Developing Emotional Literacy through Pupil Leadership Skills

The Provider:
Ysgol Plasmawr
Welsh Medium Secondary school in an inner city 11-18 mixed comprehensive.

• There are 852 pupils on roll
• 85 of our pupils are eligible for free school meals
• Most of our children are white, but 10% are from ethnic minorities, mostly Black Caribbean.
• 87% of our children come from English speaking homes
• 30% of our children are from leafy suburb areas, 40% from areas which are deemed to be comfortable socially, 30% are from Community First areas which are socially deprived.

Summary:

• Many of the pupils at the school are being trained in communication skills to help them in peer led activities. There are two main projects at the moment:. The first are peer counsellors named "Cynghorwyr Cam Cyntaf" (CCC or First Base Counsellors) and the second are peer mentors Mentoriaid Academaidd Plasmawr (MAPs or Academic Mentors). These pupils have been trained in Motivational Interviewing Techniques by the school counsellor, Karen Marsh. This method ensures that pupils have the skills to listen to children who have personal or academic problems, and to get pupils to talk about their worries. The scheme has had an enormous impact in two ways. Firstly, the peer mentors and counsellors have gained confidence through their new skills. Secondly, the children that they help are happier in lessons and break times as they are being cared for by their peers.

The Aim:

• The school have chosen this aspect as the pupils who are involved have become confident, happy children who enjoy the challenge of leading in specific fields at school. They have become an integral part of school life and an important part of the school community. The engagement of pupils in learning has improved during this period. The school have many confident, focussed pupils walking the corridors!

What do you see in the school?

• The school has been open for 10 years.
• The catchment area of the school is very mixed and the school serves as a genuine community school for all pupils in the area. The school made the decision 3 years ago to emphasise the pastoral elements of the education process to support an inclusive ethos for all pupils entering, whatever their education, social or academic background.
• At the heart of the policy is `peer led` activitiy. It was felt that pupils supporting pupils was a strategy that would work within the community.
• The school developed a `pastoral committee` of pupils and staff to guide the process along. The SLG are represented on the committee. The group led the pastoral inclusion within the school development plan.
• To emphasise the scale of the work, a group of Governors have specific responsibility for pastoral and welfare issues. The group are kept up to date with developments within the school at regular intervals and report back to the main Governing body.
• An Assistant Head is responsible for all community and pastoral developments and initiatives.
• To support the pastoral thread running through the school policies have been developed to support the work that happens on a daily basis.
• A Pupil Handbook outlines the nature of the school policies. This is given to all pupils and shared with parents and Governors.
• Strong visual information is all around the school.
• Each classroom has wall space for information on pastoral issues, where to go and who to contact.
• The two key elements to the `Pupil Led Support Initiatives` are Peer Counsellors and Peer Mentors.
• Both groups number some 30 students in each programme in years 9 and 10. To support the work, the school made the decision to provide a room where the peer counsellors could meet pupils needing support and a similar one for peer mentors.
• The Leadership and Management of the school is totally committed to the emotional literacy developments within the school.
• The Assistant Head has been given full management responsibility for overseeing the programmes.
• The day to day management of the work is driven by the school`s pastoral managers who report to the Assistant Head and through her to the SLG
• Both peer support initiatives are coordinated by staff members.
• The peer counsellors have two staff coordinators and the peer mentors have a senior staff coordinator.
• The coordinators meet regularly with the Asst Head to share issues, plans, developments and monitoring information.
• The Asst Head and the coordinators are involved in staff and pupil INSET throughout the year.
• Planned INSET on emotional literacy and peer support is part of the CPD of all staff on entering the school and throughout each academeic year.
• There are 2 key features to the peer counselling and peer mentoring programme:
• the developemnt of the pupils involved in delivering the programmes and
• the developemnt of the pupils involved in receiving the programmes.
• All those who are accepted as counsellors or mentors are trained by the School Counsellor in Motivational Interviewing Techniques.
• Over time counsellors and mentors acquire skills to talk to fellow pupils, share experiences with staff and lead wider school discussions.
• Pupils who need pupil counselling or mentoring can visit the counsellors and mentors in the dedicated rooms at pre arranged times.
• Pupil counsellors acquire the skills to assess the needs of their clients in order to support them themselves or direct them to others who can meet their needs.
• Monitoring of the programmes is mostly carried out through questionnaires and surveys.
• Student and teacher evaluations are carried out at regular intervals through pastoral lines, subject lines and tutor group lines.
• Monitoring of the peer mentors and counsellors is continuous. Training sessions are carried out each half term.
• The school counsellor monitors all peer counsellors and the staff coordinators who work with them.
• Data sheets on interviews by peer counsellors are scrutinised by the school counsellor and the Asst Head.
• Evaluations of the peer led schemes are shared at the Pastoral Committee which in turn inform the School Developmant Plan.
• Initiatives within the School Development Plan are monitored as part of the school self evaluation process.

