Feedback on adult training courses

“What an amazing experience! Tara was inspirational!”

“I would recommend this course because of the experience of learning in the small group”

“I was surprised at how different delivering to children can be”

“Having attended Connected kids level 1 foundation course today with Tara, I left with practical ideas for un-scripted meditations I can use with my children, I enjoyed the small-group setting and felt comfortable sharing my ideas. Tara herself has a calm, relaxed approach and helped make the day flow smoothly. I also had some of my own perceptions challenged/shifted which will really help me move forward. The venue was easy to find and a lovely, serene room with bright natural light. Thank you.” Leanne Bright.

“I would recommend this course to individuals wanting a more in-depth awareness of meditation”

“Tara was a delight to listen to. Very easy to be open and honest with her”

“I attended Connected Kids Level 1 Foundation Course with Tara today. I have learnt so much that I can use straight away. I felt it was also extremely empowering, informative & uplifting. The venue is a beautiful place, the room is lovely, there’s plenty of space & the group size was perfect. Tara is wonderful, she explains everything extremely well & the whole day is completely interactive. I haven’t felt as relaxed as this, in a very long time. I would definitely recommend this course, as you learn so much in 1 day & I left feeling proud of myself for what I achieved.” Samantha 

“I took a Foundation course with Tara last September (2019). I came to the course with quite a lot of experience re mindfulness practice and theory and was looking for input on how to adapt my existing knowledge to working with kids. And that’s what I got. The course did what it says on the tin. Additionally, I found sharing previous experience / ideas about mindfulness with course participants was a good way to consolidate my knowledge. Tara’s training manner is clear, friendly and flexible to the needs of participants and we were lucky to have a smaller group than expected as this enabled more personalisation and time on task. The venue was excellent – beautiful environment, quiet and comfortable. I would recommend Tara and this course” Richard

“It was good to be reminded about how our minds and bodies affect us when in fight/flight/freeze. For me, I felt really empowered by how the course brought out my child inside and allowed her to create spaces through meditation. I was surprised how quickly I was able to lead an unscripted meditation and that probably my barriers to being able to do that fell away/didn’t inhibit me too much. I think it shows the power of meditation in action. As I’ve been more relaxed and in touch with my body and my triggers, I was able to calm my stress down. I do think that was also about being in tune with each other as a group. I was surprised how safe you made me feel while in the group online and using technology” Amanda

” I didn’t think I would have enjoyed the online course as much as face to face. I did and it surprised me how easy it was and how much I enjoyed it. I found the online teaching really good, it was relaxing. I was able to ask questions, listen and learn from Tara and the other students. I appreciate the fact that I had time in between the online course to reflect on all I had learnt that day and had time to prepare for the next day, eg reading the book/notes or writing meditation scripts. I felt I also befitted a lot from sharing the course with our students. I would like to thank Tara Russo. On delivering the course so professionally.” Liz

“I was initially interested in the foundation level course to help support my teenage daughter manage her anxiety after a lengthy and traumatic stay in hospital. I quickly realised that the course would help me manage my own anxiety AND be really useful in teaching breathing strategies with children of all ages at school- promoting well being and mindfulness. Tara is a brilliant and encouraging teacher, especially as I was a complete novice to meditation- by the end of the course I was learning to write my own meditation scripts! Tara has given me loads of useful information, techniques and strategies to use with both my own child, the children in my Reception class and throughout the school” Sue

“I work in a Primary school with children who have learning disabilities, Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD… All children are often stressed about school work, social relations etc. and they don’t have the knowledge how to calm themselves. It is a role of us, adults to teach them strategies they can use to calm down and to regulate the stress of everyday life. But to be able to teach children how to deal with stress, we also need to be self -regulated. Tara in her course provides techniques that we use as adults to regulate ourselves and how can we help children. Mindfull tools that she describes are adapted to a children’s point of view. Tara’s English was very clear, so I, who don’t come from an English speaking country, could understand everything. I would recommend her course to parents and teachers” Špela

“I have recently finished the Connected Kids Professional Level course. I loved it from start to finish and was so pleased with both my professional and personal development throughout. I believe that the principles, tools and approaches taught in the course have made me a better teacher across all subjects I teach, not just of mindfulness and meditation. The course content was interesting and delivered in an engaging way. Tara is wonderful and was so supportive from start to finish. I received really detailed feedback both during the workshops as well as from my final assessments which I can now take forward into my new work as a Connected Kids Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher. Thank you!”  Grace

