Training for professionals

Increase your knowledge, keep up to date, and build your confidence. 

Meet the needs of your clients from pregnancy through the first year, meeting their key concerns.

If you are a health professional, children's centre worker, antenatal teacher, and/or doula, these courses are for you.

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Starting Solids Facilitator

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Train to deliver fun, evidence based, interactive workshop that leaves parents feeling less worried, and more confident about the how, what, when, and why of introducing solid foods to their baby.

• Fill a gap and help parents in your area

• Useful income

• Straightforward, structured workshop

• Handbook & resources

• Great training with experienced facilitator & ongoing support

• Supports NHS guidelines

• Nutrition knowledge not necessary

• Non-judgemental, developmental approach

• Your own business, no franchise or ongoing payments

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"I would really recommend this training with Cathy Williams. Such a brilliant course to help parents feel relaxed and excited through their baby’s starting solids journey. I’ve run my first two workshops with fabulous feedback. So if you’re thinking about training then go for it, you’ll love it!"    Michelle Birth-In-Harmony Doula and Hypnobirthing

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"Another great workshop on Saturday along with lots of very confident parents who are all happy to just wait now till babies are ready - I love  this workshop. The huge difference in parents feelings and thoughts about feeding from when they arrive to when they finish the workshop - bloody fantastic!!!" Angela Turner Jones, Mother Nurtured Doula Services, doula and hypnobirthing teacher.

"The starting solids training was the best decision I made. To anyone thinking of attending you won’t regret it, there’s lots of opportunities and it’s so much fun!"
Gill Norris, Hypnobirthing & Fourth Trimester Support, hypnobirthing teacher and health visitor

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It can be hard for parents to find unbiased information for even innocuous seeming websites can be fronts for baby food manufacturers, with misleading information. Even advice from seemingly unbiased sources may not be based on evidence, or even logic. When the move from four months to six months being the suggested starting point, much of the advice on how to start was simply transferred over, despite the physiology of four month old and six month old babies being quite different.

I designed this workshop after finding that parents were stuck between health professionals who were only talking baby led weaning, and internet and family members giving incorrect information about starting solids. I wanted the workshop to be interactive, covering every aspect, so that parents could get the information they need. The workshop covers baby led weaning and spoon feeding, the pros and cons. It gives parents the guidelines, and the science behind them. I am a big fan of baby led weaning and the feedback from parents shows they are more likely to do baby led weaning after the workshop.

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The feedback from parents also illustrates what they value about this workshop: relaxed atmosphere; clear and easy to understand; informative. It leaves them feeling confident and more relaxed.

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Using my skills as a trained parenting course facilitator and teacher I developed activities that supports parents own learning, through discussion, explanation and reflection. The workshops are about helping parents gain a deeper understanding and a different view of weaning, to seeing introducing solids as supporting their unique baby’s physiological development. You do not need to be highly knowledgeable on nutrition to deliver these courses. The training & reading covers what you need to know.

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Is it for you?

• Are you looking for an extra source of income that is well tested?

• Do you have an interest in supporting parents, and helping them through this stage?

• It is especially suitable for people who already run antenatal/postnatal classes. Or parents looking to start their own business.

It is a straightforward, structured workshop which is easy to follow, with tried and tested activities to do with parents, couples, and babies, either in their own home or in a community venue. You will get to try the activities and practise delivering them so by the end of the training you will feel confident to get started straightaway.

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It is a full day's training with ongoing support to run your own sessions. You get a handbook, with helpful notes, and resources to run all the activities.  It is a useful source of income, whether you are a mum or dad at home, or birth professional such as a baby massage teacher, antenatal teacher, hypnobirthing teacher or similar.

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Here's what Michelle had to say after facilitating her first one 
'I really enjoyed it, it flowed really well with lots of chatting and veering off at times. The activities worked really well, the feedback was that they enjoyed the activity cards as it got them involved. I have another session with five mums next week. I can't wait. Thank you for all your help and support.'

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'Just a brief one to let you know how today’s ‘trial’ workshop went.... the mums that attended said they found it “really knowledgeable”, left them feeling “ready to smash weaning” and felt “confident to start solids” now!' Sarah Packwood Starting Solids

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Download more information PDF HERE.

Check out the videos below to get some of your questions answered. 

About me

I am a parenting practitioner, doula, antenatal teacher & more. While managing a Sure Start children’s centre for nine years I was a trained breastfeeding supporter, (Management & support of breastfeeding, plus annual updates and reviews), and later an NHS peer supporter. I trained with NHS dieticians to deliver information on nutrition for under fives.

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Any questions? Ask me: 

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