Network 7 – a social skills programme for year 7 students.
The aim of Network 7 is to make each individual more able to deal with the varied situations their encounters in the school and to increase their confidence. The approach we use is designed to:
- raise self esteem
- provide teacher and peer support
- teach a set of problem solving skills
- encourage the setting of goals
- help draw up individual action plans
This course runs for six weeks. Each week the sessions focus on a different area to help the students settle in to life at Secondary School such as, organisation skills, problem solving, friendships and communication skills.
Through a series of workshop activities the students explore skills they already have and learn how to expand and improve them to benefit their school life, friendships, relationships with parents, carers and teachers and their confidence and self esteem in general.
Network 8 – a social skills programme for year 8 students.
The aim of the Network 8 is to aid students in their personal development and make each individual more able to deal with situations they encounter in and out of school and to increase their confidence. The approach we use is designed to:
- raise confidence and self esteem
- increase inter-personal and intra-personal skills
- develop a set of problem solving strategies
The course runs for six weeks. Similarly to Network 7 each week focuses on a different topic to help the students develop their inter-personal and intra-personal skills. These sessions are based around the topics of support networks, communication and problem solving, emotions & feeling under pressure, stress and peer pressure and friendship.
By using workshop activities that get all the students involved they are learning about these areas in an interactive and fun way and seeing for themselves the areas of their lives that they can enhance with the skills they work on each week.
SMILE – Sixth Form Mentoring Programme
The SMILE project is a mentoring programme where year 12 students volunteer to mentor year 7’s and 8’s on a one to one and group work basis.
The aims of this programme are to raise the confidence and self esteem of pupils and help them to feel supported in their school life.
The Sixth Form mentors will also be working towards a Peer Mentoring certificate as part of this project which will be a fantastic addition to any university or job applications and will enhance their CV’s.
Each volunteer is interviewed to assess their suitability to be a peer mentor and then trained in the following areas;
- Child protection
- What is mentoring?
- Benefits of mentoring
- Friendship Vs Mentoring
- Boundaries
- Communication skills
- Self care and support networks
- Culture, identity and values
- Relationships
The Sixth Form mentors would be available in regular meeting times to help their mentees with anything they may need assistance with during the school day. This could include school work, homework, organisational skills or to simply provide a listening ear as someone who has already gone through the school and recognises the challenges that may present the year 7 & 8 students.
The Sixth Form mentors are supported through monthly group supervisions and, if required, weekly individual meetings with their KICK Start project coordinator.
TLS – The Listening Service
The Listening Service is a volunteer mentoring programme for year 10 students to be peer mentors to year 7 tutor groups.
The year 10 volunteers take part in a training day where they will participate in group activities, role play and discussions. These activities and discussions cover the following areas;
- What is mentoring?
- What are the issues facing young people in their area?
- What are the benefits of peer mentoring?
- Boundaries of mentoring
- Friendship Vs Mentoring
- Communication skills
- Child protection and what to do in the event of a disclosure
Once the TLS volunteers have been trained they can then go into a year 7 tutor group once a week and deliver fun activities, support the form tutor and provide a listening ear for anyone who may not feel confident to speak to an adult in school about an issue or problem they are facing.
The TLS volunteers can also help to run a lunchtime club aimed specifically at year 7 students to further help them settle in to Secondary School.
This programme not only provides support to the whole of the year 7 year group but also provides the year 10 volunteers with an invaluable skill set that they can go on to use in their own lives, enhancing their opportunities in and out of school.
