthening inclusive practice
Every piece of work is bespoke, designed around the needs of your setting and community. Our aim is to provide practical, evidence-informed support that builds staff confidence, strengthens inclusion and creates lasting positive outcomes for children and young people.
In-person (Derby), In-school or Online
Why Neuroscience Matters: The "Brain-Smart" Approach to Education *
Female ADHD: Chasing Dopamine and Connection, lived and professional experience*
Beyond the Lesson: Executive Function, Regulation and the Science of Memory*
Neuroscience for Education: Learning, Behaviour and Wellbeing Through a Neuroscience Lens (120 mins)
Unlock a "Brain-Smart" approach to education. This 2-hour session bridges the gap between neuroscience and the classroom, offering a professional yet accessible toolkit for staff.
Move from reacting to behaviour to understanding the nervous system’s role in learning and safety. We’ll explore brain development, executive function, and wellbeing and regulation, to help you build a calmer, more inclusive environment.
Gain the insights needed to support your students’ growth while protecting your own energy.
Beyond the Lesson: Executive Function, Regulation and the Science of Memory*
Female ADHD: Chasing Dopamine and Connection, lived and professional experience*
Beyond the Lesson: Executive Function, Regulation and the Science of Memory*
Neuroscience and Memory, the optimal conditions that turns teaching into learning.
(90 mins)
*In-person booking now available click link below! Tuesday 16th June 2026
Calm or Energise the Body. Focus the Mind. Secure the Knowledge.
Why does learning so often "go in one ear and out the other"? Even the best lesson fails if a student’s nervous system is dysregulated or their working memory is overloaded.
To make knowledge stick, we must first prime the brain to receive it.
Join us for this 90-minute masterclass to bridge the gap between neuroscience and the classroom. You’ll leave with practical, "Monday-ready" strategies to settle the nervous system, sharpen executive function, and use retrieval science to ensure your teaching leaves a lasting impact.
Female ADHD: Chasing Dopamine and Connection, lived and professional experience*
Female ADHD: Chasing Dopamine and Connection, lived and professional experience*
Female ADHD: Chasing Dopamine and Connection, lived and professional experience*
A lived Experience workshop, exploring the impact and presentation of ADHD in females.
(90 mins)
*In-person booking now available click link below! Tuesday 30th June 2026
This 90-minute workshop explores how ADHD presents in females across the lifespan, with a focus on school-aged girls and female staff.
Blending the latest research with lived experience, the session examines the impact of hormonal changes, emotional regulation, executive functioning, and behaviour in educational settings.
Led by an AuDHD SEND and inclusion specialist and teacher, this is a practical, relatable, and insight-driven session designed to deepen understanding and improve support in schools.
The Mood Matrix ©: An 'emotional' regulation toolkit for secondary schools
Female ADHD: Chasing Dopamine and Connection, lived and professional experience*
Introductory session for schools, 1 teacher licence included in session price.
(120 mins)
*In-person booking now available click link below! Tuesday 7th July 2026
In a busy school environment, a student in "Shutdown" can look like they are being lazy, while a student in "Overdrive" can look like they are being defiant.
The Mood Matrix changes the conversation from "What is wrong with you?" to "What mood/state are you in?".
By implementing this framework, schools can prioritise "Connection Before Correction," recognising that a dysregulated brain cannot learn. It provides staff and students with a common vocabulary to co-regulate, ensuring that the "Long Exhale" and sensory resets become part of the daily rhythm, ultimately lowering the "noise" in the classroom and increasing engagement.
Music, Mindset, Mood, Movement, Memory & Focus
Practical take-aways to improve engagement in the classroom.
(120 mins)
*In-person booking now available click link below! Tuesday 14th July 2026
Unlock the Rhythm of Learning Is your classroom environment working with you, or against you? This 120-minute immersive workshop moves beyond traditional teaching methods to explore how Music, Mindset, Mood, Movement, Memory, and Focus are the secret keys to classroom engagement.
Designed for KS1 and KS2 classrooms, we explore the simple, science-backed "sensory shifts" that can transform a chaotic transition into a moment of calm and turn a mid-afternoon slump into a focused "flow state." Discover how to "hack" the classroom environment to make learning feel easier for your students and teaching feel more sustainable for you.
Focus, Calm & Connection (for staff)
Attention-based activities with practical insights from neuroscience
(60 or 90 mins)
“Workplace stress affects hundreds of thousands of UK employees, every year 776,000 workers reported stress, depression, or anxiety in 2023/24, leading to 16.4 million lost working days (HSE 2024).
A mixture of the theory behind how our brain and bodies react to stress, and how mindfulness practices can support regulation, co-regulation and connection.
Mindful practices give your team the tools to stay present, improve focus, and manage stress before it takes hold. By learning simple, practical techniques, employees can boost wellbeing, build resilience, and create a calmer, more productive work environment.
The Calm, Connected Classroom
The Calm, Connected Classroom
The Calm, Connected Classroom
Training & Support Programme for Teachers and support staff.
6-Weeks Online (60 or 90 mins per session)
Support the wellbeing and behaviour management of your newest teachers with this unique offer
This six-week package of online training and support regulation, wellbeing for both teachers and their classes, and supporting challenging behaviours in the classroom.
This programme uses polyvagal theory and the escalation curve reimagined as a nervous system journey to help teachers track, understand, and influence their own regulation and that of their students. Supporting the journey with strategies and advice.
The package will also support in early identification of SEND within the classroom, using the graduated response process of assess/plan/do/review, from the SEND Code of Practice, which is a core element with the package.