On the Eve of a Five-Week Training Journey to India

I am currently on the eve of packing for a five-week work trip to India, where I will be delivering the first school-based, Train the Trainer course I have ever run in the country.

Although this is a new in-depth milestone, I have been working in India for over twenty-four years with the wonderful Teacher Foundation, under the dedicated and enthusiastic leadership of Maya Menon. Through her hard work, Quality Circle Time (QCT) has grown and become deeply embedded in many key cities across India.

The Teacher Foundation also offers Circles of Support for teachers who are working to develop and strengthen Circle Time practices in their classrooms. QCT is a model that continues to evolve, deepen, and expand in meaningful ways.

My upcoming work represents another step forward in that journey – moving into a more layered and systemic approach through an Ecosystemic Model of practice. Rather than only delivering a series of conferences, I can now support schools to develop their own Train the Trainer capacity, enabling teachers to become accredited facilitators who can, in turn, support their colleagues at a deeper and more sustainable level.

A beautiful example of this shines through my current partnership with The Shri Ram Schools, introduced through Maya’s connection. Under the visionary leadership of Manika Sharma, her schools are taking a long-term, holistic view of the impact of training and development.

What makes this package I am delivering particularly exciting is the way this work is extending beyond staff development alone. My holistic Wellbeing Model embraces all members of the school community – children, teachers, parents, and grandparents.

In a particularly innovative development, children themselves will be trained to facilitate Circle Time sessions for younger pupils, working in partnership with their class teachers.

It is, quite simply, a ground-breaking approach.

This journey has taken months of careful planning and collaboration. My PA Maddie and I have worked closely with Shruti Ananya from The Shri Ram Schools and Amrinder Kaur from Shri Educare limited, whose dedication, attention to detail, and enthusiasm have been exceptional throughout.

Very soon, I will be flying to Delhi – ready to begin this next chapter of learning, collaboration, and shared growth.