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Newsletter March 2010
Contents
Welcome
Inward bound / outward bound
New deal for Its OK Being Me
The results have it
Special schools conference workshop
Learning to be Emotionally Intelligent is for everyone
Register With Us
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Welcome
Hello and welcome to our newsletter where we take a
look at how emotional intelligence is increasingly being seen as important for
everyone.
Best wishes
Sue Allen |
Inward bound / outward bound
 On Monday mornings I can be found with a group of Year 5/6 pupils at the Spel (Springfields Emotional Literacy) Centre in Calne. Students from Primary and Secondary schools in North Wilts, who are 'acting out' in some way and on a path to possible exclusion, attend the centre for one day a week. In the mornings they develop their emotional literacy using both the My World programme for KS2 and Discovering Me, a scheme of work designed for smaller educational units and Short Stay Schools. In the afternoon they go up to the woods and lake where they take part in activities such as fire making, shelter building, knife skills, sailing and canoeing.
So students are 'inward bound' in the morning where they learn about their own and others' emotions, about communication, making choices and so much more; giving them the skills that enable them to move towards the possibility of changing their behaviour for the better. In the afternoon's 'outward bound' session they are challenged in physical ways to learn more about listening, following instructions, co-operating and taking responsibility. And it is FUN! The changes in these young people since attending this programme are obvious to all: themselves, their parents and teachers, both in the centre and at their mainstream school. It is transformative and pioneering work and in an ideal world these activities would be incorporated into the curriculum for ALL young people.
Ruthie Alexander Morgan
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New deal for It's OK Being Me
 You can now buy VisionWorks KS3 programme It's OK Being Me for a
stand-alone, one-off, excellent-value price.
We hope this will allow schools more flexible choices from our range of
services.
We HIGHLY recommend our induction training; many of you have
found It's OK Being Me to be more effective and easier to deliver when
whole staff emotional intelligence is developed too. Click here for details
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The results have it
On the 2 year path to its 2009 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating, Springfields School in Calne, a residential school for 120 students with emotional and behavioural difficulties, put in place 3 changes:
· One-third turnover of staff to encourage greater emotional intelligence
· Restructured curriculum to increase emphasis on core curriculum subjects and
introduced a day a week for students to be taught outside the classroom at
Cotswold Water Park, plus a 1pm finish on Friday.
· Delivery of a formal emotional intelligence programme, facilitated by care staff in
45 minutes sessions every week.
Result #1 - Within the first year physical intervention was reduced by 84%.
Calm talk, distraction and more emotionally intelligent methods of dealing
with behaviour are used.
Result #2 - Over 2 years attendance improved to 98%.
Students are treated courteously; they want to come to school.
Result #3 - Rate of exclusions was the highest in the county; today there are none.
Result #4 - Average number of students who fail to reach the target of 75% for
good behaviour and learning has dropped from 12 per week to 2 per week.
Head teacher Trystan Williams says, "I emphasise to staff that the children are not an interruption to our working day - they are the reason we are here. The importance of relationships really comes down to a simple formula in the pupils' minds; if you (the staff) like us, we'll like you."
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Special schools conference workshop
To report more fully on the impressive results of this project, we are running a workshop at a National Conference for MLD/SLD/PMLD Special Schools in London on March 18. Please call us on 01249 409001 for more information.
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Learning to be Emotionally Intelligent is for everyone
For the third time in my life, I went to prison this term. (Cue predictable jokes from friends and family...) While I had been pretty nervous the first time I went, this time I was actually looking forward to it. I had been asked to talk to a group of prisoners training to be Health Trainers in the prison about the part played by Emotional Intelligence in our general well-being.
So, having been security checked and led through a maze of locked gates in high wire fences, I found myself sitting in a small, basic classroom talking with a group of men whose history I could only guess at; I know that their combined sentences would reach three figures.
Having agreed confidentiality, we talked through a number of things -
· What is emotional intelligence?
· Why is it important?
· Reading faces for emotions.
· Identifying feelings.
· Managing emotions.
· How to change unhelpful attitudes.
· Being aware of and accepting differences.
And more.
Not for the first time, I was touched and impressed to be in conversation with people who have encountered seemingly insurmountable problems. They spoke with an openness and honesty that was refreshing and brave.
As I walked away, trying not to slip in the snow, I felt humble. I had spent three hours with a group of men who, in spite of everything, were determined to make a go of it and they understood that the power was in their hands. Janet Grant
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Register with VisionWorks
If
you haven't already registered you're missing out on a host of downloadable
resources, assembly ideas and sample modules from our programmes. Register at www.vision-works.net
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If you'd like to find out how VisionWorks could work for you call Sue Allen or Ruthie Alexander Morgan on 01249 409001, email sue@vision-works net or ruthie@vision-works.net or visit our website www.vision-works.net
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