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Programmes for young people
"Juniper" School's Programme
This programme offers young people some practical techniques to help them deal with stress in their lives in and out of school. Based around the skills of relaxation and the use of affirmation, the 6 week programme helps to bring calm, increased self confidence and more sociable behaviour. It is of particular benefit to those who are disaffected, disruptive, or under achieving due to lack of concentration or confidence.
Pupils learn to relax and to focus their minds. They explore what is really important to them, celebrate what is going well and use affirmations to improve areas of their lives that cause them difficulties. These range from getting to sleep at night, dealing with members of their families, making friends, to understanding maths or improving literacy.
Initially designed for primary pupils, working with a whole class in small groups, the programme has been very successfully adapted to work with selected pupils at secondary.
The Juniper programme has been designed by David Keith of UNIPAZ UK.
Pupils enjoy stilling at the start of a session
During the course of the programme school staff are trained in the techniques to ensure continuing support for pupils. Learning mentors are ideally placed to be trained and continue the work in a school.
INSET training is also available for schools, both relating to work with pupils and to support staff personally.
Availability/Prices
The programme is available by arrangement at any time.
The cost of the standard programme including staff training, all pupil materials and expenses for 24 to 30 pupils,
but not travel, is
Primary £1,300
Secondary £1,475
Choosing an affirmation card
Standard programme practical details
- Pupils are taught in groups of 6
- They come for one hour once a week for six weeks
- A support worker is required. They can be provided by the school, a learning mentor, school nurse or behaviour support worker for example, which provides an excellent opportunity for training. Alternatively the second worker will come from PFN
The room needs to be private, quiet and carpeted
- The programme includes two training sessions for school staff, usually one hour twilights. The first is an experiential introduction to the work. The second looks at sustainability at the end of the programme
Primary schools
- The whole class is involved. The programme is best suited to year 5 or 6
Groups are selected by the class teacher. These can be friendship groups, but should be mixed sex and mixed ability
- Four groups per day is ideal, five is possible if necessary, which usually entails reducing the time to 50 mins for some
- The groups come at different times of day each week so as not to miss the same lesson
- The class teacher will be requested to support the programme with some simple follow up work, and be available for brief meetings to discuss any arising issues. The greater the involvement of the teacher the greater the benefit to the pupils
Secondary schools
- Pupils are selected by the school according to their needs. These might include problems with attendance or homework, low self esteem, poor relationships with teachers or other students including disruptive behaviour or bullying
- Groups need to be of mixed sex, and not contain too many pupils with the same problems
- There needs to be a single contact person identified by the school to be responsible for practical arrangements, preferably someone who is also able to offer ongoing support to pupils where needed
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