What difference does it make?

• All peer mentors and counsellors see self evaluation as a critical tool in their own development and the development of the work within the school.
• Self evaluation forms are completed by all concerned and fed back to their peers and the staff group to promote further development.
• Peer counsellors have been asked to take part in a National Bullying Conference. The prestige gained by this has supported the programme within the school.
• Peer counsellors have worked with pupils with SEN at another school. This extra dimension to their work has added to skills and understanding of the counselling role.
• The peer mentors took part in a National Conference.
• The mentors concerned were able to experience the work of other pupils in other schools as well as different styles of support .
• Peer mentors also took part in a conference arranged by the welsh Assembly on good Practice in Schools.
• The external benefits of the programmes have yet to be fully realised.
• The work was designed essentially to benefit the pupils within the school and this has been successful. There is a place for the work to be seen on a wider field which might have external benefits for the school and others.
• Pupils taking part in National Conferences have raised the profile of the school but essentially it has added to the skills and confidence of the pupils who have taken part. The success of the programmes within the school has publicised the work of the school to the local community, both parents and pupils. It has also informed local feeder schools of the essential practice their pupils can expect when transfering.
• The school now feels confident to share its good practice.
• The programmes of peer support have significantly changed the policies and working practices of the school over the last 3 years. The benefits have been seen across the school and have shown that such strategies, if developed sensibly and with enthusiasm, can effect the success of all pupils and the school itself.
• The school is now looking to develop the work which may include greater publicity of the work through other institutions, other professionals and training packages.
• The school strongly feels that the programmes should concentrate on the work within the school but recognises that other similar schools might benefit from the lessons learned and the successes gained.
• Parents are a critical part of the pastoral work of the school and are therefore included in the discussion around developments.
• There are comprehensive policies in place to guide and inform the work of the Peer Counsellors and the Peer Mentors.
• The development of the peer led programmes forms a key part of the School development Plan
• A school counsellor has been working within the school for the last three years to support the emotional literacy work, the training and the peer counsellor strategy.
• The school funds the 3 day support.
• The schools runs Personal and Social Education days where peer counsellors and mentors organise structured activities to motivate pupils into understanding and accessing the support on offer.
• Anti bullying work has been a strong focus of such work.
• The school is convinced that peer mentoring and counselling has had a positive effect on learning across the school. The inclusive ethos, together with the peer support programmes is directly effecting pupil achievement as the providing pupils and the receiving pupils learn more about their own needs and learning styles and the needs of others within the community. The high levels of self esteem shown by the pupil counsellors and mentors is directly effecting their perception of the working environment of the school and the pupils receiving support are becoming more secure in themselves and in their place within the community which is directly effecting their achievements and encouraging them to take a greater part in the life of the school.
• One of the main issues in the work of peer mentors is supporting other pupils with homework schedules.
• This has been a significant issue within the school and has effected a significant proportion of the pupil group within the school. Mentoring has effected homework delivery and by so doing has directly effected detentions within the school.

From where is evidence collected to prove the Leading Aspect?

