Empowering Me - NEW programme for KS4

So, Empowering Me, Emotional Intelligence for KS4, our much-loved project of the past few months, is out there! Being used already!

Thank you to those of you who pre ordered the programme; it was great to know it was going straight into action.

Remember we are hungry for any feedback.

If any of you are wondering whether or not it is worthwhile, see the article

"Training Teens to Handle Emotions Improves Mental Health" below in this newsletter. 

The evidence keeps on coming.

Janet Grant

Summer Adventure

Trystan Williams, head of Springfields School in 

Wiltshire, has again come up with an exciting adventure for some of his students. Following on from their Polar expedition last year to 'The Coldest Classroom on Earth', this summer, they are travelling to 'The Hottest Classroom', which will again feature on the BBC.

He will take 10 vulnerable pupils, chosen from Special Schools across Wales and England, to the equator. They will cover over 100 miles in temperatures of up to 40 degree C and live the life of a Maasai Warrior.

Several years ago Trystan, noticing the benefits and impact of teaching emotional literacy in his school, set up the Spel Centre, (Springfields Emotional Literacy Centre). This takes students from schools in Wiltshire who are on a possible path to exclusion and offers them the opportunity to turn their lives around using skills learned in the Discovering Me programme, specifically written by VisionWorks for Schools for this project, and which is now being used in PRUs around the country.

If any of you VisionWorks teachers still have any doubts about whether or not what you are doing is worthwhile, the following article will reassure you: Training Teens to Handle Emotions Improves Mental Health, Release Date: April 19, 2012, By David Pittman, Contributing Writer, Research Source: Journal of Adolescent Health, Health Behavior News Service

"Teens who received emotional intelligence training in school had improved scores on several measures of emotional well-being, including less anxiety, depression and social stress, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Improvements from the training lasted up to six months after the program ended.

Emotional intelligence, or EI, refers to the ability to accurately appraise, express and regulate emotion. "The ability to handle emotions is essential for one's physical and psychological well-being," said study lead author Desiree Ruiz-Aranda. In addition, adolescents who are healthier mentally are healthier physically and may engage in fewer risky behaviours."

If you want to read the whole article, here is the link: http://www.cfah.org/hbns/archives/getDocument.cfm?documentID=22507

 Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP)

"Stop". "Be". This is the arresting logo of the MiSP. Having attended their National Conference last year, I felt inspired to become a part of this movement and train as a teacher of Mindfulness for young people. The programme is a set of 9 lessons designed to teach mindfulness to classes of students. 

Mindfulness has been used in the treatment of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and more for many years, but it is only recently that educationalists have recognised the enormous benefits for young people in developing this practice. It has been shown to reduce stress, aggressive behaviour and anxiety in young people and it teaches the students simple yet effective ways of  dealing with these issues. 

MiSP run 4 teacher trainings a year for teachers/schools who are interested in bringing this into their setting. I highly recommend it! http://mindfulnessinschools.org/

Ruthie Alexander-Morgan

New China connection . . .

In July we welcome 25 Chinese teenagers to our two-week VisionWorks Summer Camp. Accompanied by 5 adults, they will take in tourist hotspots in London (London Eye, Madame Tussauds), Wiltshire (Stonehenge, Bath) and Oxford.  They will also visit an English secondary school and experience outdoor activities such as canoeing, archery and obstacle courses. What makes this Summer Camp a unique experience for students is that the VisionWorks principles of teamwork, communication, empathy and co-operation will be taught in training sessions and then applied in the 'classroom' of visits and outdoor activities.

. . .  and incredible India

I returned this weekend from Tamil Nadu where teachers at two secondary schools and several colleges are using VisionWorks materials. Making connections with these two powerful emerging nations, I am struck by one of the similarities between them which is their hunger for knowledge and education. Every family puts education at the top of their list and strives for it at every possible opportunity; in the seminars in Asia the teachers consider sharing and transformation as a delight and they welcome the changes. 

One morning I walked past a boys hostel attached to the college and saw a sign on the wall with the day's schedule; the day starts at 5.30am and the first event is a study period for one hour from 5.40! Imagine that!

Sue Allen

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