Blog
Oakfield House School meets Ollie
Oakfield House School What an amazing experience being invited into one of the top schools in the country and watching the amazing work they do with children that have been through some of the worst early years you could imagine! These kids don’t know love or trust, but the staff work so hard to show them both and help them begin to believe that the worlds they have come from are not the world they could have and so deserve. I must have gone through every emotion and found myself completely exhausted by the realisation of the enormous job that...
Kent Early Intervention - Ollie Model training workshop
Kent Early Intervention The ladies and gents in the front lines for us at Kent’s Early Help teams are what I would call earth angels! Ollie Model training day We did a day workshop with them on the Ollie Model and the day was very informative for me and them. I think it’s fair to say these guys are battle weary – trying to help kids in very bad situations and knowing whatever they do won’t necessarily lead to changing the environment that creating the issues in these kids. As I began my talk I sensed the thought in the room...
Virgin Voom - getting in front of Richard
Your vote is needed to help us get Ali Knowles the opportunity to present Ollie and his Super powers to Richard Branson for a potential share of the Virgin Voom awards for small businesses. Please click on the link to vote https://voom.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/pitches/ollie-and-his-super-powers-1How fishing is providing an upstream solution to mental health - TEDx talk by Alison Knowles
TEDx Chichester Ali, once again, delivered an emotional talk on how we can help our children and young adults become all they can be. Ali has an ability to touch us all with how she explains what each of us can do to make a difference now rather than wait until its too late. Along with other speakers on the day, Ali brought to light the need for improved listening, communication, and understanding within the services offered by the current mental health provision. Follow Ollie - Don't be put in a box The resounding message was that we...
Ollie Coach training - for new and old
Ollie Coach training Existing Ollie Coaches joined a new set of potential Ollie Coaches on our recent training day at Regents College, London. The day was rammed with information for the new Coaches all trying out the Ollie Model techniques on each other and on the existing Coaches. Ali Knowles, supported by Emily Tatlow and the other Coaches explained the reasons why the Ollie Concept was developed and how to use it with kids and adults. Lots of laughter was heard coming from our room in the corridors of Regents College as in the role plays there was lots of...
Children's Emotional Health - The Ollie Model and ThoughtBox Education
There is so much to do to reconnect children and families with a language to help them navigate the world of emotions that make us who we are but together we can make the difference to make the difference, bringing solutions rather than just highlighting the failings in our children's emotional education!NLP in Education Award Finalist - Alison Knowles
NLP Aware Finalist Wow what an accolade! Ali has been nominated for an international award for NLP training in Education. She has been been selected, from those nominated, by an independent panel. The finalists have been chosen on the how they have demonstrated the use of NLP in making a marked difference in the specified area. Ali is up against 2 other finalist who have been working with children and adults in Kenya and Mexico. Alison was inspired to create ‘Ollie and his superpowers’, having found a way to be more creative in therapy with children and has written three books...
Ollie - So far
This year has been beyond my very expansive imagination with lots of amazing people becoming Ollie Coaches, working in lots of schools and, the most important, being able to help lots of kids.
I am ready for next year
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Ollie Kids - Programme for Schools
Diversity and Internet Safety training workshops We had a great few Days at St Josephs School in London Delivering workshops on Diversity and internet safety as part of our drive to introducing prevention to PHSE in schools through our Ollie Kids program. At Ollie HQ we recognise that you can tell children how to stay safe on the internet, we can tell them about the damage bullying does and how important self worth is reference body image on social media and the issues that can course with eating disorders and kids feeling not good enough. And that's great but only...
It’s all about being a Blue Water Dragon!!!
I love working in schools! Our coaches work with 5 year old's to 105 year old's! This week, in one of my schools, I had the joy of really showing the power of Ollie. A little chap, five years old using words like possession, elementals, with monsters taking over him and being very violent. He had undergone all types of assessment and was being looked at for everything from multiple personality disorder to schizophrenia….. I was asked to meet him. Yes, those words coming from a five year old are chilling and Ollie Coaches don’t diagnose but what we do...
There are no Bad Kids!
There are no Bad kids!! Aren’t children fascinating? They might not be able to spell or add up, they might not know stuff we think important like manners and socially acceptable behaviour but from their first breath they are the greatest manipulators on our planet! A small baby is not smiling at you because it likes you. It probably doesn't know what its looking at but it smiles because then you hug it, love it, and protect it! Clever! A young child knows instinctively how to pull your strings to get what it needs: your love and attention. So clever....
Learn to speak Ollie - and evening with Alison Knowles
Learn to speak Ollie evenings are a great way to learn about the Ollie Concept and to try some of the simple techniques that can make all the difference. Ali is a great story teller with lots of little antidotes that will make you laugh but will also make you think ..... You will learn about why she wrote the series of Ollie books and how she developed the Ollie Concept. From this you will get an understanding of how you can use the Ollie Concept, easily incorporating it into everyday at work and at home. You will also...
