Team Teach:

Who We Are

The foundation of Team Teach is our network of trainers led by our Principal Trainers, who have extensive knowledge and experience of delivering positive behaviour support training across a variety of sectors.

Jonathan Newport

Global Director

Jonathan Newport is Global Director of Team Teach and leads the Learning and Development Team as Chief Learning Officer. He is a behaviour specialist with over 30 years’ experience working in a range of settings.

Jonathan started his career in mainstream primary schools, and it was here that he developed a passion for a puzzle-solving approach to behaviour. This journey led him to work across primary and secondary schools in the mainstream and independent sectors, including 17 years leading Barnardo’s largest residential special school. During this time, Jonathan created solutions within the curriculum design that promoted positive behaviour for learning, allowing children and young people to grow and thrive as individuals.

Within this school, Jonathan set up a bespoke primary provision to support complex needs, which was commended by Ofsted for its innovative approach and was adopted by other schools. Jonathan embedded Team Teach thinking and practices, which led to no physical interventions for over 3 years. Jonathan then became the Educational Lead for Barnardo’s.

In 2018, Jonathan started what he describes as his ‘dream job’ leading the Team Teach organisation. Driven by the desire to create transformational change for those who need it most, he has become a passionate advocate for putting more supports in place for those who are distressed. Crucially, Jonathan keeps individual and staff wellbeing and mental health at the forefront of training. He believes that, as we seek to reduce restraint, we must also develop our ability to reduce risk, in order to safeguard all. Jonathan has been keen to show how the holistic approach adopted for children and young people is also transferable to adult services, which has led him to work more widely within the health and social care sectors.

As well as consultancy, Jonathan has contributed to a wide range of publications and delivered keynote speeches around behaviour, culture, learning, wellbeing, mental health, curriculum design, engagement and inclusion. He has spoken at NAHT conferences, The Education Show, Academies Show, Autism and Learning Disabilities and Dementia conferences, as well as numerous other events. Jonathan is recognised internationally for his work in developing and supporting positive behaviour, ethos, and culture, which has led him to engage with ministers and government departments in the UK and worldwide.

At the heart of Jonathan’s work is a drive to change the dynamic for children, young people and adults who find themselves distressed and unable to regulate behaviour. This is achieved by supporting staff to better understand their needs, ultimately improving outcomes and wellbeing for all.

Our team is dedicated to advancing awareness and understanding of the power of positive behavioural strategies to transform outcomes for children and adults, and foster positive relationships. They are supported by a large team of Senior, Assist and Employer trainers across the UK and Internationally.

100k+

People Train With Team Teach Each Year

3K+

People Have Become Team Teach Trainers

Nancy Hooper

Health & Social Care Lead at Team Teach

Nancy Hooper is the Health & Social Care Lead at Team Teach and part of the Learning and Development Team. She has been working in behaviour support for over twenty-five years across a variety of settings, from community homes to forensic secure services. Nancy works globally developing staff understanding of behaviours to create transformational change across the health, social care, and education sectors.

Nancy started her career as a learning disability nurse working with adults in an assessment and treatment service. It was here that she developed a passion for understanding behaviour. She completed a master’s degree in Intellectual Disability and worked as a behaviour support specialist, providing intensive support to staff and families working with children and adults across a wide range of services. This allowed her to develop innovative ways of thinking about behaviour, create person centred strategies for people in distress, and support staff in finding positive ways of working with people who presented with behaviours that challenge.

While Nancy provided direct support and strategies as a behaviour specialist, she also started training staff across services around ways to reduce risk and restraint. This thirst to improve care and cultures across organisations has led to her providing consultancy, training, and coaching to organisations and staff teams around the world. 

Tom Wright

Training Development Manager at Team Teach

Tom Wright has spent 20 years as a Principal Tutor for Team Teach and is now our Training Development Manager and part of the Learning and Development Team. He has led thousands of courses throughout the UK and abroad.

Moderation and support for Team Teach trainers is a key part of this role and he particularly enjoys this opportunity, giving technical advice to support trainers. Tom also enjoys his role on the risk assessment panel, focusing on technique development and safety.

