Forming Connections for Education
Forming Connections works with schools and educational settings to strengthen wellbeing, regulation and learning through practical, neuroscience‑informed approaches rooted in inclusion and SEND.
I’m Brenda, a teacher with over 20 years’ experience across mainstream, special and alternative education. For the past five years I’ve worked as a Local Authority Advisory Teacher for SEND and inclusion, supporting schools to meet increasingly complex needs with confidence, clarity and compassion. Before this, I spent 12 years working in SEND schools and led SEND outreach for a Teaching School Alliance, working alongside staff to develop inclusive practice that genuinely made a difference in classrooms.
Throughout my career, a consistent pattern emerged: when children (and adults) are overwhelmed, dysregulated or disconnected, learning simply doesn’t happen, no matter how skilled or committed the staff. Yet many approaches focus on behaviour, attainment or wellbeing in isolation, without addressing the underlying nervous system processes that shape attention, memory, emotional regulation and connection.
Forming Connections was created to bridge that gap.
My work translates neuroscience and regulation science into realistic, classroom‑ready strategies that staff can use immediately. I support schools to understand why certain approaches work, not just what to do, enabling more consistent, thoughtful and inclusive responses to behaviour, learning and emotional need.
I deliver CPD, workshops and consultancy for mainstream, SEND and alternative provision settings, focusing on:
- improving regulation and emotional safety
- strengthening attention, memory and learning readiness
- supporting inclusive practice for pupils with SEND
- increasing staff confidence and reducing emotional overload
Everything I offer is grounded in real school contexts, shaped by extensive experience, and designed to reduce pressure rather than add to it. My approach is relational, evidence‑informed and deeply practical, supporting both staff and pupils to feel safer, more connected and more able to learn.
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)
*In-person booking now available, click link below! Tuesday 2nd June 2026
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.
(90 mins)
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 and Movement: Improve Motivation, Mood and Memory
Music, Mindset, Mood,Movement, Memory & Focus: Practical take-aways to improve engagement in the classroom.
(60 mins)
Are your pupils struggling to stay engaged after sitting still for too long? Do you sometimes feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle to get attention, memory recall and focus in your classroom — especially after long lessons or lunchtimes? You’re not alone.
Recent research shows that only about one in three teachers describe their pupils as fully engaged in learning with many children reporting only surface-level understanding of subject material in class.
This webinar solves that problem by exploring the science behind movement and memory — and gives you practical, ready-to-use strategies that make pupils more attentive, confident and ready to learn.
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.
Consultancy with Forming Connections
Let’s connect to create the change you’ve been hoping for.
Your first step begins with a free 30-minute online consultation to explore your needs, ask questions, and discover whether we’re the right fit for your journey.
Our consultancy is an invitation to go deeper: to look beneath behaviour and policy, and into the nervous system where real transformation begins. Together, we create environments where people feel safe, connected, and empowered to learn and belonging. Rooted in lived experience as a leader, advisor, teacher, parent, and AuDHDer, and grounded in the science of brain, body, and environment, our work is compassionate, curious, and deeply human.
We listen. We notice. We work alongside you to nurture change from the inside out.
Every setting is unique.
So every piece of work is bespoke, crafted to honour your community and designed to bring clarity, alignment, and lasting impact. Get in touch to see what package of support is needed to empower your school community to thrive.