Celebrating me – Helping children with difference and diversity
When we feel we belong and recognise similarities in people we are with, we feel accepted and safe. But when we feel different, or that we don’t belong, we can feel confused, uncertain or mixed.
Celebrating differences and acknowledging similarities is powerful in allowing us to be true to ourselves and to value who we are. Our difference and diversity programme helps children to understand the feelings that we may experience and begin to express these thoughts and feelings. It also allows them opportunities to celebrate the beauty of diversity.
This pack helps children to celebrate difference and diversity and to have respect for themselves and others. There are opportunities to understand prejudice and stereotyping, to know how it may feel to be treated unfairly and how to challenge this. Celebrating difference and celebrating who we are form the core message for children to feel special and unique. Through the discussion and activities the children will:
- explore what it is to be unique and special,
- understand how it may feel to be treated unfairly and how to challenge this,
- recognise how we can all have different feelings and experiences,
- find ways to stand up for their own thoughts and ideas,
- celebrate diversity.
Our wellbeing resources are thorough and detailed, time-saving and provide the language to help pastoral staff listen, notice and encourage children to express their thoughts and feelings in a way that is safe, supportive and relational. We also provide training, support and supervision to equip staff with greater confidence to deliver the programmes.
Our programmes teach and embed transferable emotional literacy skills that are vital in both class and life.
Everything schools need is included. Each emotion theme pack comes with all the resources from detailed session plans to impact measures, certificates and shiny stickers plus access to our Resource Hub for an ever-growing free repository of activities, templates and planning and impact tools.
A summary of the items included in each emotion theme pack
It outlines the rationale and explains how each of the core elements of the resource work together, as well as offering advice on how to run the sessions, and the approach needed by the pastoral team.
It also includes content on:
- Demonstrating Impact – details of all the impact measurement tools we provide as part of the programme.
- Session plans and their structure.
- Safeguarding.
- Training and supervision.
The card also details a comprehensive list of any extra resources that might be needed for the children to complete all the session activities, for example, pens, paper, leaves, jam jars etc.
We also provide free Champion Planning Journals which are digital PDFs that include the contents and resources, along with a place to keep notes, observations and reflections about the sessions and the children for easy reference.
Each theme pack has 10 session card plans, for a 10-week small group intervention programme delivered over a term. So the full programme includes 100 session plans.
The sessions cover a variety of activities and guided discussions. Each session has a clear format and structure that helps the children to feel contained and able to engage in the programme. In each session, the sock puppets play a part!
Each A5 session 400gsm card is finished with an anti-scuff laminate so it can withstand lots of use! They can all be stored in the session pack plastic box – the idea being that these can be used over and over for multiple groups of children.
By highlighting key aspects within these areas of mental health, it is expected that SENCOs and pastoral staff in schools will have a deeper awareness of the child’s mental health, the presenting behaviours and underlying needs and will enable them to notice, identify and provide targeted intervention and care.
Used pre and post-intervention they enable you to measure impact over time as well as inform any future intervention or support.
Digital options are available for free.
We include parent/carer booklets unique to each theme to help facilitate a shared dialogue and communication about the programme and how it works, each weekly activity and how they can support their children in the home environment too.
Digital copies are also available.
Our Hamish & Milo stickers are a wonderful way to show value, recognition and allow children to feel a sense of pride within themselves. Each sticker offers a motivational or rewarding phrase along with our cute Hamish and Milo characters!
We suggest that each child needs to receive a sticker at the end of each session, so there is a space for them in their wellbeing journal session pages. There are five sheets of 20 stickers included, each with a different message. There are also three extra sheets of special stickers which have a metallic finish. These can be awarded to the children for being extra special, perhaps showing bravery or kindness or trying something new.
Our Hamish & Milo certificates are a special award for the completion of the wellbeing intervention sessions. Celebration and recognition of success is central to our approach and we hope you love these certificates as much as the children, as a special award to help each child feel proud within.
Our certificates are A5 and printed on a high-quality card with space for writing the child’s names and a special message. There is one for each child in each session pack and you can buy extra certificates in batches online.
Our 48-page journals are an integral part of the intervention and can be taken home to be continued or used as a memoir for the children to reflect on.
Inside, the children can write and draw about themselves, their families and their pets. They have positive affirmation statements throughout and spaces for their stickers. They can write their reflections and feelings, as well as some fun elements, such as their favourite animal and a sock puppet profile!
Each child receives an A6 wellbeing journal. There are six included per session pack but you can order extras online too.
This wonderfully creative puppet-making activity also allows the children to be playful, creative and expressive. We encourage the pastoral staff to create a sock puppet with the children too, so they can ‘talk’ to the children via the puppet – so our packs include one set for the adult, too!
The sock puppet pet kits include everything you need – socks, googly eyes, buttons, felt, pom-poms, pipe cleaners and fabric glue. We include an instruction and advice card but allow the children the freedom to create any puppet they like!
The sock puppets will help the children join in with your discussions and to talk without fear about their feelings and experiences. We suggest they bring their puppets to each session so they can use them to speak with, or for them, and join in with the group’s activities!