Prior to this role, Tom worked for 30 years in residential schools for children with Special Educational Needs and holds an advanced diploma in SEN. Tom has held many posts including 2 roles as headteacher. He was commended for his outstanding teaching and leadership by OFSTED. Tom’s key talent was as a communicator utilising his approachability to facilitate growth for children and supporting parents and staff teams.

Tom loves sports, starting out as a PE teacher, and has represented Great Britain at the European Karate Championships.

Simon Holding

Adult Care Lead at Team Teach

Simon Holding is the Adult Care Lead at Team Teach and part of the Learning and Development team. He has worked in a wide range of roles in adult day and residential services and was part of the first authority to adopt Team Teach training for adult social care in 1999.

Simon has been a Team Teach trainer for over 20 years. He became an Intermediate Team Teach trainer in 2000, before becoming an Advanced trainer, delivering training to social care services including residential, short-break and day services, supported living, and care homes. He has also trained extensively in education settings including, mainstream schools, pupil referral units and special schools.

Simon holds a City and Guilds National Vocational Qualification in Promoting Independence Level 3, an Institute of Leadership & Management National Vocational Qualification in Level 3 in Management, Understanding Psychology level 2, and a NCFE Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Dementia Care.

Simon continues to deliver and moderate Team Teach training courses and is particularly passionate about developing safe and respectful adult care.

Daria Strzelecka

Team Teach Connect Customer Success Manager

Daria Strzelecka is Team Teach Connect’s Customer Success Manager, tasked with delivering tailored onboarding, ongoing support, and guidance to maximise users’ utilisation of the platform’s resources. Her role involves fostering strong user relationships, addressing individual needs and challenges, and advocating for continuous improvements to enhance their overall experience and drive success.

Prior to this role, Daria worked as a Teacher, Business Development Manager and Intermediate Team Teach trainer. Her background in teaching, combined with her extensive experience in business development and training, uniquely positions her to understand the diverse needs of educators and provide comprehensive support tailored to their specific requirements.

Daria is particularly passionate about supporting organisations with Team Teach Positive Behaviour training, leveraging her expertise to empower educators in creating safe and inclusive learning environments.

We’re dedicated to improving the lives and outcomes of the people our training supports. Here’s what some of our customers say about us.

“The phone call prior to the training helped to tailor the content to our needs and really focus on the children and young people that we support specifically. The trainer was very attentive and approachable throughout the training. It was also evident that he had researched the charity and the services that we offer and made sure that he linked and emphasised our practices with the theory of Team Teach.”

Sara Filer, Team Leader, Serennu Children’s Centre

“It has supported our staff to de-escalate behaviour situations. We liked both the theory and the practice of Level One – the mix of the two was great.

The course provided confidence, instilling the correct behaviour management, ethos of the programme. We recommend this course, it was very helpful and catered to our needs.”

Gina Barnes, Vice Principal, Harris Primary Academy Benson

“It helps us as an employer meet our legal obligations under Health & Safety to ensure our staff are equipped for their job, whether that be skilled in a range of personal safety techniques for our lone workers, to being skilled in a range of positive handling techniques for our Residential Services for Children and Young People, alongside the theoretical knowledge base to understand behaviour and use a range of de-escalation techniques.”

Martin Sweeney, Advanced Trainer and Team Teach Coordinator for Midlothian Council

“Staff feel more confident and workers in charge can lead by example. Holding has reduced because staff have used more diversion techniques, staff confidence has increased and there’s a better understanding between team members.

I’d recommend this course because it gives staff a grounding and confidence to be better placed to deal with behaviour that challenges.”

Paul Funnell, Disability Youth Service Lead Manager, Croydon Council

“Team teach gives us the possibility, through theoretical and practical training, to increase awareness about the risks connected to our clinical activity and at the same time to learn strategies to prevent behavioural crises and to reduce the likelihood of adverse events occurring.“

Fobap Onlus (Psychodisable Assistance Foundation) of Brescia, Lombardy, Italy

“I was impressed by how clearly and concisely key concepts such as the balance of legal information and psychology, the emphasis on understanding behaviour as a communication, and explaining the biomechanics in the physical techniques were communicated throughout the training. I have trained in other settings, roles and systems over the years and was impressed with how Team Teach continue to evolve their course offerings to keep up to date with best practice techniques and guidelines.”

Robin Jones-Ford, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust