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 needs and can implement strategies 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:
- safer eating and drinking
- reduced stress for participants and staff
- improved regulation and participation
- clearer routines and expectations
- better carryover of therapy strategies
- stronger progress toward goals
When everyone understands the “why” behind recommendations, mealtimes become calmer, safer and more predictable.
Who we train
- support workers
- disability support teams
- educators and teachers
- childcare staff
- school learning support officers
- SIL and group‑home staff
- aged‑care staff
- family members and carers
Training is available for individuals or whole teams.
What training can cover
- understanding feeding challenges
- low‑pressure, supportive approaches
- sensory‑aware mealtime strategies
- supporting food exploration
- responding to refusal or distress
- building predictable routines
- safe eating and drinking strategies
- texture and fluid modifications
- pacing and positioning
- recognising signs of swallowing difficulty
- implementing mealtime safety plans
- supporting regulation
- environmental adjustments
- visual supports and routines
- promoting independence
- reducing overwhelm in busy settings
- responding to mealtime behaviours
- reducing conflict and pressure
- supporting anxiety around food
- creating calm, structured mealtimes
How training works
Training for NDIS teams
Training can be funded under:
- Capacity Building
- Improved Daily Living
- Core (where appropriate)
We support NDIA‑managed, plan‑managed and self‑managed participants.
Training via telehealth
Training can be delivered:
- in person
- via telehealth
- to individuals or whole teams
- across multiple locations
Telehealth is ideal for SIL houses, schools, childcare centres and support teams outside Newcastle.
Frequently Asked Questions
We support infants, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Feeding and swallowing needs change across the lifespan, and our approach adapts to each stage.
A feeding or swallowing assessment explores what is happening during mealtimes, how feeding skills are developing, and whether any medical, developmental, sensory, or oral‑motor factors may be contributing to difficulties. It includes discussion, observation, and evidence‑based clinical reasoning to guide next steps.
Yes. Most feeding assessments include both Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy.
Families often seek support when feeding feels stressful, effortful, or uncertain, or when mealtime routines are becoming difficult to manage. If you have concerns about safety, comfort, skill development, or mealtime confidence, an assessment can help clarify what’s happening.
Yes. We collaborate with GPs, paediatricians, lactation consultants, dietitians, OTs, and other clinicians to support coordinated, consistent care.
No. You can contact us directly to arrange an appointment. Referrals from GPs, paediatricians, or other health professionals are welcome but not required.
You’ll receive clear information about the findings, along with practical strategies and recommendations tailored to your goals and routines. If further support or collaboration with other health professionals is helpful, we will discuss this with you.
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.
Yes. We support families with early feeding development, including challenges related to coordination, endurance, transitions to solids, and mealtime routines. We work alongside medical teams and other professionals involved in your infant’s care.
Never. We use a low‑pressure, child‑led, neurodiversity‑affirming approach.
Yes — including neurological conditions, disability‑related dysphagia and age‑related swallowing changes.