Training days run from 10am-3pm with breaks in between.  The training is delivered online with activities, videos, opportunity to practice and smaller break-out rooms so you become familiar with other practitioners training in your area.  There are plenty of opportunities to ask questions and check understanding.

RESTAs are trained to support young people using a set of practitioner skills that aim to develop a style of relational practice that builds a sense of safety and security so that students feel ready to engage with the programme.  Once the RESTA feels the student’s sense of safety in the sessions is secure, they begin working their way through sequenced sessions that aim to build protective mechanisms of resilience for the young person. RESTAs use a combination of activities, psychoeducation, videos, and games so that learners can understand what helps them to bounce back and when they can apply these skills.  Students are supported to be reflective and notice their developing strengths so they can feel better equipped to face challenges

Whilst there a no formal qualifications that are needed to become a RESTA.  A potential RESTA should be trained, and DBS checked member of educational setting staff.  RESTAs work through a sequence of 11 sessions with students so there should be time allocated for them to do this.  We have found that the staff already trained in delivering intervention and support find RESTA training easier to grasp.  Those who have not had previous experience in this type of work generally find it trickier to start with but are very capable by the end of the six days training.  Therefore, a prerequisite would be to have at least some understanding of the concept of intervention.  The best RESTAs are those that are creative and proactive, who can reflect on their practice, have some understanding of mental wellbeing, and can work in a person-centred/student orientated way.

“Educational Resilience is the increased likelihood of success in education despite environmental adversities” (Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1994). In following this programme, we have found that students:

• Have improved skills set in overcoming obstacles
• Improved sense of self and worth
• Better emotional literacy skills
• Adaptive and reflective skills that will benefit them through life
• Support to overcome barriers to attending education

The application of RESTA’s rubric of resilience for all staff sees the principles as a step to embedding relational practice into their school. Working in this way education settings can embed core instruction of resiliency skills into their everyday programmes, allowing them to run groups for those with greater need and give individual intervention for those at greatest risk.

• Evidenced based, licensed, and supported programme of student support
• Psychological supervision of support staff
• Improvement data
• Upskilling of staff
• A structured and consistent way of responding to student needs
• Providing a structured programme to address and support potential EBSNA strategy
• Supporting those students who struggle to engage/attend school
• Having a specialist RESTA in school
• Improved attendance and retention
• Early intervention/prevention of risk

Embedding the RESTA principles into an organisation is a great way to support learners and we know that a whole setting approach increases the likelihood of skill development because all students experience continuity and consistency.  Social, emotional, and academic skills are interdependent and, therefore, when we promote these skills as part of general classroom strategy it reduces the time the teachers need to spend teaching these skills (Goldberg, Sklad, Elfrink, et al, 2019).  Working in this way is usually effective for around 80% of children and this group will not need further support or intervention (Ervin, 2010).  Of the remaining 20% of students most will benefit from small group intervention delivered by a RESTA.  However, those that face greatest challenge (2-7% of students) will need more intensive intervention.  RESTAs are therefore essential to the organisation because they support students for whom whole school strategies have not been successful and they can be a point of contact for further conversation about whole school approaches.  RESTAs have clear referral criteria and they can support the organisation to know what level of intervention to deliver and at what time.

We know that it can be unsettling for settings when trained members of staff leave.  A RESTA can only practice as a licensed practitioner once their setting has agreed to supervision. Whilst the RESTA holds the qualification they could leave with that qualification if a new setting agrees to take responsibility for their supervision.  If this happens within the first year you can train a new RESTA for half the original price of the training.  Please see the course page ‘RESTA Replacement Training’ there will be no need for you to pay for supervision for the new RESTA for the first year.

Congratulations on hiring one of specialist practitioners.  Your RESTA will need to continue to be supervised by our team in order to practice.  Please purchase a yearly supervision and license on our ‘RESTA Supervision’ course page.  In order for you to get the maximum benefit from working with a RESTA we also suggest that you become a ‘RESO’ please visit the RESO page for further information.

Our RESTA programme is built upon principles of educational resilience and is therefore best suited to those working in educational settings.  However, we recognise that there are a number of professionals who support young people with learning that are not in a formal ‘educational setting’.  If you email us with details of the nature of your work and proof of DBS, we can consider your application to become a RESTA.  Your employers/you if you are self-employed will be responsible for the yearly payment for supervision and license.

Yes, whilst we encourage organisations to use a three-tier system of support to have the greatest impact on protective mechanisms, you can still be a RESTA in a non-RESO organisation.

Brimstone Psychology, an independent Educational Psychology practice, is RESTA’s parent company. Esther and her team work jointly across Brimstone Psychology and RESTA. This adds an incredible amount of value to RESTA, as you have guaranteed access to ongoing support from expert psychologists through training and supervision.

You can find out more about services offered through Brimstone Psychology here.

Relational practice is an approach to working with and supporting students that places emphasis on forming safe and secure relationships as well as being person centred.  It is an approach that recognises that when we have effective relationships with children and young people, we are more likely to see positive outcomes. When RESTA principles are embedded in educational settings relational practice is the term we use to describe positive and strong connections among students, staff, parents so that all members of the educational community feel safe, secure, and have a feeling they belong.

The research underpinning the programme has its roots in trauma responsive practice and highlights he important of building protective mechanisms in a way that is developmentally appropriate and responsive to individual need.  The Applied Trauma Responsive Classroom Model by Dr Jemma Carter (ref) demonstrates that levels of safety and security need to be ensured before protective mechanisms have the right foundation to be built and developed. We mapped our research (Borrett, 2019; Borrett & Rowley, 2020) onto Carter’s model so that we ensure that students are in the right place to develop mechanisms at the right time.  It is also essential that students get the chance to develop and practice all the skills rather than solely focus on one area because our sequential model sees these skills and cumulative and interleaved.

The first step, if you have not already done so, is to consider becoming a RESO and training a member of staff to become a RESTA.  RESTAs are trained in developing resilience in young people and as a consequence supporting mechanisms for EBSNA. Our RESP programme also enables parents to support their young people with these needs.  We offer 50 logins per year to our parenting webinar for all Resilience Support Organisations (RESOs).  Alternatively, schools can purchase a login link to the webinar on our RESP page.

RESTA is a very specific and sequenced way of working that requires a specialist set of practitioner skills.  The specialist nature of the role requires psychological supervision and agreement to a set of standards and principles that is a licensed product and therefore cannot be run by an individual who is not a trained RESTA.