“My experience of the professional course was a really positive one. Tara guided me through the whole process. She was always happy to answer my questions and concerns. Her belief in me and support was so important, and it gave me the confidence to complete the course. I cannot thank her enough!! The course material and tutorials were easy to access. The material was interesting and l loved seeing how the tools we talked about could help children in the real world. There was also lots of time for self-growth within the course too. Lots of time for reflection and Meditation practice, which was really helpful! Highly recommend!!” Victoria

“Foundation level is a good starting basis for teaching mindfulness to, children. Professional, yet accessible, really enjoyed it.” Kathie

“Tara was consistently welcoming, encouraging, informative and professional with her approach to the students. I received a good revision of facts and techniques and also left with some new pearls of wisdom. The Foundation course is pitched beautifully at beginners and those that have been practicing for a while, so it’s a good all rounder. It was lovely to meet other like minded people that are interested in meditation also.” Caroline

“I really enjoyed this foundation level course. Since taking part in this course I have had my Ofsted inspection and the Ofsted officer was overwhelmingly pleased with the techniques that I have learned and thought that this is definitely a worthwhile course for all childcare providers to attend.” June

“I completed the foundation level course with Tara. Wow! I would so recommend it. Tara is very special. She is easy to talk too, to ask questions if you are unsure plus she delves into the why/how meditation works on your physical body. I already dabbled in meditation and mindfulness in my own home and also in my work setting (primary school) but this course has given me the confidence and tools to do this effectively.” Aisha

“Tara is excellent course leader. In the foundation course there are lots of opportunity to discuss theory and I really enjoyed practising mindfulness and leading a session. This helped my confidence and I felt the feedback was incredibly constructive and encouraging.” Jessica

“Engaging, informative and useful for teaching Kids Meditation.” Harry

“The foundation course was easy to follow and informative. I finished with a sense of confidence in my abilities and looking forward to using my new skills. Thank you so much Tara for all your support and enthusiasm throughout the course.” Fiona

“This weekend I completed the foundation level. My trainer Tara, created a warm and comfortable space to explore and discuss mindfulness in relation to children and young people. She clearly has a passion for mindfulness, and this came across in her delivery. The course covered the basics, and gave me the chance to practice a scripted and non-scripted meditation. This gentle push allowed me to practice what I had learnt and from that, it created a confidence in my ability. All in all, a wonderful way to spend a Saturday and Sunday morning and I’m looking forward to putting my new knowledge into practice.” Hollie

 

Mindfulness Courses for Children

Parents/carers/teachers

Charlotte

“Tara took my 6 year old son for 1-2-1 sessions. He had 3 sessions in total, at first he wasn’t the most willing, but with Tara’s calm and patient approach he engaged in the next 2 sessions. I have noticed him doing techniques that Tara has taught him to do if he feels cross and can now calm himself down..(although I haven’t mentioned it to him because I know he will stop doing it!!) Thank you for all your time and patience I really appreciated it. I would definitely recommend Tara xx”

Sarah, year 6 teacher

“Tara helped a group of my Year 6 children to overcome anxiety with her mindfulness techniques and meditations. They have found the sessions incredibly useful whereby they were able to talk about their worries and how best to deal with such things. Many of their anxious thoughts would manifest at night and these children were not able to ‘switch off’ from the stresses and strains of being a child at the top end of Key Stage 2 – exam stress, growing up, leaving school, fear of the dark, fear of change etc were just a few of their worries. Tara helped them with, conjuring up scenarios of positivity that calmed their minds. They still use their new-found skills today.
In this modern society it is important to keep our minds healthy. Tara’s sessions should be on the school curriculum.

Jackie Wilson, founder of Empower Education

“Wow what an amazing 9 weeks at Pear Tree Juniors working with children who struggle socially, academically and emotionally. It has been an absolute joy to work with the wonderful Tara at https://www.facebook.com/wellbeingforkidsuk she has been an amazing support in the programme and we left today buzzing having spent the last two weeks doing 1-1s with the children to embed their learning, directly let them know how amazing they are, and gain some valuable feedback from them on how the programme has helped them. Many of them really appreciated learning about the brain and how emotions and thoughts are created, discovering the beautiful truth of who they are and gaining a toolkit of techniques to navigate their emotions/experiences more easily.”

