Fox Training Solutions was established in 2019, built on over 25 years of experience across health and social care, early years, education and training. It is deliberately small: when you book, you deal with the person who will actually deliver your training.
An innovative training provider delivering motivational opportunities to inspire individuals to achieve their potential — that is the line Melissa wrote when she started the business, and it still describes the work.
Every Tier 2 day is co-delivered by our experts with lived experience — Alex, Anthony and, since August 2026, Maddie — not as guests, but as trainers. That is the Oliver McGowan model done properly, and it is the difference delegates mention most in their feedback.
Because we are small, we are flexible: we map your staff roles to the right tiers, come to your venue anywhere in the UK, arrange dates around your rota, and walk you through the Skills for Care funding claim if you are eligible.
We are independent and personable, and to us you are not just a number. Queries get answered as quickly as they arrive, and training is designed around your setting rather than delivered off a shelf.
Oliver McGowan, and the campaign that followed
Oliver McGowan was a young autistic man with a learning disability who died in 2016 after being given medication against his and his family’s wishes. His mother, Paula McGowan OBE, campaigned for mandatory learning disability and autism training for everyone working in health and social care. That campaign led directly to the training now required under the Health and Care Act 2022.
We treat that origin as a responsibility, not a footnote. Every session we deliver is co-led by people with lived experience, because that was central to what Oliver’s family asked for — and it is what makes the day land with delegates.
Meet the team
Melissa Tharm — Director and Lead Trainer
Melissa has worked in education for over 25 years, 19 of them lecturing, and as a Quality Assurance Manager where she raised External Quality Assurance achievement rates from 36% to 100% within a single year. That background matters when you are booking compliance training: she knows what evidence looks like, and what inspectors look for.
She has worked alongside and supported people with additional needs throughout her whole career. When she chose to deliver the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, it was not a business pivot — it was the work she had already been doing, finally with a national framework behind it.
Alex — Expert with lived experience of autism
Alex was diagnosed with autism at 14 — a late diagnosis that was hard to navigate. He left school at 15 because of social anxiety and a lack of support, then achieved outstanding GCSE results anyway, without the help his peers had.
He achieved his Tier 2 certificate on 11 November 2025 and now co-delivers the autism session of every Tier 2 day. Delegates hear directly from him what support failed, what worked, and what they can do differently on their next shift.
Anthony — Expert with lived experience of a learning disability
Anthony has a moderate learning disability, diagnosed at a young age. He completed a Supported Internship that ended in paid employment — and was let down at the last minute, left volunteering for a company that would not take him on.
He achieved his Tier 2 certificate on 12 October 2025 and now co-delivers the learning disability session of every Tier 2 day — paid, valued, and turning that experience into better care for the people your staff support.
Maddie — Expert with lived experience of autism and a learning disability
Maddie joined the team in August 2026 and is our newest expert. She is 18 and currently in post-16 education at a specialist provision, having attended a mainstream primary school before moving into specialist education — experience of both systems that delegates find genuinely useful to hear about.
Maddie has completed work placements in a café, a charity shop and a dental practice, and after a year in the café she is hoping to go on to college to study hospitality. She is very much a people person who loves to socialise, and she brings a current, first-hand perspective on what good support looks like for a young person moving through education and into work.
Maddie holds her Tier 2 certificate and co-delivers Tier 2 sessions alongside Melissa, bringing lived experience of both autism and a learning disability to the day.
Other health and social care courses
The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training is our specialism, but many settings ask us to cover the rest of their training calendar at the same time. We deliver safeguarding, first aid, manual handling, autism awareness and ADHD awareness — plus niche and bespoke courses built around a particular setting’s needs.