Building Emotional Resilience Program for Young People with Anxiety

1. Building Emotional resilience Amanda Connor , Paula Baldwin and Dominic Crowhurst Education Support Behaviour and Attendance Service (ESBAS)

2. Aim • To support young people with low level anxiety. • To improve emotional resilience in students. • To offer coping strategies, to re-engage pupils in school life.

3. What does the programme look like? • 8 week programme – held in school • The provision is for key stage four. • The groups are separated for boys and girls. • Maximum of 6 young people per group.

4. Programme content • Session One - Information gathering on cohort of candidates for group work held with school representative • Session Two – Pupil voice, emotional wellbeing web and team building – L.O - To be able to name ten thoughts, behaviours and physical symptoms related to their own anxiety. • Session Three – Understanding resilience – L.O – To identify two of your own triggers and responses. • Session Four– Exploring challenges within their peer groups – L.O – Understanding friendships and recognising positive qualities in each other.

5. Programme content • Session Five – Triggers and self image – L.O – To be able to discuss emotional differences and responses in the group • Session Six - Identifying emotional differences and responses – L.O. - To identify emotional words, to describe themselves. • Session Seven– Coping strategies and mindfulness – L.O. – Identifying and naming strategies to support them in school life. • Session Eight – Reflection, Review and Evaluation session

8. How we measured the success of the project • Well-being web at the beginning of the project and at the final session. • Pupil voice at the beginning of the project and at the final session. • Weekly tutorials.

9. Well-being web

10. Well- being web categories • I feel safe. * • I am healthy. • I am achieving.* • I feel nurtured.* • I feel active. • I feel respected.* • I feel responsible* • I feel included.*

11. Pilot Scheme • The designated school for the pilot project was The Causeway School. • The evaluations reported back from the students were all positive. • 90% of the students involved within the project demonstrated improvement on 6 out of the 8 the web scales. • Feedback from the students illustrated that they felt “listened to”, “helpful” and “confident to share in a group”.

12. Student Feedback • Feedback from the students illustrated that they felt - It helped because it makes you talk about things you wouldn’t usually. It helped me try and overcome and forget all the negatives. I wish I had this intervention earlier! Confident to share in a group

13. Feedback from the school. • “There are still concerns, however, the strategies the students have been provided have been beneficial, they discuss any concerns before crisis point. They are able to filter and differentiate between a ‘big problem’ and what they can overcome by themselves”. • “The students are able to discuss their low level anxiety, they are more confident in class and with their peers.”

14. Booking information • Contact 01273 481967 • The cost is 8 traded units. • Esbas@eastsussex.gov.uk