Oakwood Training

23/10/2026

Weekly round-up...

🎥Finishing the last video in an 8-part customised training video series for Cash Converters on Conflict Management, De-Escalation, Personal Safety, Resilience and Wellbeing

🌍Conflict Management and De-Escalation training with a global retailer, with courses across the UK

🧠Mental Health First Aid training with Leicester City Council

💡Preparing for training we're delivering next week to Tesco, Frasers Group, Colgate-Palmolive and Buzz Bingo

Take care and have a great weekend 😊

22/10/2026

We're very grateful to Next CEO Lord Simon Wolfson for his kind words. It's been a pleasure supporting Next for the last nine years with customised mental health, wellbeing and conflict management training.

21/10/2026

When busy gets busier, are your people ready?

For many organisations, the final months of the year bring increased demand, greater pressure and new challenges for employees and managers.

Customer-facing teams may be dealing with more challenging behaviour. Managers can feel stretched. Employees can experience increased stress and fatigue.

But preparing for this doesn't have to mean starting from scratch.

Our Prepare for Peak campaign helps organisations:

ASSESS where the pressure points might be
TALK through the challenges
PLAN the right support

Because a little preparation now can make a big difference when things get busy.

Take our Peak Readiness Check at www.oakwoodtraining.co.uk/readiness-check

20/10/2026

We are delighted to be supporting Boparan Restaurant Group in partnership with Aon in delivering Conflict Resolution, Preventing Violence and Resilience to their frontline teams.

Here we are with some of their managers at Slim Chickens - a fantastic group of people to work with, and we're very grateful for their kind feedback 😊

This training was tailored to the specific needs of the managers, and it's been a pleasure working with a company that is committed to looking after the personal safety and mental wellbeing of their teams.

19/10/2026

For years, conversations about mental health at work have focused on absence. But this year's Bupa Wellbeing Index highlights a worrying trend:

Many employees are continuing to work while struggling with their mental health. They’re keeping all the plates spinning, but at an increasing personal cost.

They’re meeting deadlines, attending meetings and appearing productive, yet behind the scenes they’re battling stress, burnout and other pressures.

While workplace sickness absence is at its highest level in 15 years, nearly three-quarters (71%) of employees said they had gone to work knowing they were experiencing mental health issues.

Being present at work is not always a sign that someone is well. Often, it’s a sign they’re pushing through. By the time they seek help, what could have been addressed earlier has become more difficult to manage.

When employees continue to work while struggling with their mental health, those issues don’t disappear. Without the right support, they can get worse over time, leading to higher levels of sickness absence and an increased need for treatment.

The report says that employers have a critical role to play in creating environments where people can access support quickly before issues escalate, saying:

" This starts with training managers to spot when someone is struggling, creating a culture where asking for help is encouraged, and making support easy to access during the working day. "

https://www.bupa.co.uk/wellbeing-index

16/10/2026

Weekly round-up...

🚉First Responder training with Southeastern Railway, one of the busiest and largest rail networks in the UK

🤍Baby Loss Awareness and Bereavement Support webinar with Platform Housing Group

⚖️Mental Health and Wellbeing training with law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore

🌍Conflict Management and De-Escalation training with a global retailer, with courses across the UK

🛡️Conflict Management and De-Escalation courses with Catch 22 and Leicester City Council

Take care and have a great weekend 😊

15/10/2026

This week it's OCD Awareness Week.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders affect more than 1 in 100 people around the world. They are hugely disabling for those suffering, as well as those close to them, and can develop at any age.

The International OCD Foundation has shared some great resources and support this : https://iocdf.org/

The mission of the International OCD Foundation is to help those affected by obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders to live full and productive lives. Our aim is to increase access to effective treatment through research and training, foster a hopeful and supportive community for....

14/10/2026

Menopause and Mental Health. The menopause is something all women will experience, yet while physical symptoms like hot flushes and sleep disruption are often discussed, many women also experience significant emotional and mental health effects, including anxiety, depression, mood swings, and cognitive difficulties, which are still not widely spoken about.

This Saturday is

Find out more about how the menopause can affect physical and mental health, the steps you can take to look after your wellbeing and advice for workplaces:

https://mentalhealth-uk.org/menopause-and-mental-health/

Explore how the menopause affects your mental health. Find information, guidance, and support to help you manage this key life transition.

14/10/2026

We're very grateful to Emily Howe at WPP Media for her kind words 😊

In 2023, we were delighted to partner with WPP Media, the largest media agency group in the world, to develop a bespoke Mental Health Allies programme.

This has been delivered in many different languages to their ally network across the globe, ensuring a consistent message and training experience while remaining relevant to local cultural contexts and needs.

13/10/2026

This Saturday is . When we hear the word trauma, many of us think of extreme events - disasters, war zones, or life-changing crises. But trauma is far more common, and often far quieter, than we imagine.

Trauma comes in many forms and is far more common than you think, with 1 in 3 people in the UK experiencing a traumatic event in their lifetime.

And if you’re supporting someone after a traumatic incident, knowing what helps and what doesn’t makes a real difference.

In this short video, Oakwood founder Terry Streather talks about:

🔸 why trauma looks different for everyone
🔸 the natural emotional and physical responses people may feel
🔸 what to do (and what not to do) when supporting someone
🔸 the power of simple, human compassion
🔸 why managers aren’t there to diagnose, but can make a huge impact

In moments like these, acknowledgment, respect, and listening without judgement matter more than you think.