A Call to Action for Schools / School Staff - Created by Young People in Cornwall
“Please listen to me. Accept what I say and who I am. I do not need you to ‘fix’ me just help me navigate my journey”.
Introduction
A small group of, secondary age, young people involved with HSK Youth came to us with their thoughts on their experiences of wellbeing in school. They also requested an opportunity to communicate how they felt small changes could make a big difference.
Over time this developed into IMPACTS and their ‘call to action’ for schools.
The YP made a video about IMPACTS and have subsequently helped to create a short online training module on Moodle.
It is a powerful and, sometimes, uncomfortable message but an authentic one. It has been tempered by the young people themselves reflecting on the really very good experiences they had and a real understanding of the pressures on school staff, that make it difficult. They were very aware of the importance of staff wellbeing.
What we admire about IMPACTS is it came from lived experience (both good and bad).
What also struck us was how well the messages in IMPACTS reflected many wellbeing / trauma informed messages albeit expressed differently. For example, the importance of relationships; ‘every interaction can be an intervention’; ‘behaviour as communication…’; trusted and emotionally available adults; ‘curious not furious’; the importance of a ‘Whole School Approach’…
Paul Dix calls this “Deliberate Botheredness”
“It is the small stuff, the daily acts of care, the perpetual generosity of spirit, the interest that you show in their lives that matters most”.
IMPACTS - Call to Action
‘It's OK not be OK’ alone is not enough to make an IMPACT
Trusting Relationships, with emotionally available adults, have an IMPACT
Early support and intervention will have the greatest IMPACT
‘Being Curious’ about behaviour “Why is this student…?” makes an IMPACT
Recognising small wins and positive praise has an IMPACT
It doesn’t have to take Time to make an IMPACT
You don’t need a master’s in psychology to make an IMPACT
A Whole School Approach is needed if we’re going to make an IMPACT
Making wellbeing visible and tackling stigma in school will make an IMPACT
YOU, whatever your role in school, can make an IMPACT
The young people involved created a film and worked with us to develop an online training module available on the Hub