Wellbeing Learning Resource for Children and Young People
Wellbeing, particularly that of our children and young people, is now high on everyone’s agenda and must be seen as the foundation of hope in a post Covid-19 future.
In 1998, I set up the Playback Learning Academy with Margaret Scott. As parents of children with additional support needs, our focus was to understand the agendas of inclusion and equality in the context of inclusive education and what that meant to ‘my child your child’. Playback is a grass roots organisation based in Juniper Green, Edinburgh. Our priority has always been to reposition wellbeing so as to maximise children’s learning, give them a voice and ensure that they can actively participants in decisions being made about them. In so doing, this will improve services thereby promoting inclusion and equality.
As parents. My son Barry, now aged 37, was brain injured just after birth and has profound physical disabilities. I realised that the most important aspect of supporting my son was through his emotional wellbeing and this has proved very successful. He is a very happy man - the most resilient, fabulous guy you could wish to meet, with a huge personality and appetite for life, even with all his everyday challenges.
Over the last 20 years we have developed many well-being learning resources, gained accredited SCQF awards for secondary pupils and achieved SQA Centre Status. We have also continued to run a small charity which has provided community-based activities for children and young people with additional support needs and their families since its inception. Our work is underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly Article 12, which establishes the right of every child to freely express their views in all matters affecting them
Knowing Me, Knowing You 2
Recognising the work that Scottish teachers have undertaken during this crisis and wishing to contribute to a positive future for our children and young people, a number of teachers, practitioners, parents and young people worked together to develop a FREE resource for schools.
“Knowing Me, Knowing You 2” is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our teachers.This resource will help them consider and address pupils’ experiences and feelings during lockdown. It will support them when planning pupils return and will enable pupils to reflect, recognise, value, and make sense of what they have experienced.
This will be a complex transition period and a new ‘normal’ will need to be established by school leaders which focuses on children’s well-being, school behaviours, new routines and learning for all.
School leaders should also be considering their duty of care to ensure a sense of belonging and ownership around a recovery plan.
The resource content will enable staff to quickly access a wide range of materials including questionnaires, a GIRFEC survey, 'Discussion Time' topics, along with extension ideas/lessons and reflective and 'next steps' lessons. The aim is to reconnect with pupils, rebuild confidence, reflect on acceptable behaviour/s and improve communication, learning and relationships.
Schools and organisations can request a FREE copy of the resource using the request form on our website: http://www.playbacklearningacademy.com. They will also be given instructions about how to access the resource in digital format to adapt the content for their pupils.
Follow us on Twitter: @PlaybackAcademy