St John with St Mark CoE Primary School, Bury
Our Hamish & Milo Story
Believe, achieve and succeed is the vision for all pupils at St John with St Mark CoE Primary school in Bury. Central to the school’s ethos is creating a safe and welcoming place where differences are valued, diversity is celebrated and everyone is treated equally.
St John with St Mark is a one-and-a-half form entry primary set in a diverse and vibrant community with approximately 300 children in its care. Within the community, there is a range of socioeconomic needs, challenges, and opportunities, and a high proportion of children with English as an additional language (EAL), with 23 different languages spoken within the community.
Ofsted recognised the school as a ‘good school’ in November 2022 saying pupils are happy and safe, they all support and care for each other, take responsibility for their actions and meet the high expectations of staff for behaviour and achievement.
The team at St John with St Mark is led by Headteacher Steve Ollis and school-wide they have embraced the focus on wellbeing with the introduction of Hamish & Milo keen to enhance the wellbeing of many of their children, who they recognised as needing additional intervention and support.
Jill Wilcock took the lead in implementing the wellbeing programmes across the school in Spring 2022 and started with one afternoon a week and 12 children. Due to the level of success, this grew quickly and further intervention groups were run three afternoons a week, supporting nearly 50 children. The intention now is to train further staff members to run even more intervention groups.
Using the wellbeing intervention programme
After consulting other teaching and SENCO staff Jill looked at the levels and range of need and decided to start with the programme Calm me – helping children with anxiety. Starting with mixed age groups she selected children by emotional stage rather than age, which she found worked well and the children willingly helped each other with the activities and discussion.
One highlight for Jill was a group of children completing the Exploding me programme about angry and strong feelings. In this particular group, Jill had some year 6 boys with reception boys, who were able to help and support each other to develop the strategies, she recalls how the older boys rose to the challenge of ‘mentoring’ and helping the younger ones to manage big feelings, to express big feelings, learn to breathe and talk about their experiences by using the sock puppet pets.
Implementing other groups Jill found that the children of more similar ages benefitted from the depth of conversation made more powerful due to their similar experiences, and their capacity to share and think more deeply enabling them to speak openly and honestly to share their stories.
“The discussion was so powerful in terms of content because they all had similar experiences and could relate to each other so much.” Jill Wilcock
Jill is passionate about the programme and explains how teachers are all on board with the programme and see the benefit.
“The children absolutely love it!”
Jill Wilcock – PSHE Lead
“It just highlights the need for this programme. The children are using the strategies back in class and it fits in with our whole school ethos and values of compassion and respect. We use it in our assemblies as a whole school approach, and it is being used across the school. The feedback from teachers is that children are coming back from the groups ready and able to learn.”
From the outset, Jill was able to target her wellbeing intervention using the programmes for children with a range of emotional needs – anxiety, self-esteem, sadness, loss, friendship conflicts and strong angry feelings.
Jill explained how the need for Hamish & Milo and wellbeing intervention work is huge due to the levels of need which have escalated since the pandemic but is also due to the 24-month wait for CAMHS in their area, which sadly is a similar picture in many other areas across the country.
Jill continues “Hamish & Milo has made a massive difference in our school, and even personally regarding my own career, it is making me want to do this work more.” Jill recognises how children need the chance to talk about their experiences and how so much can be missed in the everyday life of the classroom, but within a small group, where there is a sense of safety and belonging the children feel safe enough to speak about their experiences and feelings. She said “this is a massive avenue to open talking… the benefits are incredible.”
“I have installed a little bird box outside the room that the children can post notes into if they need me to know something or want to chat. Often they can stay after the group and talk if they need to.”
Safeguarding
As a result of the intervention work there have been some safeguarding disclosures that Jill comments have only come to light because the children feel safe enough to openly talk about how things are for them.
Jill continues “some children are living with horrific things in their lives and are unable to concentrate in school.” They have heard when children are scared and when things have happened to them, which wouldn’t have been communicated in the classroom environment and have successfully been able to follow up these cases to ensure children in their school are safe.
The child’s voice
The child’s voice is a huge part of Hamish & Milo wellbeing programmes and giving children permission to speak and feel really heard and valued is significantly important. Here are just some of the children’s comments:
“The sock puppets are incredible!”
Even though nervous to use them at the start Jill describes how even the ‘burly and even bolshy’ year 6 boys love them. “They were embarrassed at first but then almost straight away became like puppies themselves, playful and engaged in using them every session.”
The children came into their own in talking through the sock puppets. One example Jill recalls is how a year six boy was helping another child in the Exploding me programme. He was sitting talking to his sock puppet with the younger child who was in reception and helping him to sit, relax back and do the same in taking deep breaths!
Another child commented “I liked the sock puppet the best. I worry when I’m in school especially when I started in year 6, I was nervous and I cried. I feel I’ve got confidence now”
Impact highlights
Jill reflects how there have been many highlights in running the Hamish & Milo programme at St John with St Mark CoE Primary School but these are stand out moments.
Visiting a local care home with Hamish & Milo!
Another huge highlight of the St John with St Marks Hamish & Milo story is how one of the Amazing me groups for children with very little self-esteem visited a local care home taking their sock puppets with them. The children, having done the activity the week previously with Jill, are having the confidence to lead the activity with the residents of the care home which has improved their confidence no end. The children have even made sock puppet pets with the residents. The group even presented an assembly to the whole school and these are children who wouldn’t even put their hands up in class before hand. The Hamish & Milo groups are now regular visitors to the care home!
Measuring the impact
It is always important to see a difference in children receiving intervention and using the wellbeing profile tools for each programme theme has enabled Jill, the SENCO staff and teachers to see a lasting impact for the children being more ready and able to learn, using the strategies they have learnt in class and being able to plan for next steps. One child commented how: “My teacher likes me coming here because when I get back, I do my work good.”
“We know we are making a difference. Our Headteacher is fully behind me, it is a game changer for our school, a gift!”
Jill Wilcock
