Here are some of the ways in which we support children at Northern Parade School:
Self Esteem
An intervention where children learn to recognise the skills and talents that they may not have known they had. We also focus on positive language and the ability to give and receive compliments within small groups and a whole class. This should help boost the confidence of the children taking part in this small group intervention.
Anger Management
Children learn about the flight or fight response and what happens to our bodies inside and out. They will learn to recognise the physical changes and then to seek help when they feel that they are getting angry. We also talk about strategies that children can use to keep themselves calm.
Social Skills
Social skills are essential for children to function in social situations inside and outside of school. They will learn how to interact positively with each other and how to conduct a conversation by taking turns and listening to what others have to say.
Bereavement
The loss of someone close can be devastating for some children. Parents are often trying to deal with their own grief and struggle to cope with the grief of a child. We provide a safe and sympathetic environment for children to talk about the person that they have lost and to record some treasured memories. We use a number of different activities to help a child through a difficult time in their lives.
Emotional Awareness
These sessions explore a child’s recognition of the emotions that they are feeling. Using picture cards and video clips we discuss what emotions the person in the picture or clip may be feeling so that children are then able to recognise their own feelings and are able to then name those feelings.
Friendship
Over a period of six weeks we look at what a good friend looks like and how a friend should behave. Children learn about getting on and falling out and how to resolve their conflicts with each other. We teach children how to initiate a friendship and how to sustain their relationships with others.
Collaborative Problem Solving
Learning how to problem solve is an essential skill that all children need to learn. As adults we problem solve throughout the day and so we like our children to be able to do this. Collaborative problem solving is about not telling a child what to do but giving them the opportunity to think about what they have to do when they are making choices. The value of teaching children how to problem solve has become apparent during our use of it during break and lunchtimes. It gives children the power to think about solutions to any problems that they may have.
Family Break Up
Family break ups are another difficult time for children to cope with as the dynamics of how they are living changes. It can often lead to a lot of change in children’s lives and giving them the ability to understand that change happens all the time is included in this piece of work. A child may often feel that they are the only children who this has happened to but by working in small groups they begin to understand that this happens to others as well.
Circle of Friends
We use a circle of friends for all different reasons. Children coming in from another school, children who find friendships difficult or those who need help in coping with dinner times and break times. This intervention begins with a whole class activity and then a group of children is chosen to provide the circle of friends. The circle is monitored each week for a half term to see how things are going and to problem solve if there are any issues. After the weekly meetings the meetings are then held once every half term.
Communication
As humans we are hard wired to communicate with others. However talking, unbelievably, is just 7% of the way we communicate. Over 50% is body language and the remaining is the tone of our voice. It is important that children learn to read the body language of others to enable them to recognise how people are feeling by being able to interpret body language, facial expressions and tone of voice.