Exciting Circle Work With Sheffield Secondary Schools
Tue, Aug 31st 2010
I’ve just written a blog on my work visit to New Zealand saying that some countries make your spirit sing in response to their unique ‘light’…. and some cities also do the same for me. I really love the teachers and children I’ve worked with in Sheffield.
Over the years (10?) I’ve worked continuously in Sheffield with different projects. Birley Spa family of schools, SEAL, & SEAD, Achievement for All – are just a few and I’ve met loads of wonderful people and some will stay friends always.
At the end of the summer tem I ran Part 2 of my accredited secondary Train The Trainers. A small band of goodhearted teachers, teaching assistants, Heads of Year and learning mentors sat in a circle and looked at each other, through the tiredness, with amazement! We’d made it. Not only had they managed to complete Part 1 with me months earlier and persuade their managers to release them for another 2 days – but they’d brought with them sparkling accounts of their own successful circle projects, exciting circle lessons, moving case studies and a finely – honed-in-the-fires-of- good-practice commitment to keeping Quality Circle Time high on the secondary agenda. ‘Yipeeeeeee!'
It was a moving two days together – once you involve young people in their learning – you are on a roller coaster of emotional involvement.
On one of the days we were taken by Claire Hughes to Birley Community College meet her Year 7 ‘Nurture Group’. These young people had written and created their own 5 step lesson plan and, with wonderful confidence and a sense of fun, they ran an hour’s circle time for all us teachers and their class mates together. We made a large circle, young and ‘old’ (never!) together, as each child led us through a different Circle-time step – culminating in a ‘calm-down’ visualisation written by two of them. It was impressive, fun and nurturing for us adults! Their teacher assures me that their year 8 tutors will consult these students so that they now can lead their peers (and their tutors) in a weekly 20 minute circletime tutorials and maybe some PSHE lessons. The ‘Achievement for All’ project means that every school must ensure every child experiences real success – and these moments of success may need creating and noticing loudly by the teachers!
Come on secondary schools – learn from these schools – you have thousands of primary children coming up to you this year who have been having a Circle time lesson every week since they were 2! Many are used for taking circle time issues to school council, setting up golden time clubs to celebrate weekly all their peers who kept the golden values, working with older people, parents and nursery children in circles, applying for posts of lunchtime responsibility, nominating and signing weekly certificates to their peers – the list is endless. C’mon primary teachers and parents, work with your secondary schools so they too can guarantee every child really 'achieves' in a context of listening, fun and love!
(For enquiries about Jenny's primary or secondary Train The Trainers courses or any other training, please phone 01225 767157 or email circletime@jennymosley.co.uk.
Jenny has created some great secondary resources, including her brand new "Quality Circle TIme In The Secondary School" DVD which includes a downloadable book - ideal for staff training and a practical guide to circle times in the secondary school - available from our webshop.
Jenny has also just produced a secondary book entitled: "Important Issues Relatin To The Promotion Of Positive Behaviour And Self-Esteem In Secondary Schools" which is available in our webshop.
A cluster of Sheffield schools also produced a DVD based on work with Jenny Mosley's Golden Model which has been perfectly put into place and reported on by the pupils. Called "Big News DVD" - available from our webshop and very inspiring.
See also "Quality Circle Time in the Secondary School - for SEAL" By Jenny Mosley & Marilyn Tew - available from the webshop. Circle Time is a key methodology for delivering a social and emotional curriculum - this book should convince even the reluctant teacher, explaining the Quality Circle Time Model and its application for older pupils.
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