Gloriously Ordinary Language:
The programme
Reimagine. Rehumanise. Reconnect.
Gloriously Ordinary Language is an exciting programme for local councils and care and support organisations who want to reimagine care and support, rehumanise language and reconnect with what matters most - making sure that all of us get to live Gloriously Ordinary Lives.
This is how it works.
Gloriously Ordinary Language 101
We introduce Gloriously Ordinary Language with a half-day Zoom session for approx 50 people. This is just for people working in and with your organisation, and it's where we’ll start to explore the ideas and thinking around Gloriously Ordinary Language and why it matters. This can be before the programme starts or sometime during the first two months.
We will:
explore why we talk about ‘ordinary’ language… not just simple or plain language
share what the law and best practice says about ordinary lives
introduce Gloriously Ordinary Lives and Test Two: would I use that language in my kitchen with my family or at the cafe or pub with my mates?
think about why language matters to all of us
start to get curious about the words that make us go hmmm…and why
Core sessions
Your core team of up to eight people will join teams from the other organisations who are part of the programme for six half-day Zoom workshops. These workshops will help you influence how you think and communicate with and about each other, and about the purpose and practice of adult social care. Each session will include a mix of whole group discussion and learning, and break-out group conversations.
The six sessions each focus on a different theme:
Purpose
Session one: Opportunity not crisis - telling a different story about social care.
Session two: Lives not services - reimagining how we think about care and support.
People
Session three: Us not them and us - remembering that we are all human.
Session four: Curious not furious - moving beyond blame.
Practice
Session five: Relationships not transactions - stepping out of the social care sorting office.
Session six: Humans not robots - challenging how we think about roles and recruitment.
We’ll end each session with ideas about things to think about or do before the next session, and start each session with a quick recap of the previous session and some time to share learning and progress.
The sessions will include two 15-minute breaks.
Peer support
Your core team will also join 2-hour peer support sessions on Zoom between each core session. These are a chance to share what you are working on and get help from Bryony and Tricia and each other. You are welcome to bring a bigger group of people to these sessions, so for example if you have had a group of people working on job adverts and descriptions, that whole group could come to a peer support session and share what they are working on.
Celebration
The programme finishes with a full day together (10am - 4pm), in person, to celebrate progress and look ahead. The day includes a guest speaker, vegetarian lunch and goodie bag! We will agree a mutually convenient venue with each programme.
Community
Once the programme ends, we will invite you to join the Gloriously Ordinary Language Community and come along to monthly online sessions alongside all the other teams who have completed the Gloriously Ordinary Language programme since January 2025.
Online resources
In addition, organisations on the programme will get access to a password protected part of this website with support materials, including recordings of Bryony and Tricia talking through the key content from the sessions, blogs and articles to read, videos to watch, practical training session plans and slides for you to use. This is available to everyone in your organisation.
Practical stuff
We’re really excited because we have refreshed our original Gloriously Ordinary Language programme. This is based on our learning and conversations with - and feedback from - the 27 organisations who have taken part so far. We’ve made the core sessions a bit shorter and introduced new peer support sessions to give you the chance to even more practical support from us and each other. We have also developed a whole set of online resources which we’ll make available to everyone working in and with organisations who sign up.
We’ve updated the cost of the programme to reflect these changes from January 2027. The September 2026 programme remains at the ‘old’ price as we’ll be introducing our new content and structure during the programme …. so it is a bit of a bargain!
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September 2026 programme: £4950 + VAT
January 2027 programme: £7500 + VAT
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September 2026 programme
Core sessions
All sessions online 9.30am - 1pm
Wednesday 23rd September 2026
Wednesday 7 October 2026
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Wednesday 2 December 2026
Wednesday 6 January 2027
Wednesday 3 February 2027
Peer support
All sessions online 2pm - 4pm
Wednesday 21 October 2026
Wednesday 18 November 2026
Wednesday 16 December 2026
Wednesday 20 January 2027
Wednesday 17 February 2027
Celebration get-together
Wednesday 3 March 2027 from 10am - 4pm in person. Venue to be confirmed.
January 2027 programme
Core sessions
All sessions online 9.30am - 1pm
Tuesday 12 January 2027
Tuesday 9 February 2027
Tuesday 9 March 2027
Tuesday 13 April 2027
Tuesday 11 May 2027
Tuesday 15 June 2027
Peer support
All sessions online 2pm - 4pm
Wednesday 27 January 2027
Wednesday 24 February 2027
Wednesday 17 March 2027
Wednesday 28 April 2027
Wednesday 19 May 2027
Wednesday 30 June 2027
Celebration get-together
Tuesday 13 July 2027 from 10am - 4pm in person. Venue to be confirmed.
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Ready to reimagine, rehumanise and reconnect?
For more information, or to book on to the programme, please contact us.
Can’t commit to the full programme?
Spend a day with us instead.