PILOT PROJECT: Emotional and behavioural support for children in school. UPDATE
Talk Through It, funded by a local independent registered charity, Children First International (Reg. number 1057811) ran a pilot project during the 2019/2020 Autumn and Winter term, focusing on emotional and behavioural support for children and teenagers.
Schools involved in the project received 1-2-1 solution-focused support for referred pupils, with Gerry. It was very successful and students felt supported and able to continue attending school despite worries that had initially made them struggle.
How it worked:
The schools that took part were: Park House School and Falkland Primary School in Newbury .
Schools were asked to select 4 pupils each. who might benefit from 1-2-1 solution-focused therapy. Pupils ranged from Year 6 to Year 10, with a mixture of boys and girls. The majority of pupils seen were in Year 6 and Year 7 and were anxious about:
moving to Secondary
going on residential
coping with academic subjects/workload
coping with other pupils
coping with teachers
coping with break times and lunchtimes
Parents were spoken to beforehand to discuss what was being offered and the number of sessions. Parents and children were asked to fill out a questionnaire before the sessions started, during the course of the sessions and at the end of the sessions.
Each referred person saw Gerry once a week, for ten sessions. (some pupils needed more, others fewer.) The sessions lasted between 35 and 45 minutes.
The Results
Of the pupils referred, 100% of pupils stayed in the education system and continued to work at coping with school. 80% of pupils finished the sessions feeling more positive and with skills that allowed them to tackle issues that they had previously been very concerned about. All pupils were able to find techniques discovered through the sessions, to help them cope better in the school setting.
The success of this scheme has meant that we will be raising money to continue with this work. Children First International and Talk Through It will be joining forces to set up a new charity entitled, Schoolade. This charity will focus on raising money so that we can support pupils in schools and help those who are anxious and struggling to cope. You may see funding boxes in Waitrose, Tesco or Sainsbury's. Please look out for these as we need your support to continue.
More news on 'Schoolade' as and when it becomes available.
