Assertiveness

This free webinar is open to all NEU members and non-NEU member ECT and Trainees.

As a profession, many feel driven by social and moral purpose and the desire to ‘keep everyone happy all of the time’. How do we balance this instinct with ensuring that we assert our own needs? How do we ensure others truly understand how to get the best out of us, how we work most effectively and most efficiently for the good of our young people? How do we ensure that we can truly enjoy what’s at the heart of our professional wellbeing: self-efficacy - the knowledge that we are doing a decent job and the ability to celebrate the positive impact we have?

This session will cover:

What is assertiveness? Treading the line between ‘compliance’ and ‘pushiness’.
The barriers to assertiveness - what does the research tell us?
Scenarios: where, when and with whom would you like to be most assertive? A framework to follow and a chance to practice those courageous conversations.
Action planning: taking control and committing to clear, actionable ways forward to increase your sense of control and agency.

Suitable for: All members (Non-member ECTs and Trainees welcome)

Can’t make it? Don’t worry! If you are unable to attend, still register to receive a recording link and watch within 14 days.

Providers

Dr Emma Kell

Coach, teacher, wellbeing expert, trainer and TEDx speaker

Dr Emma Kell

Coach, teacher, wellbeing expert, trainer and TEDx speaker

Emma is director of Those That Can Ltd. She has 26 years of experience as a teacher and leader in UK secondary schools and currently teaches in Alternative Provision. She is a qualified performance coach and DISC profiler and has worked with hundreds of teachers and leaders nationally and internationally. She speaks regularly on school culture and communication, teacher wellbeing, recruitment and retention, she has completed a doctorate on teacher well-being and parenting at Middlesex University and is author of How To Survive in Teaching (Bloomsbury, 2018) and A Little Guide for Teachers: Wellbeing and Self-Care and A Little Guide for Teachers: Engaging Parents and Carers. Her fourth book, Real Lives of Teachers has been published be Sage Education in January 2026 and she has co-edited Questions on Teacher Wellbeing due for publication with Routledge in April 2026. In her spare time, Emma is Mum to two teenagers and two golden retrievers.

Adrian Bethune

Part time teacher, author and lecturer

Adrian Bethune

Part time teacher, author and lecturer

Adrian Bethune is a part-time teacher at a primary school in Aylesbury and the deputy-chair of the Well Schools strategic board. Adrian also delivers wellbeing-focused training through his organisation www.teachappy.co.uk. Adrian is the author of Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom – A Practical Guide to Teaching Happiness and co-author of A Little Guide To Teacher Wellbeing and Self-Care.