Primary National Strategy

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Guidance

Curriculum and Standards

Excellence and Enjoyment:

social and emotional aspects of learning

Changes

Theme overview

Primary

National Strategy

Headteachers, teachers and practitioners in

primary schools,

middle schools, special schools and Foundation Stage settings

Status: Recommended

Date of issue: 05-2005

Ref: DfES 1369-2005 G

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The Department for Education and Skills wishes to make it clear that the Department and its agents accept no responsibility for the actual content of any materials suggested as information sources in this document, whether these are in the form of printed publications or on a website.

In these materials icons, logos, software products and websites are used for contextual and

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Theme overview

About the theme

This theme tackles the issue of change and aims to equip children with an understanding of different types of change, positive and negative, and common human responses to it. The

theme seeks to develop children’s ability to understand and manage the feelings

associated with change. It aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of learning: motivation, social skills and managing feelings.

The theme consists of the following materials:

Assembly/Foundation Stage group time Red set (Foundation Stage)

Blue set (Years 1 and 2) Yellow set (Years 3 and 4) Green set (Years 5 and 6)

Purple set (staff development activities)

Gold set (activities for children to do at home with their parents/carers)

Silver set (small group activities for children who need additional help with the social, emotional and behavioural skills relevant to this theme).

Suggested whole-school/setting focus for noticing and celebrating achievement

Use the school’s/setting’s usual means of celebration (praise, notes to the child and parents/carers, certificates, peer nominations, etc.) to notice and celebrate children (or adults) who have been observed:

Week 1: Coping with an unexpected change Week 2: Getting better at their learning

Week 3: Changing their behaviour for the better Week 4: Making the best of an unwelcome change

Links and crossovers

Work associated with this theme also addresses the following:

National Healthy School Standard (NHSS)

To meet the NHSS standard for emotional health and well-being (EHWB) schools need to demonstrate, among other things, that they ‘openly address issues of EHWB by enabling pupils to understand what they are feeling and by building their confidence to learn’.

Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage

Personal, social and emotional development, especially self-confidence and self-esteem,

behaviour and self-control and sense of community. 1

DfES 1369-2005 Primary National Strategy

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PSHE/Citizenship

Key Stage 1

Children will be taught:

1b) to share their opinions on things that matter to them and explain their views;

1c) to recognise, name and deal with feelings in a positive way;

1d) to think about themselves, to learn from their experiences and to recognise what they are good at;

1e) how to set simple goals;

2a) to take part in discussions with one other person and the whole class;

2c) to recognise choices they can make, and to recognise the difference between right and wrong;

2f) that they belong to various groups and communities, such as family and school;

3d) about the process of growing from young to old and about how people’s needs change;

4a) to recognise how their behaviour affects other people;

4b) to listen to other people, and play and work cooperatively;

4c) to identify and respect the differences and similarities between people.

Key Stage 2

Children will be taught:

1a) to talk and write about their opinions, and explain their views, on issues that affect themselves and society;

1b) to recognise their worth as individuals by identifying positive things about themselves and their achievements, seeing their mistakes, making amends and setting personal goals;

1c) to face new challenges positively by collecting information, looking for help, making responsible choices, and taking action;

1d) to recognise, as they approach puberty, how people’s emotions change at that time and how to deal with their feelings towards themselves, their family and others in a positive way;

2e) to reflect on spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues, using imagination to understand other people’s experiences;

2i) to appreciate the range of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom;

4a) that their actions affect themselves and others, to care about other people’s feelings and to try to see things from others’ points of view;

4b) to be aware of the lives of people living in other places and times, and of people with different values and customs;

4f) that differences and similarities between people arise from a number of

factors, including cultural, ethnic, racial and religious diversity, gender and

disability.

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Work associated with this theme can also be addressed through published schemes which you may already be using, for example, PATHS, Second Step, and Family Links, and supported through whole-school schemes and systems such as peer mediation.

Points to note

A focus on change may potentially give rise to a number of sensitive issues (particularly when dealing with imposed change). Teachers/practitioners are advised to read the section in the guidance that deals with this issue before beginning work on the theme (see the Guidance booklet from the whole-school SEAL resource, Appendix 3 ‘Guidance on the teaching of potentially sensitive and controversial issues’).

