Skills for Life Brookfield Primary

School

What is ‘Skills for Life’?

• ‘Skills for Life’ is a programme of individual mentoring which has been running at Brookfield Primary School for 2 terms.

• It aims to help children gain new skills which they can apply to their future learning, relationships and lives.

What do we hope to achieve?

• new found skills• increased

confidence• positive attitudes

towards school • raised self esteem• improved

standards of work and behaviour

Boost

confidence Somebody to chat to

Encouragement and praise

Support for learning

Support for behaviour

A positive role model

Social skills Friendship issues

Increased motivation

New interests

A listening ear

Improve transition

Beginning of the journey…

• Discussion of some specific children with Maura Docherty in Spring 2011

• Potential impact of an adult consistently showing interest in a particular child

•What if…

So…

• We then developed this idea as a key part of our School Improvement Plan 2011-12.

• The project involves SLT, all teachers and TAs, PE staff and our School Home Support Worker.

• We see Skills For Life as a project that complements existing inclusive practice, such as our commitment to the TOPS project and work with Nordoff Robbins music therapists.

Who did we choose?

Children were involved for a variety of reasons:

• SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL• FRIENDSHIP ISSUES• LOW CONFIDENCE OR SELF ESTEEM• BEHAVIOURAL ISSUES• SCHOOL AVERSE• LOW FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOL

LIFE

Dweck – Mindset Dweck – Mindset CharacteristicsCharacteristics

Growth Mindset – ‘Balloons’

Fixed Mindset – ‘Buckets’

“Intelligence can grow”

“Effort leads to success”

“Success is making my targets”

“I only need to believe in myself”

“When the going gets tough … I get smarter” “When the going gets tough … dig in and persist” 

“Intelligence is fixed”

“Ability leads to success”

“Success is finding things easy” or

“Success is doing better than others”

“I need to be viewed as able”

“When the going gets tough … I get found out”

“When the going gets tough … give up, it’s hopeless”

What & How do You Praise?What & How do You Praise?• Qualities and dispositions Qualities and dispositions you you feel are important to feel are important to

nurture…. Be specific – what are you praising?nurture…. Be specific – what are you praising?

• effort effort • strugglestruggle• persistence despite setbackspersistence despite setbacks• strategies strategies • choiceschoices• choosing difficult taskschoosing difficult tasks• learning learning • improvingimproving • listening – and other positive learning behaviourslistening – and other positive learning behaviours

And add challengeAnd add challenge

What did it look like in practice?

• A weekly 15 – 20 minute session which had the following key ingredients:

games and ice breakers opportunities to share how things were going a focus on the skills making it fun and personal some refreshments keeping a record

• Further opportunities for the mentor to touch base with the child eg saying ‘Hi’ in the corridors, seeing good work or dealing with tricky issues

• keeping in touch with the class teacher – eg email, discussions

Examples of skills

• Improving concentration• Being organised for school

• Staying calm• Asking for help when needed• Talking to an adult if needed• Widening friendship circles

• Using a checklist

and provided certificates along the way to acknowledge progress

Awarded to ………………………………………………

For making super progress towards

 …………………………………………………………………………. Signed ……………………… Date……………………………….. 

What made it successful?• Instinctively knowing that ‘Skills for

Life’ would make a difference • Being passionate about the life

chances of our children • Full commitment to the project from

SLT and governors eg in providing training, support and time

• Linking it to performance management for all staff

• Clear targets for the pupils taking part

What made it successful?

• Commitment on the part of individual staff to take part and step out of their comfort zones

• Regular meetings with pupils• Taking an inclusive approach … all in it

together• Staff approaching the project creatively• Opportunities to share good practice• Excellent ongoing support from Martin

Cresswell and Jo Davey

Measuring progress

Initial indications are that the programme

had a positive impact on: 1. Punctuality 2. Attendance3. Behaviour4. Academic progress

Punctuality

• The number of lates for children on the Skills for Life programme more than halved between the Autumn and Summer Terms.

• Particular successes included a girl who moved from 22 lates in the Autumn & Spring Terms to 0 lates in the Summer Term.

Attendance

Attendance for the Skills For Life cohort rose by 1.17% over the course of the year.

Attendance continues to be an issue for some children, and will form an area of focus this year for those children in particular, with renewed

focus on regular positive feedback to parents.

Behaviour• We know that Skills For

Life is not enough in itself to address all behaviour issues, but it had a significant impact for particular children.

• In the Spring and Summer Terms the number of ‘serious’ incidents involving the Skills For Life Cohort was half of the number seen in the Autumn Term before the start of the project.

Academic Progress

• In reading and maths the progress of the Skills for Life cohort mirrored the average progress made by the rest of the school.

• In writing a slightly lower percentage made 2 sub levels progress, so our enrichment activities this year will be based on writing, and mentees will share writing outcomes with mentors.

For some of the Skills for Life cohort there was outstanding progress: 3, 4 or in a few cases, 5 sub levels progress across the year.

I think it’s a good thing because people should

express themselves and how they feel. It’s very

welcoming .

I think it’s a good thing because people should

express themselves and how they feel. It’s very

welcoming .

(K.M. Y6 boy)

What did the children think?

I liked it – it was fun. I had a skill target for playing with more friends at playtime

and I did it. I’d recommend it to other people.

I liked it – it was fun. I had a skill target for playing with more friends at playtime

and I did it. I’d recommend it to other people.

(H.O. Y4 girl)

What did the children think?

It was a good idea and it helped me with my anger problem. D told me a trick to look in the sky, imagine a balloon with ‘my anger’ written on it, and see it

float away.

It was a good idea and it helped me with my anger problem. D told me a trick to look in the sky, imagine a balloon with ‘my anger’ written on it, and see it

float away.

(M.P. Y4 girl)

What did the children think?

My mentor was really helpful, and I liked having someone to talk to. I was shouty and

now I’m quieter – I try not to be so angry now.

My mentor was really helpful, and I liked having someone to talk to. I was shouty and

now I’m quieter – I try not to be so angry now.

What did the children think?

(H.C. Y4 girl)

What did the children think?

It was good. I just needed a bit of time for myself and Ian just to talk.

It was good. I just needed a bit of time for myself and Ian just to talk.

(F.C. Y3 boy)

What did the children think?

It really helped me. We played ‘Socially Speaking’ and I learned what to say if someone upset me. We were a really good match.

It really helped me. We played ‘Socially Speaking’ and I learned what to say if someone upset me. We were a really good match.

(T.M. Y3 girl)

Parental FeedbackB’s mentor was someone he trusted and

had a good relationship with.

My daughter has much more confidence and is more sociable.

B’s attitude towards school has improved.

I have a lot of feedback from my daughter and I like it because it improves my child in many ways.

In general kids love any extra positive attention and it definitely helped to have targets.

How superb to look at the many needs of our children and tackle them in a variety of ways. Low self esteem and a lack of confidence really erode a child’s path in many ways. A confident child will grow and grow. Thank you.

Future steps – very much a work in progress!

• Further opportunities for staff to reflect on what made mentoring particularly successful last year

• Further staff training and support in understanding and developing the mentor role and breaking skills down

• Further work linked to Carole Dweck and input from our lead TOPS psychotherapist.

• Improving feedback to parents eg a mid year review

• Developing the enrichment activities