The programme exceeded my objectives. It delivered a terrific balance between theory and pragmatism. The tutor kept us healthily engaged throughout and always offered opportunities to further our own learning or pass on the output from recent seminars that she had attended. The best thing about this course was the way in which it was run. I work for myself. The programme has provided me with both the knowledge and the confidence to approach any business with a coaching offer. Friendly, informative, challenging and all with excellent support in place. Thank you

Thank you very much for a very inspiring, energising course and encouraging a great group experience. Very excited and very glad I came to your course.

Many thanks for a great day. Your enthusiasm and knowledge are very clear and it was a real joy to meet so many interesting and very different people as well as a few familiar faces.

The most positive impact has been through developing my skills in managing performance. Learning some strategies for giving positive feedback has been particularly helpful both for working with the staff and with tutors. My confidence in this area has improved significantly and this was noticeable at the recent Ofsted inspection – as nominee I needed to be able to challenge emerging judgements if I felt them to be inaccurate and I felt confident to do this. The work we did on workforce planning was also very useful and timely as I have developed my understanding of this area of work which has helped greatly in supporting staff to manage the imminent changes to the service.

I have found the course more useful that I was initially expecting. It has changed the way I think at work and I automatically look at issues in a more all round way, which will bring efficiencies for my team and the organisation. I am enthusiastic about work and taking on new challenges, which will allow me to apply my new knowledge and skills.

I would highly recommend inspired2learn as a management development and qualification provider. Barrie works extremely well with our delegates, providing appropriate insight, challenge, support and advice. The quality of the courses and course materials is exceptionally high. Delegates enjoy the sessions tremendously and consistently rate the experience as highly beneficial.

I have become much more aware of performance management and since getting knowledge on learning styles been more concious about dealing with others more assertively, and openly. Previously I was not so confident doing this. I have used the BIFF technique with a staff member (Behaviour, Impact, Feelings, Future) and this has been successful with a marked improvement being observed, which is very pleasing. I am consciously speaking face to face more often on contentious issues rather than replying to others e-mails, which can take longer to write as well as not wholly tackling the issues. Also I have been more proactive in terms of programming having produced this years works program prior to the year starting with costs and tasks assigned to individuals, so delegation skills have improved too.

A build up of confidence from the course: knowing a lot of what I do already is right, and finding ways of dealing with people and understanding my behaviour which has helped this year. The time I have spent working on the project has benefited the organisation not only in producing a policy but also in the time I spent on research, which otherwise I would not have bothered to do. We now have useful comparators and links with colleagues we wouldn’t have had.

One of the main impacts the course has had on my performance is the fact that the 360 degree exercise highlighted that my communication skills in presenting information were lacking. Completing the assignments and projects has improved my knowledge of presenting facts using a wider range of tools which has been extremely beneficial. Whilst completing my project for work I was able to use these new found skills and communicate facts with much more conviction. It has also enabled me to ensure that evidence has been provide at all stages.

By developing an understanding of myself and of the different management/leadership styles, I am much more aware of my part in the process and able to apply a style to a situation. For instance, in relation to achieving our targets I soon realised that in order to be more effective I needed to adopted a more directive style. This has helped to improve the teams performance. My own manager has said that she has watched me grow significantly throughout this course. I tend to manage meetings more effectively and I have developed better time management skills. I have tools to help with a variety of situations which I found difficult previously, ie PDR’s and Feedback. I now feel I can facilitate a good/meaningful PDR and I am confident at giving feedback. I also feel that the whole experience has left me feeling generally more confident and competent as a manager.

I now feel much more confident in my role, especially when approaching unfamiliar tasks because of the tools and approaches learnt as well as becoming familiar with websites that can provide information. For example my most recent task is to write a strategy for an area for which I have no knowledge. I have already completed research on line on how to approach the task and found examples of good practice. I also have a better understanding of areas outside of my usual work responsibilities. This has made me more aware about the impact of the work I am completing and the depth of advice I am able to provide to service areas.

inspired2learn have worked in partnership with Helphire for almost 6 years, during which time they have consistently been very supportive, and well liked by all. inspired2learn were instrumental in helping us to develop our Management Development Programmes, which are accredited by the Chartered Management Institute. Barrie also delivered the CMI’s Diploma in Management programme for us for several years. He is a pleasure to work with and can be relied on to give good advice and guidance.

Inspired2learn has given me an opportunity to do a long distance course and making the best use of my time after working hours. Especially when working in the Developing World with less night life distractions, I can be more concentrated in my self-study and not feeling my time is being wasted. My tutor, Barrie Smale has been very helpful in my journey to achieve my CMI qualifications. I consider him not only my tutor, but also a mentor and a friend. He answers my questions, not limited to the course syllabus alone but anything related to the course topics. I have broadened my views on management and I believe it is definitely a valuable journey where you have somebody supportive to walk along with you. I have just achieved my first CMI Award in May and currently I am studying for the CMI certificate. My goal is to become a Chartered Manager and I hope inspired2learn will always be next to me.

I would recommend inspired2Learn to anyone wishing to professionally develop themselves. It was an incredibly smooth and easy process from registration to completing the qualification. Distance learning was a huge benefit and attraction as I was able to complete my assignments in my own time and pace, planned around my work and family commitments. Using my ELCAS to fund the learning was also a benefit as I am still serving within the Armed Forces.

Being able to choose the units and tailor the qualification to my needs enabled me to target specific areas of development and relevance to my current role and beyond. This learning will enable me to achieve further development goals, such as gaining Chartered Manager status. It will also allow me to better plan responses and manage situations relevant to my organisation and sector.