Thinking Positively – Circle Time in Wales and a ‘Jar of Good Choices’

Wow its been such a whirlwind for the last few months, we are still writing up some of the exciting projects that happened at the start of 2014.

Jenny was delighted in February to travel back to Caerphilly to work with Carin Quinn, who is a Healthy Schools Practitioner based in Blackwood and also one of Jenny’s trained trainers. The whole theme of this work is about “Thinking Positively” and Jenny used the “Jar of Good Choices” as an example during the day. This is where pupils work towards making good choices and marbles ‘kerchink’ dramatically into a jar as a result! When the jar is full, a class treat is in order which could be anything that motivates the class but is often extra fun games or an appropriate treat. Reflection can be a powerful tool so we took some time out to reflect upon the outcomes and report from a similar training project with the Healthy Schools Team during 2013.

In Spring 2013 Jenny held a very well-attended INSET day. The Healthy Schools Team had received extra funding from the Welsh Assembly to spend on Mental and Emotional Health and Well-being. As part of this initiative, Primary Schools from across the borough were invited to attend a Jenny Mosley training day. The day included Jenny’s strategies to help schools promote attainment, inclusion, behaviour and attendance, SEAL, Healthy Schools and the emotional health and well-being of pupils and adults. Each school received resources to help put the theory and training into practice.

With 124 delegates in Cwmcam Primary School, Jenny Mosley and her colleague Georgia Thorpe brought together one large training day. Jenny focused upon staff health and well-being, positive behaviour strategies, Circle Times and lunchtimes and playtimes while Georgia Thorpe focused her workshops on her speciality of puppets.

The training day generated a huge amount of interest and warmth from everyone involved – it really did help everyone to keep “Thinking Positively”.

The feedback received was outstanding, with all delegates scoring the course as either excellent or good. Aside from the written feedback, there has been extremely positive anecdotal evidence during individual school visits, such as:

“It wasn’t just a good course, it was a game changer.”

“I think all staff everywhere who work with children should go on the course

Here are some more comments: What was the most useful part of the training?

“Looking forward to promoting the golden rules and making changes to my approach”

“Lots of the ideas will be used in class circle time. Use of the puppets as well”

“Arrange: well-being committee, lunchtime working party, meeting with all members of staff to share information and discuss way forward”

“I want to start a well-being committee!”

“Feedback to staff, raise well-being of staff through termly activities, organise a working party to raise profile of playground games/lunch time”

“Try to use some of the energiser games and puppets everyday”

“Will ensure all staff are aware of how to raise self esteem, will set up a lunchtime working party to try and improve lunchtimes”

“Share ideas of lunchtime and well-being practices with staff, use puppets to help the children solve certain situations during circle time”

Did the course meet with expectations?

“Yes, very energetic, informative and inspiring”

“Yes excellent day. Well done Healthy Schools”

“Very interesting and enjoyable”

“More. It was hugely interesting, made lots of sense and was easy to understand”

“Yes it did a truly amazing course by a true expert”

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