welcome to thempra
building a better world through social pedagogy
ThemPra supports practitioners, teams and organisations to embed social pedagogical principles, so that every person you work with feels able to thrive, learn and belong.
1,200+
Members of the Social Pedagogy Development Network
19
Years facilitating social pedagogy learning in the UK and Ireland
70+
Organisations supported across the UK and Ireland
I’m a practitioner
Learn how social pedagogy can enable you to deepen your relationships, focus on your values and help the people you support to truly flourish.
Online courses for practitioners →
I represent an organisation
ThemPra offers bespoke learning programmes, team development, coaching and strategic learning partnership for organisations across the UK.
In-house and face-to-face courses →
I’m a researcher or student
Explore the International Journal of Social Pedagogy and a growing body of literature, evaluation reports, resources and academic pathways.
Social Pedagogy
Education in the broadest sense of the word
Social pedagogy is a values-led approach to relationship-centred practice. It supports people’s well-being, learning and social inclusion, placing the whole person, not just their needs, at the heart of every interaction.
Rooted in more than a century of European tradition, social pedagogy is now growing rapidly across UK social care and enables learning-focussed relational public services.
Our current online courses
Experiential, interactive learning programmes designed for practitioners in children’s services, adult social care and related fields.
Relational leadership
Online · 9 sessions
Explore how social pedagogical principles translate into authentic, values-led leadership – for leaders at every level of your organisation.
Starts January 2027
Leading with learning
Online · 6 sessions
Discover how to build learning cultures that help teams adapt, reflect and grow together.
Starts February 2027
making co-production meaningful
Online · 5 sessions
Learn how social pedagogical concepts can support co-production practices that are meaningful, not just a nice label.
Starts February 2027
Social Pedagogy Professional Association
Stronger together
The Social Pedagogy Professional Association (SPPA) aims to make social pedagogy widely recognised and practised across the UK & Ireland. It seeks to ensure that social pedagogy training and practice become ingrained across all human service professions in the UK and Ireland, so that individuals and communities are treated more humanely.
ThemPra is an organisational member of SPPA and works closely with it on the Social Pedagogy Reading Club, the Social Pedagogy Development Network (SPDN) and other initiatives that strengthen social pedagogy practice.
Human Learning Systems
Part of something bigger
Since 2020, ThemPra has been part of the Human Learning Systems Collaborative, a network of public service transformation advocates working together to reimagine public service.
News & Insights
latest from thempra
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Why Leading with Learning Matters
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Relational Practice with Care Experienced Young People – access all webinar resources
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IJSP special issue: Towards an Eco-Social Pedagogy
Community
Join a growing community of social pedagogy practitioners
The Social Pedagogy Development Network (SPDN) is a free grassroots community of practice for anyone inspired by social pedagogy and committed to shaping what it means in a UK / Irish context. It is free to join, and being part of it gives you access to events, resources and a network of like-minded practitioners across the UK and internationally.
1,200+ members across the UK and internationally
Free events, resources and peer learning
Part of the Global Alliance for Social Pedagogy and Social Education
stay informed
Sign up for our newsletter to receive news about all things social pedagogy, including upcoming course dates, new resources and insights directly in your inbox.
What people say
‘I’ve found ThemPra extremely accommodating, efficient and effective. They listened closely to our needs, and we developed a programme successfully delivered to residential staff and foster carers over many years. The evaluation was always positive and the impact of the learning evident in the practice of the participants. I have no hesitation in recommending ThemPra to others.’
Moira Greentree
Director of Innovation
‘We have been extremely fortunate to engage ThemPra through our Teaching Partnership to deepen our skills around relationship-based practice and social pedagogical approaches. The learning has been fun, powerful and purposeful — an investment that I believe will reap rewards in improving outcomes and experience.’
Becky Squires
Principal Social Worker
‘I can honestly say the impact both personally and professionally has been huge. The way in which I am able to influence and change thinking in practice has resulted in a change in our approach to training and social work practice, seeing things from a different lens.’
Paige Thomason
Principal Social Worker