Learn to speak Ollie with Alison Knowles, author of Ollie and his Superpowers
An introduction to the Ollie Concept. What a fun night! Ali was at her best again introducing the Ollie concept. Ali explained that through her work as a therapist she wrote the Ollie and his Superpowers series of books and how she developed the Ollie Concept. All to make sure that we give kids the best opportunity to be the best they can be. The whole night was about how you can use the Ollie concept and your superpowers everyday within your own family or at school to help control your emotions, and change behaviour through language. Ali explained that all...
Learn to speak Ollie - an evening with Ali and Ollie
An introduction to the Ollie concept Due to the fantastic feedback we are getting from parents, teachers and children we are holding an evening event to introduce you to the Ollie Concept. Come and meet Ali, Ollie and local Ollie Coaches on the 26th June at the Free Church in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, starting a 7pm Learn some simple techniques to help your kids be the best version of themselves and pick up tips on how to use the Ollie language. Also be prepared to have fun and laugh a lot!
Ollie and his Superpowers Mentor training
Ollie Mentor Training 25 representatives from 12 different schools in Cambridge attended our most recent Ollie Mentor Training organised through the Red Hen Project. http://www.redhenproject.com/ Attendees learnt 'How to speak Ollie' and a number of different Ollie techniques that they could use in the classrooms on a daily basis. Everyone was completely buzzed by what they learnt. I just wanted to say I found today brilliant! I will be taking it back to my school tomorrow and talking to the head Really informative and empowering. I feel more confident and equipped to try these techniques and therefore empower the child to...
Learn to speak Ollie - Mentor training
Why do we over complicate things? Why do we tell a child they need to be more RESILIENT and get annoyed when the child looks at us without a clue? Why do we say, ‘stop being sad or angry’ and get annoyed when the child doesn’t? So many things we do and say around children in our adult language and view of the world that we forget that they are not us, can’t think like us, don’t have the resources and life experience to understand our requests. I truly believe there are no bad kids. I also truly believe that...
Ali nominated for a Best You Award
The Best Personal Development Author Ali has been nominated for The Best Personal Development Author Award with the winner to be announced at the The Best You Gala ceremony on the 4th March 2017. The award is in recognition of the most talented author that demonstrates an outstanding degree of groundbreaking achievement in Personal Development. Ali was nominated for Ollie and his Super Powers. For more information about the 2017 awards, the expo or to book tickets to the Gala event please go to https://thebestyouexpo.com/awards/ Ali would like to thank everyone who nominated her.
Ollie at Hinchingbrooke Hospital Fracture Clinic
Visiting Hinchingbrook Hospital Ollie and I had the honour of meeting the lovely nurses at Hinchingbrook Hospital Fracture Clinic last week. It was wonderful to walk into the children’s area and see Ollie already there with his books! The nurses had been using him and his super powers to help make children feel a little less afraid of having a plaster cast put on or worse – cut off. So Ollie and I donated some of Ollie’s brothers so the nurses could put plaster casts on their arms and legs and the children could watch them being removed and see...
NHS England Review
‘It was a pleasure to meet Ali and Ollie recently and hear about the work on addressing children’s emotional wellbeing. I know that Ollie will spread swiftly and am fully supportive of their excellent work and approach’ Kindest regards Kath Kath Evans Experience of Care Lead – Maternity, Infants, Children and Young People Nursing Directorate NHS England
All Behaviour Serves a Purpose
Getting to the root of things The Ollie concept is based on this key theory : All behaviour serves a purpose Many therapists take the presenting issue as the issue. We do not. The best way to describe this is my talking about trees! Imagine a tree with branches. Let’s put your issues on those branches, and let’s use a case study of a young lad of 7 to explain this approach. The young lad was bought to me with the label agoraphobic. For months and months various therapists had been working with him to get rid of his fear...
Why do they do what they do?
Giving a voice to kids’ inner bodyguards It’s only human to think the worst of bad behaviour, but that often means we miss what’s really going on. As a therapist who’s been helping kids for decades, I’ve seen my share of troubling tics and habits that people call ‘bad’. Luckily I have a secret ally in figuring out a habit’s true purpose: a small doll called Ollie. Annabelle, Princess of Thieves Expelled from one school after another, transferred from foster home to foster home, Annabelle was becoming her own worst enemy. She stole from her foster families, played the class...
Ollie flies high - Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust
Ollie gets to meet the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust. What a wonderful day out meeting with the guys from Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust. I was a bit scared at first of getting in the helicopter but I used my Brave superpower to overcome this and just jumped on in. I wasn't allowed to push any buttons but I did ask lots of questions of what they all did. The work this organisation does is awe inspiring and I hope to be able to have more photos sitting in the helicopter. But I hope never to...
Speak Ollie
What's it all about! Ollie is having an amazing time. He has been invited in to even more schools with his Ollie Coaches so we can help even more children take control of their superpowers! We are now teaching teachers to “ speak” Ollie and parents too so we can all help our children express their feelings and so we can understand what it is they are feeling rather than trying to guess! So many children are labeled angry or bad but really if you could see their superpowers you would see they are sad and frustrated. They want to...
