Team Development for Schools
Condensed (3 hours) / One Day Session / 3 sessions across 3 months
For 3-20 Participants
Team development that fits the way your school really works
School teams are small, mixed and busy. Teachers, teaching assistants, office and site staff all depend on each other, and there is rarely spare time or energy. Lostock Consulting designs team development around your staff, your calendar and your budget, so the session supports your people rather than adding to their workload.
Based in Bolton, we work with schools across Greater Manchester and further afield, in person and online.
Why schools choose Lostock Consulting
- Rated five stars on Google
- Proven with school teams. We have led team development for primary and secondary staff at the International School of Béarn.
- Tailored from the first conversation. We meet with your headteacher or senior leaders beforehand, so the session reflects your team, your context and your priorities.
- For the whole school team. Sessions are designed for everyone who makes your school work, not only managers.
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Interactive, relaxed and fun. Our friendly, down-to-earth style puts everyone at ease from the first minute.
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Led by an experienced facilitator. Ian Pattison (Right) Our team has many years of team development and leadership experience. Knowledge schools, educations and qualifications in leadership, management and improvement.
Ian Pattison, Team Development Lead
What will the session explore?
- Understanding their own communication type and working style
- Empathising with colleagues and appreciating different approaches
- Self-reflection on behaviours and preferences, and how these show up under pressure
- A fast-paced team exercise that builds collaboration towards a shared goal
- Group reflection on the learning from the day
- A personal commitment to improve behaviours and performance
Each session can be tailored to focus on areas such as team communication, active listening, coaching skills, relationship-building or change.
Putting teacher wellbeing at the heart of team development
Teacher wellbeing and team culture are closely linked. When staff feel understood, heard and connected, teams tend to work together more effectively and support one another better. Our personal approach to team building is designed to:
- Create a safe, supportive space where every voice, from classroom teachers to support staff, is valued
- Strengthen relationships and trust between colleagues
- Give staff practical tools to communicate well, particularly when workloads and pressure are high
- Leave your team feeling energised rather than drained, so the day is a genuine reset
Good team development depends on psychological safety. Our relaxed, friendly style helps staff reflect, listen and try new approaches without pressure or judgement.
Built around your school
Designed for limited time
We offer a twilight or INSET session, a full day, or three shorter sessions spread across three months. Whatever the format, the session is interactive and practical, with minimal preparation for staff.
Clear about the cost of release
We know the true cost of a session includes more than the fee: it includes staff time, cover and goodwill. We help you choose the format that makes the best use of both. Request a quote for any school, trust or get multi-school pricing.
Focused on what matters to school leaders
Our sessions support the things leaders care about every day: communication, collaboration, relationships and staff wellbeing. We don’t promise inspection outcomes. We help your team work together well, and we’re happy to agree what success looks like with you beforehand, such as staff feedback or follow-up pulse checks.
Delivered face to face or online
We can come to your school across Greater Manchester, or deliver remotely via Microsoft Teams if needed.
School-ready, so you can book with confidence
We know schools and trusts have to be sure of any visiting supplier. We can provide:
- DBS certificate and ID verification
- Safeguarding awareness, in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education
- Public liability and professional indemnity insurance
- Data protection statement (UK GDPR/ICO)
- Equality and inclusion approach
Case study: International School of Béarn, Pau, France
We were invited to lead two team development sessions for the International School of Béarn (ISB), an English-speaking international school, as part of their INSET days. Primary and secondary staff took part across two days.
The focus: understanding communication types, self-reflection and empathising with colleagues, concluding with a fast-paced team exercise to strengthen collaboration.
How we worked: we met with the Head of Foundation and Primary and the Deputy Head beforehand to understand the team, the school’s context and what they needed from the day.
The result:
“Lostock Consulting delivered a training session on communication and relationship-building for my team and it was genuinely excellent… the training felt completely tailored to us rather than like a generic, off-the-shelf programme. The session itself was engaging, fast-paced, fun and thought-provoking.”
John-Mark Hanrahan, Head of Foundation and Primary School, International School of Béarn
“The session was interactive, relaxed and engaging, with a very friendly and down-to-earth approach which immediately put everyone at ease… we can already see a positive impact on the way our staff were interacting with one another afterwards.”
Heather McCluskey, Deputy Head, International School of Béarn
The school also gave the session a five-star Google review.
Read the full story here
Make an enquiry
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the maximum number of people I can have for each workshop?
Smaller groups work best for our highly interactive workshops. The ideal number would be 10 for an in-person session, but we say up to 20 to accommodate larger teams.
What is the minimum number of people for a workshop?
We run a range of workshops for different sized organisations who may only have a small number of people. 3 would be the minimum.
Can Lostock Consulting tailor the content to my organisation?
Yes, absolutely. We tailor our workshops based on the needs of your organisation and the areas or challenges you are keen to explore.
Can the workshop delivered remotely?
Yes, we offer both face-to-face and remote options.
What expertise does Lostock Consulting offer?
Along with many years of leadership experience in a range of organisations, we have many qualifications on leadership, management and coaching at a postgraduate level.
Do you run open workshops where individuals can attend?
Yes, Lostock Consulting offers online workshops for leaders, managers or team members along with sessions for those just starting with management duties. Please get in touch for more information.
Which platform do you use for online workshop sessions?
We usually use Microsoft Teams. Please talk to us if you have a specific platform you would prefer to use.
Can this workshop be delivered face-to-face?
Yes, we deliver sessions in person as well as remotely.
How long does the workshop last?
Our virtual condensed and open workshops can be 2 or 3 hours. Our virtual full day workshop is split into 2 sessions each taking 3 hours. This can either be in one day or across two days. Our condensed face-to-face sessions are 3 hours and full days start at 9am and finish at 4pm with an hour for lunch.
How interactive is the workshop?
We pride ourselves in running engaging and interactive workshops which allow groups to learn through activities with a mixture of insightful and captivating exercises throughout the session.
Will I need to do any preparation?
It depends on the programme, but we ask for one or two activities to be prepared for depending on your organisational needs, allowing more time for interaction, discussion and learning within the session.
Will attendees be required to have their cameras on for online training?
Being visible and present through the session improves outcomes and participation, so we do ask cameras are switched on.
Are the workshops accessible for countries in different time zones?
Yes, we deliver our range of workshops across the world within different time zones.