Simon House

I live in Oxfordshire with my wife and one of my adult sons, and I enjoy travelling to wide open spaces – Arizona remains the current favourite – and I’ve been drawn to teaching since childhood – I remember sitting on the carpet at primary school helping the other children learn how to read. Those early “lightbulb moments”, and many others since, continue to fuel my commitment to making learning clearer, simpler, and more effective for everyone.

I’ve spent more than twenty years in learning and development across both public and private sector organisations, and began my ‘proper training career’ in UK Police Control Rooms, having started as a 999 operator and moving into training after a couple of years. The experience I gained there helped me shape my approach to training and see the value in real world, scenario based learning that provides the necessary context for learning to stick.

I never intended to write a book! It started off as a doodle, another way to portray the elements required for learning to be achieved. That grew into a diagram with supporting rationale, and eventually a framework and a book. One of the things that has frustrated me over the years is how many training books focus on academic ‘school’ type environments and don’t fit the world of trainers at work, so I used this opportunity to write from experience rather than academic theory, and because I love a good story I decided to have a main character we can follow as she learns how to improve as a trainer.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen many trainers struggle with engaging learners and creating real impact, and I hope the PRIME framework helps provide a guide for those trainers who really want to make a difference but struggle to know how.