• Again the knowledge of similar work on a wider field has helped develop the skills of the school based mentors.
• Anti bullying
• Being asked to lead teacher INSET on peer support
• Being asked to send peer counsellors to give workshops to Primary Schools on the work they do following the successful gaining of awards.
• Being asked to send pupils to conferences
• Being asked to speak to other outside agencies (EPs)
• Clear and significant evaluation evidence is collected on a regular basis within the programme.
• Coordinators and SLG support the INSET programme throughout the year.
• Detentions are given for non completion of homework. The incidents of detention have halved over two years as a direct result of peer mentoring.
• Emotional literacy
• Evidence of evaluations is kept by Asst Head, Coordinators, Pastoral Heads, subject heads.
• Feedback from pupil and staff evaluations are shared and used to inform developments.
• Funding and facilities were identified and put in place.
• Managers meet regularly to discuss the work and share development ideas.
• Minutes are kept and shared with pupils, staff and Governors.
• Monitoring forms are scrutinised daily if needed.
• Newsletters, open evenings, parent evenings and reviews.
• Not all pupils apply but most who do are given the opportunity to enter the programme.
• Peer counselling
• Peer leaders have gained from their part in the process. Other pupils have learnt more about whole school issues and how to deal with them.
• Peer mentoring
• Personal questionnaires show that pupils receiving peer support have found the help valuable and supportive in their learning needs.
• Portfolios of counselling and mentoring evidence are available and used as reference points for training both inside and outside the school.
• Pupil counsellors and mentors report that the acquire skills that they would not otherwise have acquired through regular education; they gain confidence in their own skills and attitudes and seem more rounded people.
• Pupils apply to be part of the work and are selected by the staff coordinators.
• Pupils are asked if they would like to be peer mentors or peer counsellors.
• Pupils have worked in other settings and shown their work to different audiences. This has created confidence in the pupils, informed their practice and directly benefitted the pupils in the school in need of support.
• Pupils who need support quickly learn how to access that support .
• Regular information sessions are held where peer counsellors share ideas and issues with the coordinators, school counsellor and Asst Head.
• Sometimes the evaluations are informal and sometimes formal as part of subject assessments.
• Success in effecting learning and achievements can be seen in the results of pupils working as peer supporters and also in the achievements of those receiving support in responses to questionnaires and in department records of pupil attainment.
• The counsellor has their own case-work but spends time training peer counsellors and evaluating responses to the counselling from pupils and staff.
• The emotional literacy policy is strong and embedded into the life of the school.
• The Governors have a particular interest in community and pastoral work within the school as they represent the diverse nature of the schools' catchment area within the City.
• The group meets regularly throughout the year. It has a development and a monitoring role.
• The pastoral policy and the staffing structure support these plans.
• The plan has been developed through discussion with all stakeholders of the school.
• The policies have been developed in conjunction with SLG, staff group, Pastoral Committee, pupils and Governors.
• The school development plan shows the intent to support all pupils through a strong social inclusion strategy.
• The school gained national recognition through this as well as a trophy and a financial prize.
• The school has been asked to lead on emotional literacy across the County by providing INSET for Heads and Deputies.
• The school self evaluation report signals the peer support programme and its effect on the learning and achievement of all pupils.
• The SLG, school pastoral committee and Governors agreed to this development.
• The staff coordinators have teaching duties within the school and work with the support peers in non teaching time.
• Their brief is to sustain the unique nature of the school within the community both for the Welsh speaking and the inclusive support element.
• There are posters in each classroom on dealing with bullying.
• There is information for all pupils on help and support available across the school.
• They are reviewed on an annual basis.
• This training then becomes part of their learning. Pupils involved are asked to keep logs of their learning whilst part of the programme.
• Work is often at break and lunch times.
• Working in different settings has had a great impact on the individuals concerned and on the programme in general. The skills, knowledge and understanding gained has been fed back into the school based work.

The Verifiers Comment

• The emotional literacy programme has developed into an all embracing system of supporting pupils of all ages across the school. The peer support programmes have given pupils in the school the opportunity to work with peers to air issues which they perceive as hindering their achievements and general happiness.

The school has used the programme to address many pastoral issues but in particular as a tool to develop an inclusive framework for all pupils who enter the school from its wide social, economic and academic catchment. The school provides opportunities for all to succeed.