Support Worker & Educator Training
Building confident, consistent mealtime support across home, school and community settings
Support workers, educators and care teams play a crucial role in helping children, teens and adults participate safely and confidently in mealtimes. THRIVE provides practical, evidence‑based training to ensure everyone supporting your child or participant understands their feeding or swallowing needs and can implement recommendations consistently across environments.
Our training is clear, accessible and tailored to the individual’s goals, abilities and support requirements.
Why training matters
Consistent mealtime support leads to:
When everyone understands the why behind recommendations, mealtimes become calmer, safer and more predictable.
Who we train
Training is available for individuals or whole teams.
What training can cover
Feeding Support
Swallowing (Dysphagia) Support
Mealtime Participation
Behavioural & Emotional Support
How training works
Understanding the participant’s needs
We review the individual’s feeding or swallowing profile, goals and support requirements.
Tailored training session
Training is delivered in a way that suits your team — practical, clear and focused on real‑world situations.
Demonstration & modelling
Where appropriate, we demonstrate low‑pressure approaches and coach your team through real mealtime moments, focusing on how you support the participant.
Written guidance
Teams receive clear, easy‑to‑follow recommendations to support consistency across shifts and environments.
Ongoing support
We can provide follow‑up sessions, refreshers or updates as needs change.
Preparing the environment for success
We help your team set up calm, predictable mealtime environments that support regulation and safety.
Training for NDIS teams
Training can be funded under:
We support NDIA‑managed, plan‑managed and self‑managed participants.
Training via telehealth
Training can be delivered:
Telehealth is ideal for SIL houses, schools, childcare centres and support teams outside Newcastle.
Note:
Swallowing (dysphagia) assessments cannot be completed via telehealth. For safety reasons, dysphagia assessments must be completed in person.
Ready to build confident, consistent mealtime support?
We can help your team feel equipped, informed and confident supporting feeding and swallowing needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
We provide mealtime training for teams supporting infants, children, adolescents, adults and older adults. Training content is tailored to the participant’s feeding, swallowing and mealtime needs.
Yes. Many feeding assessments include both Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy. Training is based on the recommendations from these assessments.
Teams often seek training when mealtime routines feel inconsistent, stressful or unclear, or when participants require support to eat and drink safely. Training helps ensure everyone understands and follows the same recommendations.
Yes. We collaborate with GPs, paediatricians, dietitians, OTs and other clinicians to ensure training aligns with the participant’s feeding and swallowing recommendations.
No. You can contact us directly to arrange an appointment. Referrals from GPs, paediatricians or other health professionals are welcome but not required.
Your team receives clear recommendations and mealtime plans. Training then focuses on helping staff understand and implement these recommendations consistently.
We are based in Newcastle, NSW, and support families across the Hunter region and Central Coast, including Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens.
Yes — we support self‑managed, plan‑managed and NDIA‑managed participants through our parent company’s (EduCare) NDIS registration.
Never. We use a low‑pressure, child‑led, neurodiversity‑affirming approach.
Yes. We provide training for teams supporting adults with swallowing difficulties, based on speech‑pathology‑led dysphagia plans.