Christine

“He has learned and practised lots of useful techniques for his emotional first aid kit. I think he has relaxed well during the guided meditations. The sessions were tailored to his individual needs/likes and he has learned lots of useful techniques for taking forward in life”

Jo

“I think having the ability to have a ‘go to’ practice like breathing exercises is very powerful and although this can be taught at home the focus the kids have with Tara certainly makes a huge difference”

Cara

“Tara did 6 sessions for my son who is 10 and he loved it. He asked if she could keep coming forever! He learnt to meditate, going from a couple of minutes to being able to do 10 minutes. I was amazed how well he took to meditation and we still try and have a regular meditation practice. He really liked the science background to the brain and learning about how the monkey brain works and how to control it. He also enjoyed making drawings and diagrams of what he learned and they are also up in his room. My son has ASD and struggles with self-esteem, occasional anxiety, managing anger and understanding/communicating emotions.”

Karen

“My son had 6 121 sessions with Tara. He has ADHD and struggles with relaxation and occasionally sleeping, emotional outbursts, keeping still, and anxiety. He really enjoyed the science aspects, learning about the different parts of the brain and how these affect your behaviour. Tara has given him practical, easy to use strategies to help him manage his emotions. Some have been those to use at home, but also simple strategies for school. We will definitely use Tara again!”

Yasmine

“Learning tools to manage emotions. The instant difference in my child – learning how to deal/help with her as an adult and not in the “parent” state. Watching Tara interact with my child and learning from her. Knowing that negative emotions are OK, we are not perfect but we need to know how to manage them/cope.  Having an empowered child which then empowers me to know I CAN ALSO COPE and use these tools for myself.  Thank you so so much!!!!!”

Mel

“The course has been a wonderful experience for my children. The sessions provided a safe space to talk and each session was aimed at their individual needs, providing them with techniques to use in future. I would highly recommend this course.”

Jodie

“I highly recommend Wellbeing for UK. Tara’s energy and approach was very supportive and our daughter now has a toolkit full of resources for when she feels overwhelmed, anxious, stressed and angry. I wish I had this work available to me when I was a kid!”

Prashantha

“We called upon Tara’s services when my husband and I were seeking some general wellbeing support for our 2 sons aged 8 and 10. The sessions were well organised and structured and also left room for the boys to be able to discuss any issues that had risen in the week. Tara specifically tailored her course for us to be able to engage in sessions as a whole family so we could all benefit from the techniques and tools that were taught. This was all done over Zoom from the comfort of our home which was very convenient. We enjoyed the dances to our favourite soundtracks at the start of every session and the mindfulness colouring exercises at the end. My personal favourite was the story and session about “filling buckets” and the analogy to kindness towards others. Tara also provided guided meditation recordings to use in our own time. By the end of our course, our 10 year old reported that he no longer had school related anxieties in the morning and our 8 year old feedback that he was feeling a lot more positive in himself.”

Asma

“Tara is a brilliant teacher and knows the whole mental health dilemma first hand. She addressed our and my son’s concerns very professionally. She was always on time and super positive on every visit no matter how low my son felt – she always delivered beautifully and made time to explain things to us also.”

 

Groups and organisations

Phabsoc

“We had 2 sessions on mental health, wellbeing and mindfulness with Tara and we couldn’t recommend her more! We learnt about the human brain, meditation, mindful walks and colouring, relieving anxiety, controlling anger, processing emotions and breathing exercises.
Tara kept us all engaged throughout and I think we all left the session feeling less stressed.
We will definitely benefit from everything Tara taught us so we’d like to say a big thank you on behalf of everyone at Phab Nottingham ?⭐️” Phabsoc, Nottingham

Pinner and Headstone District Scouts

“We were interested in the interaction from the young people joining in. Excellent – thanks Tara a great session.”

Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester

“What we found most interesting was your approach to talking about the brain with the puppets, it was a really interesting and we were surprised at the variety of activities and resources! The session was fun and varied and started great conversations on wellbeing in the boarding house.”

National Deaf Children’s Society

Helena, Family Enablement Officer

“Tara at Wellbeing for Kids UK provided an excellent session for the National Deaf Children’s Society. She worked with me to create a session that was deaf-friendly. The session was very fun and engaging”

 

Academic Tuition

Keely, parent

“My daughter was disengaged with Spanish and working below her target level at GCSE. Tara worked with her over yr10 and yr11 and her positivity and patience made a huge difference increasing her predicted grade from 3 to an actual GCSE grade 5 (Foundation). The majority of lessons were on line which suited my daughter. Tara has great language and teaching knowledge not to mention a supportive method which re-engaged my daughter to succeed. Would definitely recommend Tara as a Spanish tutor”