It will also be important for you to be aware of the differences between children in the ease with which they cope with change. Some children may welcome most forms of change and dislike routine and predictability. Other children, for example, those who are anxious because of events in their lives or those who are on the autistic spectrum, may find even small changes very difficult. You may want to encourage children to recognise these differences and understand the reasons why they occur. Children can think about how they can help their classmates either to tolerate sameness or to cope with unexpected change. Children could order themselves on an imaginary line on the classroom floor according to how hard they find it to cope with change, in preparation for such a discussion.

What children will know, understand and be able to do following the successful completion of Theme 7

All theme sets offer a range of opportunities for children to put into practice the strategies they have learned for social problem solving (including the crucial first step of calming down) and feeling identification. Previously taught skills are continuously revisited and built on throughout the materials. Described below are the additional knowledge, understanding and skills developed specifically in the Changes theme.

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Knowing myself

Red

I can tell you what I can do now that I couldn’t do when I started

school/nursery.

I can tell you how I have changed.

Blue

I can tell you some things about me that have changed and some things that will not change.

I can tell you how I might change in the future.

I know that some changes are natural and happen ‘by themselves’.

I know different ways that help me to learn to do things.

I can tell you what a habit is and know that it is hard to change one.

I know what it means when something is or isn’t your fault.

Yellow

I know that change can be really good and can tell you about some changes that have made our lives much better.

I know that everybody goes through many different sorts of change all the time.

I can tell you about some of the things that have changed in my life, and how I feel about them.

I know that what we feel and think affects what we do (how we behave).

I can tell you why I behave as I do when I am finding a change difficult.

Green I am aware of common responses to difficult changes, and that they are sometimes similar to our responses when experiencing loss.

I can tell you some

of the good things

about me that my

classmates like and

value.

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Understanding my feelings

Red

I can remember feelings I have had, and why I felt like that.

I can sometimes tell you how change makes me feel.

When I feel bad, I know that it helps to do something different.

Blue Yellow I know that even changes we want to happen can sometimes feel uncomfortable.

I can tell you how I would feel if a change that I didn’t want to happen was imposed on me.

I know some of the reasons that change can feel

uncomfortable and scary.

Green

I understand how it might feel when a change takes you away from familiar people and places.

I can tell you my 'sore spots'.

I can recognise when I might over- react because someone has touched a ‘sore spot’.

I recognise that my behaviour is my responsibility, even when someone has touched a ‘sore spot’.

I know that it is natural to be wary of change, and can tell you why.

I know that all feelings, including uncomfortable ones, have a purpose and give us information.

I understand why I behave the way I do sometimes when I feel uncomfortable.

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Understanding the feelings of others

Red I know that sometimes when people are not very nice to me it is because they don’t feel very good inside.

I know how to help someone when they are feeling sad.

Blue Yellow I can sometimes understand why other people are behaving as they are when they are finding a change difficult.

Green I can try to understand why people might behave the way they do when they are facing a difficult change.

I know that people respond differently to changes and challenges.

I know that many children have mixed feelings about going to secondary school.

I try to understand other people’s behaviour by thinking about what they might be feeling or thinking.

I can tell you about how people might feel and behave when they go to a new school.

Managing my feelings

I know some ways of dealing with the feelings that sometimes arise from changes.

I know that when I move to secondary school many things in my life will stay the same.

I have some strategies for managing the feelings that I might have when I change schools.

I know that

sometimes there

can be positive

outcomes from

changes that we

didn’t welcome

initially.

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7 Planning to reach a goal

Red

I can tell you about a plan I have made with my class to change something in our school.

I can plan to overcome obstacles that might get in the way.

Blue

I can tell you about a plan I have made to change

something about my behaviour.

I can think about and plan to

overcome obstacles.

Yellow Green

Belonging to a community

I can tell you how it feels to belong to a group, and know it is important for everyone.

I know how change can interfere with our feeling of belonging and can make us feel insecure and unconfident.

Making choices I can tell you what I did with my class/group to make the outdoor area/

classroom/setting better.

I can tell you about changes that I can make happen.

I can make some changes quickly and easily.

I know that to make some changes is hard and takes a long time.

I know that I make

my own choices

about my behaviour.

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The assembly

You will need:

Music: the suggested music for the children to come in to and leave by is The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. You could play one season for the children to come in to and another for them to leave by.

Pictures to support children’s understanding of the assembly story. You will find these on the CD-ROM that accompanies these materials. They can be copied onto acetates or used with a data projector.

Two good writers to act as scribes. They should sit at the front of the assembly with pencils and paper.

