In this vital conversation, I’m joined by Ben Gyles, co-founder of Urban Nest Property Solutions and The Housing Partnership Forum, to tackle the growing gap between housing and care. Ben shares his personal connection to council housing, his work supporting care providers and councils, and how housing shortages and visa changes are creating a chokehold on care delivery across the UK.

Whether you’re a parent, teacher or caregiver, this episode sheds light on how stable, trauma-informed housing isn’t just about bricks and mortar – it’s about creating safety, healing and dignity for those we support.

1. Care Needs a Roof: Housing is not just a backdrop to care delivery – it’s a fundamental part of it. Without suitable homes, care packages are delayed, disjointed or completely unworkable.

2. The System is Reacting, Not Planning: Providers, councils, and landlords are trapped in reactive firefighting. We need better communication, forward planning and strategic housing pipelines to meet future care needs.

3. Homes Can Heal: Trauma-informed environments matter. With insight from his partner, therapist Silvia Costa, Ben shares how thoughtful design can support mental wellbeing and long-term recovery.

• 00:00 – What happens when care is approved, but there's nowhere to go?

• 02:00 – Delayed discharge and the £2bn cost of nowhere-to-go patients

• 05:00 – The impact of housing shortages on small care providers

• 10:00 – The missing link: communication breakdown between councils, landlords and providers

• 20:00 – How Urban Nest is bridging the gap with property pipelines

• 25:00 – Visa changes, staff shortages and housing as recruitment infrastructure

• 30:00 – How trauma-informed design transforms housing into healing

• 35:00 – Advice for caregivers and advocates struggling with housing support

• 40:00 – Behaviour, stability and the ripple effect of insecure housing on families and schools

• 45:00 – What councils and government could change today

• 50:00 – The Housing Partnership Forum – a new space for collaboration

• The Housing Partnership Forum: Join on LinkedIn

• Ben & Silvia on LinkedIn: Ben and Silvia

• Your Local Guardian Article: Urban Nest launched to save Croydon's forgotten homes

• Targeting the Positive (Book) by Andy Baker: Find it on Amazon

If you work in care, education or support families in any way, this episode will challenge how you think about housing. Ben Gyles offers a fresh, solutions-focused perspective on how to overcome housing barriers in care – from planning better homes to understanding trauma-informed design. It’s a conversation packed with heart, real-world examples, and practical hope.

In this powerful solo episode of Able to Care, Andy Baker – behaviour specialist, author, trainer and speaker – explores one of the most transformative frameworks in person-centred support: the Six C’s of Preventative Wellbeing.

Too often, we fight fires instead of fireproofing. Whether you're a parent trying to reduce meltdowns, a carer supporting someone in distress, or a teacher dealing with disengagement, this episode reframes the problem: It’s not just about reacting to behaviour – it’s about creating environments where the behaviour doesn’t need to happen.

Andy introduces the Six C’s – Comfort, Consistency, Connection, Choice, Competency, and Challenge – and explains how each one contributes to better outcomes for those we support, and for ourselves. Grounded in trauma-informed practice, psychological safety, and real-world experience, this model gives carers and professionals a clear, compassionate roadmap for prevention and wellbeing.

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• Targeting the Positive – Andy Baker’s book exploring proactive and person-centred behaviour support.

• Able Training – The Target System – Learn more about the framework featured in this episode.

1. Preventative wellbeing is proactive, not reactive. When we build safety, predictability, and purpose into environments, we reduce distress – and therefore, behaviour that challenges.

2. The Six C’s aren’t just theory – they’re culture. Comfort, Consistency, Connection, Choice, Competency, and Challenge must be embedded into everyday life, not just stuck on a poster.

3. You can’t thrive in fight-or-flight. Until people feel safe, they cannot learn, relate, or grow. Support must begin with emotional safety.

• 00:00 – Why Firefighting Doesn’t Work

• 01:40 – The Six C’s Explained

• 02:53 – What is Preventative Wellbeing?

• 04:28 – Comfort: Psychological and Physical Safety

• 07:17 – Consistency: The Quiet Rhythm of Trust

• 09:49 – Connection: The Gateway to Regulation

• 11:11 – Choice: Autonomy and Dignity in Action

• 13:17 – Competency: Building Self-Esteem Through Mastery

• 15:11 – Challenge: Stretching Without Overwhelming

• 17:00 – How to Use the Six C’s in Practice

• 19:13 – From Compliance to Culture

• 19:50 – Final Thoughts and a Call to Reflect

• You’re a parent who wants less shouting and more connection

• You’re a teacher frustrated by behaviour but unsure what’s beneath it

• You’re a carer trying to create calm, not just contain chaos

• You’re a leader looking to reduce burnout and improve wellbeing

This episode helps you see support differently – not as a response to behaviour, but as an opportunity to shape it before it ever appears.

What happens when a headteacher leads not with policies, but with purpose? In this inspiring episode of the Able to Care podcast, behaviour specialist Andy Baker speaks with Fiona Booth, Headteacher at St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy, a school recently featured by the BBC for its outstanding, relationship-driven approach to education.

With 12 years in leadership, Fiona shares how she rebuilt a “dark” school culture into one where every child—and adult—feels safe, seen and supported.

From tucking in shirts as a symbol of belonging to using data as a torch, not a hammer, Fiona’s message will resonate with caregivers, educators and parents navigating systems while trying to hold onto humanity.

This is an essential listen for anyone who believes behaviour is communication, and that education—and care—must start with connection.

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• Fiona Booth – Targeting the Positive with Behaviours That Challenge by Andy Baker

• Able Training Podcast Hub

1. Love is not soft—it’s structured. Compassion and boundaries are not opposites. They work best when they walk hand-in-hand.

2. Real behaviour change comes from consistency and culture. Building trust, not fear, leads to safer, stronger systems—for children and adults alike.

3. Every human being carries light. A school should be a lighthouse: guiding, warning, celebrating. When we see the light in others, they begin to see it in themselves.

• 00:00 – Introduction and Sponsor: Carers Card UK

• 01:40 – Meet Fiona Booth: Relationship-Centric Leadership

• 03:00 – What is a relationship-first school and why does it matter?

• 06:00 – Finding the untold stories behind behaviour

• 08:00 – How trauma-informed leadership reshapes whole school culture

• 11:00 – Building trust, not compliance, with staff and students

• 14:00 – Stories of real transformation: from despair to belonging

• 18:00 – The 'shine' philosophy and embracing every child’s light

• 22:00 – Rethinking data: Is it a hammer or a torch?

• 28:00 – Boundaries, belief and building expectations

• 34:00 – Being a lead learner: How Fiona models continual growth

• 39:00 – Music, movement and joy as staff wellbeing strategies

• 44:00 – What Ofsted and the DfE miss about real behaviour change

• 48:00 – Gratitude journals, emotional literacy and peer celebration

• 53:00 – Culture-shifting through connection, one moment at a time

• 56:00 – Final stories: Why this work really matters

• 01:05:00 – What drives Fiona on hard days

• Discover how to build compassion-led culture in any school or care setting

• Learn why vulnerability is a strength in leadership, not a weakness

• Explore how boundaries + empathy create safety

• Be inspired by real-life stories of hope, healing and transformation

• Gain tools to help you connect before you correct in behaviour support

If you're a parent, teacher, caregiver—or anyone supporting people through challenges—this episode offers emotional insight and practical hope.

🎧 Listen to all episodes: www.able-training.co.uk/podcast 📘 Andy’s Book – Targeting the Positive: Buy on Amazon 💳 Carers Card UK Offer: 🎟️ Order your card today