Positive Parents in Schools Making a Difference – Paving the Way for Very Powerful Parent Workshops

When working on positive behaviour with teachers, we can become very focused upon children’s expectations and behaviour just at school. It was a pleasure for Jenny, while working with the very dedicated staff from Beckford Primary School recently, to be invited to also hold a parent workshop. Jenny first demonstrated circle time with children for the parents to observe. In the following session with the 44 adults who attended, Jenny explained about circle time and why suggestion boxes are used so that children can lead the agenda. Amongst many other initiatives and tips, she also spoke about the importance of celebrating the positive things that happen rather than focusing on the negative. The parents were very keen to ask questions and talk afterwards and the following are just a few of the comments they wrote:

• Thank you for inspiring the children. Life is so much more than learning your ABC and numbers.
• Really inspirational and thought provoking – will be using all I’ve learnt today at home. Thank you.
• What fab work the school is doing. More of this will be great for parents, as a father I learnt a lot from the school. I would like more.
• Fabulous reminder of the importance of eye contact when someone is talking!
• Well done to Jenny and the children. I have learnt a lot and it was a good reminder to stop to listen.
• Excellent. Informative presentation.
• This has taught me how to communicate with my children well. Thank you.
• Great idea to link the school system to home.
• Thank you. You gave me lots of energy and confidence. I am happy that my children have you to complete what I teach them at home.
• I want to go back to school! Very informative, interesting and a lot of fun. I wish the session had gone on.
• Great workshop. Would welcome a kind of forum / follow up to find out more about doing this at home. Perfect meeting.
• In just one hour I have learnt more than in a year about parenting! Thank you.
• Thank you. Now I know why my daughter has been trying to get me to do the clapping game! Now I can reiterate the golden rules at home.

In what can only be described as a very powerful experience, the parents have demonstrated to Jenny how enthusiastic and positive they can be. It is also very exciting to hear how the parents have taken home the ideas that they learnt for their own children.

It was also a lovely surprise to hear more recently some positive news about the parents from Tolworth Primary Schools, where Jenny has worked with teachers on different occasions to help them polish up their systems. One teacher reported that parents she had spoken to were providing a continuum of expectation and celebration at home by using some of the same incentives as those used in school. Parents were using incentives such as ‘jar of good choices’ and ‘star of the week’ and even ‘weekend golden time’ at home where they could choose from art clubs and film clubs as a treat for behaving well or for following their house ‘Golden Rules’.

So – all Golden Schools – please consider asking Jenny to run a workshop for your parents.

Website Manager’s Notes:

1.  Jenny Mosley runs successful and transformative positive behaviour for learning, circle time and social skills, and lunchtimes and playtimes training –Click here to see all forthcoming public conferences that anyone can attend.

2. Many schools book Jenny Mosley for a training day, conference or a Working In School Day. Without shutting the school, Jenny holds staff meetings, observable circle times with pupils, works in the dining hall and playgrounds and feeds back everything to staff via meetings. For enquiries about Working in School Days, please phone 01225 767157 or email circletime@jennymosley.co.uk. (Many schools follow a WISD day with an INSET day so that they can fully work through the ideas with Jenny.)

3. For all other training enquiries – better behaviour for learning, improved social and communication skills, circle times, working with parents as partners and more, phone 01225 767157 or email circletime@jennymosley.co.uk.

4. Resources to support all Jenny’s training are available on our website  www.circle-time.co.uk/shop 

5. We are working closely with National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) to produce some great resources for working with young children.

6. We are admirers of the parents’s website Mumsnet.