Dolphin School proudly invites families to attend our programme of talks and discussion forums which take place throughout the year. Our workshops allow parents to hear from the school leadership team and visiting speakers, as well as provide an opportunity to share their ideas, learning points and experiences. Parents from the local community are also invited to these events where possible.
To book a place on any of these sessions, please complete the following form.
6 October 2022, 09:00 – 10:30, Early Literacy with our Head of Early Years and Senior Team
Our Head of Early Years and Deputy Head explore literacy with children from the Early Years to Year 3, discovering how children develop their language, vocabulary and comprehension through reading with their parents, siblings and influential people in their lives. A fun and interactive workshop, this session will get you thinking about literacy through a child’s eyes.
Monday 29 January 2023, 09:00 – 10:00, Natalie Costa – Power Thoughts
Natalie Costa visits Dolphin School twice a year and is considered a friend of the school. She supports the Year 5 & 6 pupils in understanding their emotions during pressure points such as the 11+, growing up, and handling transition. She has an excellent rapport with our pupils. On the 30 January she will be spending the morning session with Year 5, starting with a parent session. This session will be suitable for parents of all ages.
During this session parents will gain a greater understanding of anger and other big feelings and how this influences themselves and their child. Anger is often perceived as a negative emotion and we learn from a young age that it’s something to hide or feel shameful about. However anger is a natural human response and just like any other emotion, it’s acting as a messenger, trying to protect something that’s important to us. In this workshop, parents will have the opportunity to explore their triggers, calm emotional outbursts and help their child understand what’s hiding behind their anger masks. They will also discover how to meet their child where they’re at, knowing what to say and do in moments when emotions run high so that they’re able to work through these uncomfortable feelings in a more resourceful way.
Thursday 16 May 2024, 09:00 – 10:00, Karl Hopwood – Online Awareness for your Children
Karl Hopwood visits Dolphin School every year delivering age-appropriate workshops with our pupils on e-safety. He strengthens their excellent knowledge on how to stay safe online through understanding the pitfalls our young children face; fake news, grooming, identity theft, website security and authenticity, social media, texting/whatsapp and more. During the day he measures the temperature of the school before taking a staff session after school and a parent session in the evening. This gives the school a snapshot of the themes from the children with Karl, followed by a Q&A session where parents can ask questions freely. I thoroughly recommend this session, even if your household feels adept at managing e-safety issues.
Karl is an independent e-safety expert. He is a member of UKCCIS (UK Council for Child Internet Safety) and sits on the advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre and the education advisory board for CEOP.
Karl has worked for a number of key players in the UK and abroad including CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), BECTA (British Educational and Communications Technology Agency), the European Commission and several Local Authorities within the UK.
7 October 2022, 09:00 – 10:30, Early Literacy with our Head of Early Years and Senior Team
Our Head of Early Years and Deputy Head explore literacy with children from the Early Years to Year 3, discovering how children develop their language, vocabulary and comprehension through reading with their parents, siblings and influential people in their lives. A fun and interactive workshop, this session will get you thinking about literacy through a child’s eyes.
Monday 30 January 2023, 09:00 – 10:00, Natalie Costa – Power Thoughts
Natalie Costa visits Dolphin School twice a year and is considered a friend of the school. She supports the Year 5 & 6 pupils in understanding their emotions during pressure points such as the 11+, growing up, and handling transition. She has an excellent rapport with our pupils. On the 30 January she will be spending the morning session with Year 5, starting with a parent session. This session will be suitable for parents of all ages.
During this session parents will gain a greater understanding of anger and other big feelings and how this influences themselves and their child. Anger is often perceived as a negative emotion and we learn from a young age that it’s something to hide or feel shameful about. However anger is a natural human response and just like any other emotion, it’s acting as a messenger, trying to protect something that’s important to us. In this workshop, parents will have the opportunity to explore their triggers, calm emotional outbursts and help their child understand what’s hiding behind their anger masks. They will also discover how to meet their child where they’re at, knowing what to say and do in moments when emotions run high so that they’re able to work through these uncomfortable feelings in a more resourceful way.
Thursday 2 February 2023, 18:30 – 20:00, Karl Hopwood – E-Safety
Please note that this workshop has been brought forward to 18:30, owing to the train strikes.
Karl Hopwood visits Dolphin School every year delivering age-appropriate workshops with our pupils on e-safety. He strengthens their excellent knowledge on how to stay safe online through understanding the pitfalls our young children face; fake news, grooming, identity theft, website security and authenticity, social media, texting/whatsapp and more. During the day he measures the temperature of the school before taking a staff session after school and a parent session in the evening. This gives the school a snapshot of the themes from the children with Karl, followed by a Q&A session where parents can ask questions freely. I thoroughly recommend this session, even if your household feels adept at managing e-safety issues.
Karl is an independent e-safety expert. He is a member of UKCCIS (UK Council for Child Internet Safety) and sits on the advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre and the education advisory board for CEOP.
Karl has worked for a number of key players in the UK and abroad including CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), BECTA (British Educational and Communications Technology Agency), the European Commission and several Local Authorities within the UK.
Friday 10 March 2023, 09:00 – 09:45, Niva Gosden – Speech and Language Therapist
Niva Gosden is a speech and language therapist across NHS and independent services in London. She has worked in a variety of settings from school based environments supporting children with language disorders, speech delay and language communication needs. Niva also works with children with specific learning difficulties which require advanced support around eating and drinking. With a strong focus and interest in social communication for children, developing strategies for managing emotional regulation, she is keen to provide advice on supporting parents and staff on the communication needs of a child.
During this session, I will be exploring how we support communication through play in the early years. We will discuss what typical language development might look like in young children, how you can support language development at home, and I can also provide strategies to support communication techniques. We will have an opportunity to discuss any questions that you might have.
Thursday 15 June 2023, 09:15 – 10.30 (doors open at 09.00 for refreshments), Alexandra Rock –Qualified Nutritionist
We are delighted to invite you to a talk about nutrition for children between the ages of 2 – 11 from qualified nutritionist Alexandra Rock (Dip ION FDSC MBANT BSC Hons ARCS Dip Mktg). Alexandra has always been passionate about healthy eating and the pursuit of an active and relaxed lifestyle as key ways to work towards optimum well-being. Alexandra is especially interested in Functional Medicine, women’s health, children’s health and stress management and she works as a Nutritional Therapist working at The Vale Practice, East Dulwich , London. Alexandra qualified as a Nutritional Therapist at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition in June 2010. She also holds a BSc in Biochemistry from Imperial College and is an Associate of the Royal School of Science.
Her talk will cover aspects of nutrition and physical/neuro/physical development in children; how to develop a healthy relationship with food in the early years; how to represent a healthier relationship or wider food repertoire when things are tough; nutrition for children with learning needs; tips for busy parents to create a balanced diet for families with diverse tastes or allergies.