Learn to speak 'Ollie'
An evening with Alison Knowles learning all about the concept of 'Ollie' Due to popular demand by parents and others we have arranged to do an event that introduces you the basic concept of Ollie and how you can use it in every day life. Ali is a great presenter with lots of tales to tell with reference to how Ollie began and then she will be able to show you some simple techniques of the 'Ollie' concept. Expect lots of laughter as Ali becomes more animated as the evening progresses and as you get swept along with the language of...
Ollie and the Golden Stripe - 5 Star Reviews
5 Star Book Reviews from Amazon. Below are copies of the reviews that have so far been entered onto the Amazon site. It is wonderful to see that people are not only ready the books but that they are using the concepts in the books in everyday life and that they are having a really positive effect. By David Thompson on 21 July 2016 Alison has done it again, we join Ollie on the next stage of his journey, this time he discovers Empathy and how he can use it to help himself and others. Alison has a...
Ollie and the Golden Stripe - Parent's Review
Book Review I picked this book up after my child told me about the Author that came to his school. I have to say I picked it up read and re read it and then read it again. We now have an Ollie doll and the first book as well. Both my sons aged 7 and 9 love Ollie and I do too because I only have to ask "what would Ollie do?" rather than my previous yelling at the top of my lungs to get them to stop and think. We are all waiting for the next installment! Well...
Ollie and the Golden Stripe Review
Dear Alison We are all Ollie converts in the Renolds' household and use our super powers. We have just read Ollie and the Golden Stripe. Yesterday I came home to find my 7 year old waking around in my shoes. His words, "I am using your shoes so I be daddy, its hard waking in daddies shows!" From mouths of babes. Keep it up Alison, brilliant work! Posted on facebook 24/07/16 6.54am
Ollie and the Golden Stripe Book Reviews
A readers review Alison has done it again, we join Ollie on the next stage of his journey, this time he discovers Empathy and how he can use it to help himself and others.Alison has a knack for for sharing knowledge through Ollie without lecturing.This book is a must read not just for children though, many adults do not have empathy perhaps the world would be a better and safer place if they did.The phenomenon that is Ollie is growing, he must reach into schools and other agencies that look after young people, please embrace this book. David Thompson -...
Find an 'Ollie' Coach near you
Ollie Coaches Our Ollie Coaches are highly trained, highly experienced therapists in their own rights and now they also know how to speak "Ollie”! The Ollie concept is designed around providing a method and a language that helps children to take control of their emotions rather than be controlled by them. It gives them a way of making emotions real and have substance so that they can choose what they want to feel and how much of that they want to feel. But most importantly why they are feeling it in the first place. So often we say that child...
Ollie Coaches first training day
Ollie Coaches Saturday 2nd July was our first training day for Ollie coaches. And what a wonderful day it was. In the morning we had Ali show us the techniques she uses with kids. This included lots of facial expressions, lots of hand movements, lots of jumping around, sitting on the floor and lots of laughter. Its amazing how adults can do very good impressions of 10 year olds when asked! In the afternoon we got a bit more serious going through the basics of Safeguarding, the responsibilities of being an Ollie Coach and then the opportunities that are...
Ollie and his Super Powers goes into Schools
The Launch of Ollie and his Super Powers. To coincide with the publication of Ollie and his Super Powers, Ali and Ollie went into St Lukes School, Cambridge, on Monday to talk to the kids of the school about how they can use their super powers to help them cope with everyday pressures of being a kid. Unprompted and unrehearsed, one little man wanted to tell Ali about how Ollie has helped him. What the teachers think "I think that Ollie is a really exciting opportunity to help children to explore some of those trickier things...
The Language for Children
Watch what you say - making sure you're speaking the right language Young children are very nominal in their thought process and language skills. By that I mean they either win a race or they lose, they are loved or they are not, its black or its white. They just don't "get" any grey elements of their reality. It’s important to know this and be mindful of it when working with children. They are very literal in their understanding. That's why things like : "your a bad kid" when what we mean is “what you did was not really the...
All behaviour serves a purpose…..
All behaviour serves a purpose I work with both children and adults and the above is very true in both. No matter what someone wants to change because its holding them back or causing them a problem, I can pretty much guarantee that the issue they are struggling with is actually trying to serve a positive purpose for them. Here’s an example. A young lass aged 10 was bought to me because she was suffering from acute IBS. Now IBS can be associated with medical issues which had been checked out and given the all clear, and of course it...
Ollie makes an awesome anchor
We use anchors in therapy to help you get to the emotional state you would like to be in an instant. What is an anchor? Well do you watch any sport? Lets say rugby. The number 10 – the person who kicks the conversions. If you watch an international game, well any game really, the kicker will go through a little routine before kicking the ball. What they are doing is getting themselves in the zone. They are cutting out all awareness of the crowds and the pressure. Chances are they have worked with a therapist like me to do...
How the concept of the super powers came about.
I like to think my body is a democracy but every now and then I have to step in and remind it. See I believe I am made up of parts - like fear, love, willpower, wisdom, and a hundred other parts that make me who I am. Most of the time these parts work well as a team. Fear acts as a body guard and keeps me alert but common sense stops fear taking over. Compassion wants to do good stuff but wisdom stops compassion giving my house away. So, by and large, all these parts of me steer me along...