You may wish to refer to the following words to help the children to name some of the feelings they recognise in the stories:

Introduction

Note: For children in the Foundation Stage you will want to use your own judgement as to whether a whole-school assembly, a class/group gathering, or a mixture of these is the more appropriate place to introduce the theme.

Tell the children that this assembly is about change. Remind them that changes take place all the time. Some changes are so regular that we think they are just normal; we even look forward to them. For instance, the music that has been playing is about the four seasons.

The music for each season is different so as to show the changes between them. Ask the children to say what some of the changes between the seasons look like. Then point out that these changes do not upset us because we are used to them.

Tell the children that other changes can seem more difficult. They might seem a bit frightening because we are not sure what to expect. Changes such as starting at a new school or even a new class might worry us. Most of us feel some uncomfortable feelings when new changes happen, but often we can feel excited or happy feelings as well.

The three stories the children are going to hear are about changes that happened to some children of different ages. As they listen, ask the children to imagine that they are one of the boys or girls in each story. They should think about how they might feel if those changes happened to them. The children in the stories might feel some uncomfortable feelings, and at the same time they might feel some warm, excited feelings.

butterflies in tummy, nervous, frightened, scared, anxious, worried, uneasy, wobbly,

unhappy, lost, small, lonely, isolated, fed up, disappointed, bewildered, angry, cross,

happy, excited, looking forward, grateful, warm, safe, belonging, kind.

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9 Story 1

Ask the children to imagine that they are Ben who is starting school today in the Reception class.

It is Ben’s first day in his new school. He knows some of the children in his new class because they were in his playgroup, but there will be lots of children he has never met before as well. In Ben’s new classroom there is a brilliant train track, some computers and a big water tray. Ben is really looking forward to playing with everything, but he is worried about staying to dinner for the first time and getting used to all the new people.

Ben finds a peg with his name on and hangs up his coat, but everything looks strange and new to him. He holds very tightly onto his special, tiny bear that he has brought in his pocket. Ben’s tummy is going up and down and he decides he wants his mum to stay with him today.

Ask the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children: ‘What do you think Ben is feeling?’

Try to think of some good feelings as well as some uncomfortable feelings.

The scribes should write down the feelings that the children suggest. One scribe should

write the comfortable feelings and the other the less comfortable feelings.

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Story 2

Ask the children to imagine that they are Rashid.

Rashid has a very big family but he is lucky enough to have his own small bedroom.

Rashid often goes to his own room to get some peace and quiet when he wants to read or go on the computer.

One night, Mum tells Rashid that she has some very special news. Rashid’s cousin Daljeet is coming from India to stay with them for a long visit. Mum is going to squeeze another bed into Rashid’s bedroom and the two boys will share.

‘I hope you will be very kind to Daljeet,’ says Mum. ‘This is a big change for him, coming over to England for the first time to

meet a family he has never met before. I hope you two will

have fun together.’

That night, Rashid lies awake. He thinks about the cousin he has never met. He wonders if they will like each other. He thinks about having to share his room with a stranger. He

wonders where he will go when he wants some peace and whether

Daljeet will always be wanting to go on the computer. Then Rashid thinks that maybe he and Daljeet will have fun together, as Mum hopes. He lies awake for a long time, staring into the dark.

Ask the Year 3 and Year 4 children: ‘What do you think that Rashid is feeling?’ ‘What do you think that Daljeet is feeling?’

The scribes should write down the feelings that the children suggest, as above.

Story 3

Ask the children to imagine they are Lucy. Lucy has been on holiday to Spain with her family for the whole of the school holidays.

Lucy is really looking forward to going back to school after her holiday. She has bought

some brilliant presents and she can’t wait to give them to her best friends, Esmee and

Mini. She sees them across the playground and smiles and waves to them, but they take

no notice of her. They turn their backs and walk off with some other girls. It seems to

Lucy that they are giggling about her. Lucy doesn’t understand what has happened. She

goes and sits by herself on one of the benches.

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11 She looks around at the other children who are all in pairs or groups. She has never felt so alone. Gemma sees

Lucy sitting by herself. Gemma was a new girl in the school last term and she knows just how Lucy is feeling. She goes over to her and says: ‘Why don’t you come over with us?’

Lucy is really grateful to Gemma and goes with her, but she feels so upset by Esmee and Mini that her feelings are in a real muddle.

Ask the Key Stage 2 children: ‘What do you think Lucy is feeling?’ ‘What do you think Gemma is feeling?’

