My Day Inside The Oliver McGowan Training

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Working in the marketing department of Dynamic Training, I get a lot of learning opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise have. One of these opportunities came on the 25^th of July when I attended the Oliver McGowan Training on Learning Disability and Autism Tier 2 in an attempt to better understand the 1-day course. The Oliver McGowan Training is a mandatory course built for those working in the health and social care sector. The course is designed to give professionals a new approach to understanding people who have autism or a learning disability.

To find out more about the training visit our webpage on the topic.

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The first thing to note about this course is that it’s mandatory. Every health and social care employee in the UK must undergo this training, from the Chief executive officer of the NHS to every nurse, doctor and carer working tirelessly to keep our communities healthy. It’s a very eye-opening experience, watching an entire organisation sit side by side, equal in their readiness to learn and develop. Managers and employees working together to help each other understand the experiences of people with different needs. It also felt like the mandatory aspect took some pressure off the attendees. With no exam to revise for, their only goal was to listen, learn and understand.

What fascinated me the most was learning about different aspects of care from the trainer and co-trainer and then, during discussions, hearing the learners contextualise it to their own workplace so I was able to understand the theory through the training itself, but I was also given the opportunity to learn how it all works in practice. During these discussions I saw working environments change in real time, as managers spoke with their employees and together, devised new processes based on what they were learning. The group I was sitting with had records of customers’ additional needs, but they didn’t have immediate access to them at a moment’s notice. After hearing about the impact these adjustments can have, they made the decision to distribute this information more effectively amongst staff.

It was honestly quite moving to see this training have a real-world impact, it made me reflect on the all the people with autism or learning disabilities whose care might be unfit for them if this training wasn’t implemented. Sometimes basic adjustments like having verbal instructions written down or receiving a map of the hospital can be ignored by staff who don’t have a fully up-to-date understanding of reasonable adjustments. The knock-on affect is huge. According to NHS data, men with learning disabilities live, on average, 14 years less than those without and for women, the number is 17 years. Training like this is a big step in the right direction, it’s the beginning of a world with equal opportunity, where neurodiversity doesn’t determine the length of a person’s life.

The Oliver McGowan Training on Learning disability and Autism Tier 2 is always delivered by three people. A trainer who is qualified to deliver the programme, who usually will have a background in education and healthcare. A co-trainer with the lived experience of autism, who uses their first-hand knowledge to educate the attendees and answer any specific questions and a co-trainer with the lived experience of a learning disability who covers everything related to that aspect of the training.

Mel Cassidy, the trainer who kindly let me attend her session said this about delivering the training: “Delivering this training has been one of the most rewarding accomplishments of my career, knowing that together, we are making a meaningful difference in the lives of those who need it most.”

The people attending had a variety of different experience levels on the subject of autism/learning disabilities, some had family, and some thought they’d never met anyone (although they probably had since it’s often completely invisible). This was an incredible introduction to learning disability/autism for those with limited experience. The face-to-face conversation people had with the co-trainers took away a lot of preconceived ideas of neurodiversity, giving them a first-hand experience to draw their perspective from in the future. For those with plenty of existing knowledge, I watched them slowly clarify their out-of-date practices throughout the day while they expanded on their experience and knowledge.

One of the most profound aspects of the Oliver McGowan Training is how it bridges the gap between knowledge and empathy. While many training programmes focus solely on imparting technical knowledge, this course goes a step further by fostering a deep emotional connection between the learners and the experiences of individuals with learning disabilities and autism. The co-trainers' stories bring a human element to the statistics, turning abstract concepts into lived realities. This personal connection encourages attendees to move beyond merely understanding the adjustments needed and to actively consider how these changes will impact the lives of real people. It cultivates a sense of responsibility, urging healthcare professionals not just to follow guidelines, but to approach each patient with genuine care and consideration. This shift from knowledge to empathy is what makes the training truly impactful, transforming participants into advocates for change within their own workplaces.

I learned a lot about the specific adjustments that can make people’s lives easier but my key take-away from this day-long course was nothing to do with the adjustments themselves, my main take-away was the method we use to plan and implement them. This training highlighted just how vastly diverse our needs are, and it put into perspective just how difficult it would be to treat people like they all have the same needs. This training introduces a massive variety of methods for meeting the needs of each individual instead of fitting it to a diagnosis or, worse yet, having a one-size-fits-all approach for everyone. Overall, I found this extremely insightful, and it was clear that the healthcare professionals in attendance were impacted in a way that will have practical benefits for everyone in their care.

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All of the Apprenticeships and Workshops we offer are purpose-built with accessibility and inclusion in mind. You can view our courses or contact us to find out more about how we can empower you or your workforce with apprenticeships or training programmes.