Postural Stability Instructor

This 4 day course is designed for professionals working with frailer older people with a history of falls in the community (e.g. Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists & L3 GP Referral Qualified Exercise Instructors (or those working towards this qualification). In special circumstances Nurses, Therapy Assistants, Health Care Assistants & Support Workers, Health Managers and Leisure Managers can also enrol. The course is designed for those who have previously undertaken learning at an advanced level and who have some background of exercise delivery with older people. The variety of professionals who attend these courses aid local networking and help break down barriers between professions and build trust and respect for their differing skills. The course is based on the exercise intervention used in the FaME trial (Skelton, Dinan et al.) that reduced falls risk by half.

Exercise and Fitness Training after Stroke Instructor

This 4 day course is designed for professionals working with people following a stroke (e.g. Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists & L3 GP Referral Qualified Exercise Instructors (or those working towards this qualification). In special circumstances Nurses & those with a BSc in Sport, Exercise or Health Sciences can also enrol. The course is designed for those who have previously undertaken learning at an advanced level and who have some background of exercise delivery with older people. The variety of professionals who attend these courses aid local networking and help break down barriers between professions and build trust and respect for their differing skills. The course is based on the exercise intervention used in the STARTER trial (Mead, Dinan et al.) that improved function and quality of life in people after stroke.

Otago Exercise Programme Leader

A training course for health and exercise professionals in the delivery of the evidence based Otago strength and balance exercise programme for frailer older people. The 4 day course is designed as a leadership course and although preferable, a previous knowledge of exercise delivery is not essential. Therapy assistants, chair-based exercise leaders, amongst others find this course most valuable in their practice. However, there is also a 2 day accelerated course that caters for experienced exercise and therapy professionals who want to further increase their skills in home supervision, technique and progression. The Otago Exercise Programme (Campbell, Robertson et al.) has been shown to reduce falls in six published randomised controlled trials. It has also been shown to reduce injuries and improve executive function (cognition).

Chair Based Exercise Leader

This 4 day course is designed as a leadership course for health care professionals wishing to deliver chair-based exercise to frailer older people. It is also appropriate for qualified exercise teachers and those holding an NVQ in Exercise and Fitness or equivalent qualification through an accelerated 2 day course. The course can also be accessed by candidates who have no formal qualifications but have considerable experience working with older people such as care workers or therapy assistants. The Chair Based Exercise Leader Course (Skelton et al.) has been shown to improve strength, flexibility, stamina and quality of life in frailer older people.

Motivate Me

‘Motivate Me’ is a one day course for teachers, instructors and leaders of exercise classes and groups who work with older people. It has been designed for professionals who have qualified either as CBE Leaders, OEP Leaders or Fitness/Exercise Instructors. It is also appropriate for Senior Peer Activity Motivators and other health or social care professionals who wish to know more about motivating older adults to engage in physical activity. It is based on published evidence on factors that facilitate and break down the barriers to uptake or adherence to exercise.

Someone Like Me

This one day course is for those who wish to develop their understanding of the concept of senior peer mentoring and experience of working with volunteers and who wish to undertake their own specific local training of Senior Peer Activity Motivators with a specific focus upon physical activity. The course is designed to allow participants to experience the practical components of both planning a programme and training Senior Peer Activity Motivators. All participants will be provided with course documentation and Senior Peer Mentoring resources to aid their future recruitment and training of mentors. It is based on a wide range of evidence about engagement, volunteering and mentoring that has shown not only improved outcomes for the mentors themselves but also in terms of increasing uptake and adherence to physical activity amongst the older population they mentor.