The scribes should write down the feelings that the children suggest, as above.

Now ask the scribes to read out all the feelings words they wrote down. Point out that many of the feelings felt by the children in the stories are the same although the changes they were going through were very different. Say that most of us feel some of these feelings when changes happen.

Now tell the children what happened to each of the characters in the stories.

Story 1

Ben had a brilliant time on his first day. Although school was bigger with lots more

children and some different things to do, he could still play with the things he had

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enjoyed at playgroup. He made a new friend and they both played at the water tray and with the computer and helped build a bus outside with the large bricks. He also listened to an exciting story and played a counting game. Ben was so busy that he almost forgot all about his special, tiny bear. The next day his mum stayed in the classroom for a while but soon he sent her off for a cup of tea. And after a few more days he told his mum that he was leaving his bear at home. ‘Bears are scared of school,’ he said, ‘but I’m not.’

Story 2

When Daljeet first arrived, Rashid found it very difficult to share his room.

As for Daljeet, he was so homesick that he hardly spoke for the first two weeks.

When he saw how unhappy Daljeet was, Rashid tried hard to cheer him up.

He even encouraged Daljeet to go on his computer and helped him to learn English while Daljeet helped Rashid

to improve his Urdu. Gradually the two boys got used to each other and

became good

mates. Daljeet

is soon going

back to India and

Rashid is going

with him for a

long visit.

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Story 3

After a few days Lucy made friends with Esmee and Mini but she never really

understood why they had made her feel so left out. Gemma is Lucy’s best friend now.

Lucy will never forget how kind Gemma was to her when she was lonely and unhappy.

Conclusion

Ask the children to find a still, quiet place inside themselves and think about Ben or Rashid or Daljeet or Lucy. Ask them to think about the changes these children were going through and what they could have done to help one or more of them to feel better. Ask the children to keep these kind, helpful thoughts in their heads for a minute or two.

Play the music. Children leave in silence, taking their thoughts with them. In the classroom, give the children a few minutes to talk about their thoughts.

Follow-up assembly to be held at the end of the theme

Begin by reminding the children briefly about the changes faced by the children in the stories.

Now the children from each year group present some of the work about changes that they have done in class. The class teacher should choose which of the social and emotional learning work the class will feed back, but some examples are set out below.

Foundation Stage

The teacher/practitioner (with help from the children) tells the whole school about some of the kind things they could do that would make people feel better when changes happen.

Years 1 and 2

Some children describe to the whole school the changes that have happened to them that they can’t do anything about. They could, for instance, describe themselves when they were babies and show how much they have changed since then. The children should then demonstrate something they have deliberately changed by practising and getting better at it. They should say how they overcame any obstacles.

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Years 3 and 4

Some of the children should show their paintings or drawings of how they felt at different times on their life journey, and talk about them. If these feelings have changed over time the children should say why.

Years 5 and 6

Some of the children should tell the school about changes that worried them at the time and talk about the positive things that have since come from those changes.

End the assembly by asking everyone to think, in silence, about one or more of the changes that have happened to them in their lives. They should think for a moment about some of the difficult feelings those changes might have caused. They should then think about the positive, exciting things that have happened because of those changes. Say that children often find courage and hope and perseverance inside themselves in times of change and that they should feel proud that they have moved through these changes.

Finally ask them to think about how they could help those who might be facing change or loss to move through those changes and into a different future.

Variations on the assembly for subsequent years

Note: The follow-up assembly remains the same each year.

The yearly variations on the Changes theme involve three children, or groups of children, one from each age band, telling or dramatising their own stories about change. The stories should be short scenarios as in the stories above. They could be true or fictional.

The person leading the assembly should introduce the Changes theme to the whole school and then ask the children to present their stories. The assembly leader should then draw out from the whole school the names of the feelings demonstrated through the stories. The scribes should write down the feelings words and then read them out, as above.

It is important to emphasise that although different changes are significant to children at different ages, many of the feelings generated by the changes are very similar.

The children presenting the stories should then tell the whole school what happened to the characters in the stories after time had passed, as above.

Finish each assembly by asking the children to think quiet thoughts about the children in

the stories and consider how they could have helped those children to feel better about the

changes they were going through. The music plays and they leave in silence, taking their

thoughts with them.

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OUP 05-2005

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DfES Publications Tel: 0845 60 222 60 Fax: 0845 60 333 60 Textphone: 0845 60 555 60 e-mail: [email protected] Ref: DfES 1369-2005 G

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