The Key Safeguarding | Delivering a remote training session: tips

We’ve all been thrown into new situations over the last month or so, including shifting to doing training and meetings remotely.

This is likely an entirely new experience for you, so we've brought together some tips for you on how to do this well.

Make sure you use secure meetings, for example where you need a meeting code or a password to join, and don't share these meeting codes or passwords publicly
Try to have a co-facilitator to manage the chat - test your tech setup out on them to make sure it’s all working in advance too
Decide how people will ask questions. This might be through the chat function, or putting their hand up (your co-facilitator can help keep a lookout for who wants to ask a question)
Plan how you’ll deliver any group activities in advance, e.g. prepare separate breakout rooms or hangout links to give to the different groups. Decide the groups in advance so you don’t lose time, as people can’t turn to their neighbour remotely after all
Think about where you'll be. Aim for a quiet space if you can, with good lighting
Tell staff if they need to bring anything (like a pen and paper)
Be near your router, and put other devices on your wifi into airplane mode, or turn them off, to maximise your internet signal
Have a spare device to hand, if you can, and the meeting details written down. That way, you have a backup if your computer decides it really needs to install that update right now when you're halfway through the session

Check everyone can hear you right at the start. You don’t want to have delivered a fantastic introduction, only to find out half the audience didn’t actually hear you
Explain the ground rules for staff at the beginning of the session, like:

Emails and phones away
How they can use chat
How to ask questions
Mute their microphones if they're not speaking - you don’t all need to hear a neighbour’s DIY project in the background!

Tell staff you'll send the presentation round afterwards and save it somewhere they can go back to (then make sure you do this too)
Use an icebreaker to get people warmed up and settled in, or take a few minutes just to have a bit of a chat before you get started properly