Welcome    

"The wood is decked in light green leaf.
The swallow twitters in delight.
The lonely vine sheds joyous tears
Of interwoven dew and light.

Spring weaves a gown of green to clad
The mountain height and wide-spread field.
O when wilt thou, my native land,
In all thy glory stand revealed?"

Spring by Ilia Chavchavadze (one of the founding fathers of modern Georgia)

At this time of year many schools and families are welcoming exchange students from various countries. There are all the worries about how they will fit in; how we can make sure they have a good experience of being away from home in another country with another language and in a strange setting.

An exchange visit is an opportunity for schools to address issues such as inclusion and kindness, and any prejudices or national stereotyping that could undermine a successful visit.

Many of the Free Downloads on our website will help to work through any issues that may crop up. Particularly useful are:

• Never Judge (a book by its cover)
• Are You What You Wear?
• The Way We Are (a comparison of British young people with others in Europe).

Raising awareness of the needs of Children in Care in schools continued . . .

Anyone who has worked hard to meet a deadline will appreciate how, after a couple of months of grabbing every spare waking moment in which to write, we felt both relief and a sense of achievement as we handed over our first draft of lesson plans to be trialled in schools.

We enjoyed creating a variety of activities designed both to increase awareness of the needs of Children in Care in school and to teach Emotional Intelligence to the class. So this term, one secondary school is to use those lessons written for year nines and one primary school is to test the lessons aimed at year fives. At the same time, ten energetic, enthusiastic PGCE students from Bath Spa University have volunteered to use the lessons when they do their final teaching practice this term; their experiences will be reflected in their theses. 

We are really grateful to everyone involved in the trials and delighted that it will enable us to fine tune the lessons. Keep watching this nervous yet excited space!

                                                                                                                Janet and Sue 

End of the financial year! 

Any money left in the budget which needs spending? Here are some ideas...

Proven, expert and easy-to-use, our emotional literacy programmes are now being used in 150 schools around the UK. Choose from:

It's OK Being Me - KS3 - £600 including twilight teacher training session

My World - KS2 - £125

Discovering Me - for PRUs - £125

Insight Series- £50

Empowering Me - NEW programme for KS4

Many schools have asked us for materials for KS4 students, 

to give continuity once students have used It's OK Being Me in KS3. 

We are now excited to offer Empowering Me, a CD of 10 Powerpoint lessons designed to take students through the key elements of emotional intelligence. They include information, Youtube links, plus classroom and extension activities. The programme is being trialled this term and already staff are enthusiastic about using the new Powerpoint format.

Give your KS4 cohort a post-Easter boost to their personal learning and thinking skills!

The CD in a hard case including brief notes will be on sale from 16 April for £48. Advanced orders can be emailed to Ruthie on ruthie@vision_works.net for a 10% discount if paid by 31 March.

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