Julie Keating
June 2014
What is PACS
• Early intervention programme years 5, 6, 7 and 8
• Delivered over 6 weeks
• Small groups 8 -12 young people
• Collaboration between PACS trainers and learning mentor
• Staff trained
• All materials provided
• No cost to the school
2
The Essex journey to PACS
• Relationship with Kidscape
• Agreeing delivery terms and conditions
• Recruiting staff
• Promoting with schools
• Starting delivery
• Understanding the wider picture
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4
5
Being part of Realising Ambition
What does this mean for Essex?
• Opportunity to participate in a significant research programme
• Fidelity
• Delivery closely monitored
• All resources provided
• Contract to deliver
• Opportunity to look at sustainability of the programme
6
Programme objectives
1. Provide a creative and interactive programme for vulnerable and
challenging young people using positive assertiveness strategies for
dealing with situations of conflict.
2. Enable young people to understand how to use assertive behaviour
in response to challenging situations.
3. Encourage young people to use mediation as a tool when faced with
challenging situations.
4. Develop young people's social skills and social interaction.
5. Raise confidence and boost young people's self-esteem, thereby
enabling them to create and sustain a stronger sense of their own
identity.
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Who is the programme for?
PACS Year 6 Students Selection Criteria (please mark where appropriate)
School:
Year group:
Student
Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
8
Disengaged Behavioural Class
Involved in Benefit
Learning Mentor
from school issues / low exclusions bullying
from small Support
self esteem
group
work
How the programme works
• Week 1 – PACS trainer and learning mentor: 2 hours
• Weeks 2 and 3 - learning mentor: 1 hour
• Week 4 - PACS trainer and learning mentor: 2 hours
• Week 5 - learning mentor: 1 hour
• Week 6 - PACS trainer and learning mentor: 1 hour
• Four month review - learning mentor
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Week 1 – delivered by PACS trainer with
learning mentor support
• Principles of PACS
• Learn the difference between aggressive and assertive behaviour
• Recognise and respond to your own emotions – exercise
• Video – choosing and being responsible for your behaviour
• Role play – recognising emotions in yourself and others
• Developing strategies to deal with challenging situations
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Strategies
Surround yourself with people who
make you feel good about yourself
Be more in control of behaviour
Negotiate with each other through the problem
Remove yourself from the situation
Expect positive reactions
Try to calm down
Avoid using physical or verbal
aggression
Listen to each other
Explain how the situation makes you feel
Make time to talk to the person
Don’t be biased
Ignore it and just let it go
Explain how you feel
React calmly and not aggressively
Talk it out
Write down the things you want to chat Talk to someone else about your situation
about
to get advice
Ask someone "nicely" to stop doing
something
Putting yourself in someone else's
shoes
Focus on the positive points
Make them laugh and keep them calm
Walk away from the situation
Count to 10 and breath deeply to calm
down
Find a friend or someone you trust to talk to
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Weeks 2 and 3 – learning mentor
• Incredibly important
• Journal work / reinforcing messages / SDQ
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Week 4 – delivered by PACS trainer with
learning mentor support
• Review – what's been working well
• The last time I felt - Sharing examples of using assertive strategies
• What’s up carousel and what could you do - exploring further ways
of coping with difficult situations
• Alphabet argument – exploring mediation
• Sort it out – applying what you have learnt
• I might, I could, I will… – further exploration of the days learning
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Weeks 5 – learning mentor
• Journal work / reinforcing messages
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Week 6 – celebration and evaluation
PACS trainer and learning mentor
• Review of PACS principles
• What they have learnt
• Evaluation questionnaires
• Certificate
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Evaluating the programme
•Trialled in London
•Replication in Essex, Wolverhampton and Oxford
•Questionnaires pre and post delivery
•4 month follow up
•Opportunity to explore wider replication across the
country post August 2015
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Meet the trainers
Emma Frost
• Alternative education
• Circles Farm
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Sarah Hudson
• Behaviour support
• Connexions
Meet the new trainers
Fran Trotter
Anne-Marie Pinkney
Dawn Lowen
Kim Mitchell
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Dawn Lowen
Outcomes from the London pilot
• 60% of participants would no longer use violence to solve issues
• 50% would try and negotiate if they find themselves in a difficult
situation
• 45% of students have learnt to talk calmly
• 41% “count to 10” before responding
• 36% will let an argument go
• 29% will ask a friend for advice
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What school’s say:
• I have had some good feedback from some of
the last group in terms of them helping others
by using mediation and also some have had a
great improvement in their relationships with
others. (Paula: Thurstable)
• Thank you for your support in running the PACS
groups in school we have found them to be
beneficial to the children. We are already
looking forward to working with you again in
June! (Hannah: Cherry Tree Primary)
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What student's say
I’ve learnt from PACS that
deep inside, I’m a nice person
not an aggressive person. So
I’m going to change my ways
from now on.
PACS learnt me
that people do
think that I’m nice
and not annoying
and stupid
I learnt to
control my
anger and to be
a bit more
positive in life
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PACS has taught
me I can be who I
want , I don’t
have to be a low
life.
PACS has told me that
whenever I am about to hurt
other people’s feelings to take
a breath and turn away from
them.
Recap: What is PACS?
• Early intervention programme years 5, 6, 7 and 8
• Delivered over 6 weeks
• Small groups 8 -12 young people
• Collaboration between PACS trainers and learning mentor
• Staff trained
• All materials provided
• No cost to the school
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Getting involved
• Think about how delivery could work in your school
• Correct selection of students
• Investing in LSA time
• Supporting the research element of the programme
• Complete the expression of interest form on the table
• We’ll be in touch!
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Any questions?
Julie Keating
Email: Julie.keating@essex.gov.uk
Tel: 03330131160
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