I am Penny Sturt, the Lead Associate for Training at Talking Heads. In 2023 my book, Using Supervision in Schools co-written with Jo Rowe was updated and a second edition published about our experiences of introducing supervision into education. My dream has long been that supervision should be offered to education staff and I have been working for the last few years to see how to make that happen. I am an experienced trainer in supervision, have written on the subject and produced resources with Research in Practice, Practice Supervisor Development Programme and In-Trac, Training and Consultancy as well as books aimed at educational professionals.
From my background experience of social work and managing in health and social care settings, I am passionate about working with people to improve their lives and encourage them to give of their best in whatever they do. In my view supervision is a great way of enabling professionals to develop their capacities to flourish. I am an experienced supervisor, so it is a particular delight to be associated with Talking Heads in offering supervision to staff in education settings.
The world is one of rapid change so developing a flexible mindset, knowing what is essential for your own self-care and building your own resources and capacities all feature in the work I do. Supervision is a reflective space to cope with the demands being made of you, to think about the impact and work out what to do next. Supervision is a professional conversation that safeguards you, your wellbeing and those you have responsibility for (students, staff, school).
Since 2007 I have run my own small business, Pendrew Limited, providing training, supervision and consultancy and working in association with like minded others. I continue to maintain my social work registration.