Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
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POINT TO POINT
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An activity to encourage students to
discuss supportive factors and barriers at
school
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Introduction
Research has indicated that children and young people often find it
easier to talk about the barriers they face and the support they
require by talking about specific events in their lives which they
view as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. The Point to Point activity has been
designed to take account of this finding.
During this activity students are first asked to make a mark on the
paper which represents their very best day at school, and then to
make a mark representing their worst day in school. They are then
asked to join the two marks together (hence ‘Point to Point’) and to
make a mark on the line to show where they feel today in relation
to their happiness at school (see pictures on pages 4, 6 and 8).
Throughout this process students are invited to describe and
discuss their choices and to comment on supportive factors and
barriers. The child or young person is free to explain their view of
their world, and they may surprise us with their definitions and
interpretations of what is supportive and what is not.
Point to Point provides a structure for discussion and may be most
productive with older children and young people who are used to
engaging in conversations about their support. The approach can
be used with individual students or small groups (allow up to an
hour for Point to Point with a group).
The role of the facilitator
The facilitator could be a member of staff who is known to the
student (but preferably not someone that the student may wish to
please by providing the ‘correct answers’). A peer or older student
may be able to take on this role, as long as the target student is
comfortable about such an arrangement.
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
The facilitator’s role is to help students think about supportive
factors and barriers they face in the school environment (and
possibly factors relating to their transition between home and
school such as transport or communication with their parents or
carers).
Carrying out the activity
Before you start, decide whether to record the students’ names
alongside their comments, or whether their responses will be
anonymous. If you are not using names, you need to devise codes
for the response sheets.
All the students’ ideas should be recorded, but it is likely that the
positive elements first mentioned by the student are likely to be the
most significant.
If students prefer, they can describe a best/worst day from another
school.
Resources needed
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A sheet of A3 paper
Photocopies of the picture prompts
Coloured pens
A quiet space where the student will not be overheard
Alternatively:
 A traditional or interactive whiteboard and pens could be
used (with blu-tack to secure the picture prompts on a
traditional board).
 A metal board with magnets (with string for the line, secured
with blue-tack)
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
Explaining Point to Point to students
 Make sure the students know who will be reading the
responses, whether their names will be included and why
people want to know about what they think.
 Emphasise that there are no right and wrong answers and
that you just want to find out what they think about things that
help them at school and things that don’t help.
 Make sure you leave enough time at the end for students to
discuss their feelings about what has been discussed, e.g.
‘Has anything we have talked about been upsetting? Would
you like to talk some more to someone about your feelings?’.
Using Point to Point with individual students
Positive factors
 Ask the student to make a mark (an X) which represents his
or her very best day at school. This mark is made at the top
of the paper (or whiteboard, or magnetic board) where a
smiley face is drawn, or ‘Very best day’ is written (or both).
 Ask the student to describe this day and why it was their
best.
Suggested questions:
Which people at school were there/helped you?
 Teachers
 Other people in the school
 Other students in your year group
 Students from other year groups

What things at school helped the day go well?
 In the classroom
 Around the school
 Outside, moving between buildings, on the sports field
 Off the school site (but still involved in school activity)
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
 When the class was working together
 When you were working by yourself
 Where there is more emphasis on more practical subjects,
e.g. art, food tech, lab sessions
 Where there is more emphasis on physical activity, e.g.
sports, games, dance or gym
 Homework or tests
What did your family do?
 If necessary, use prompts during this conversation to ensure
that a wide variety of possible supportive factors are
discussed, e.g. ‘That sounds interesting…’, or ‘It sounds as
though it was very helpful for you…’.
 The student records the positive factors he or she feels are
important on the chart (or on the whiteboard, or magnetic
board) by sticking a picture, drawing a picture or writing a
description of these factors next to the X at the top of the
paper – see Picture 1 (the ovals indicate where
pictures/words are placed or written).
Picture 1: Chart for recording positive factors
SYMBOLS
Very best day 
Pictures/words
representing
supportive
factors or
barriers
X
X
X
Student’s mark
Student’s line
joining their
best and worst
Worst day 
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
day
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
Negative factors
The student is asked to make a cross on the piece of paper
representing his or her worst day in school, to describe this day
and explain why it was so difficult.
Suggested questions:
Which people at school were there/made things difficult?
 Teachers
 Other people in the school
 Other students in your year group
 Students from other year groups

What things at school helped made it your worst day?
 In the classroom
 Around the school
 Outside, moving between buildings, on the sports field
 Off the school site (but still involved in school activity)
 When the class was working together
 When you were working by yourself
 Where there is more emphasis on more practical subjects,
e.g. art, food tech, lab sessions
 Where there is more emphasis on physical activity, e.g.
sports, games, dance or gym
 Homework or tests

What did your family do?
 As before, use prompts during this conversation to ensure
that a wide variety of possible barriers are discussed, e.g.
‘That sounds as though it was difficult for you…’.
 The student records the negative factors he or she feels are
important on the chart (or on the whiteboard or magnetic
board) by sticking a picture, drawing a picture or writing a
description of these factors next to the X at the bottom of the
paper.
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
Joining the marks
 Ask the student to join the two marks and to put a cross on
the line where he or she feels today in relation to happiness
at school. For most children the mark for ‘today’ will lie
somewhere between the best and worst days. Relevant
factors for ‘today’ can be stuck/drawn/written near to the
cross on the line, as shown in Picture 2.
 Ask the student what it is that has made today the way it is,
e.g. what are the good things and what is making it difficult?
Questions regarding the different people and activities
involved in their day (from the lists above) can be introduced.
 If ‘today’ is equivalent to the student’s best or worst day and
some or all of the factors discussed are the same, these
factors can be marked as relevant, e.g. by adding a ‘T’ for
today.
Picture 2: Marking where individual students feel today
SYMBOLS
Very best day 
Pictures/words
representing
X
supportive
factors or
barriers
X
Today
X
Student’s mark
Student’s line
joining their
best and worst
day
X
Worst day 
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
 The student is asked what would help him or her to move
from today’s position to the best position, for example by
asking:
 What or who makes things okay?
 What makes things better and helps you to have a good
day?
 Any additional support factors or barriers discussed by the
student should be recorded on the chart.
 Alternatively, students may be presented with supportive
factors and barriers that have already been written or placed
on the chart. Students could use separate colours to indicate
supportive factors and barriers.
Analysis of charts
Compare individual charts to establish which factors are being
mentioned more frequently by students as either supportive factors
or barriers during their school day.
Undertaking the activity with a group
Find a quiet space where the group can have a discussion without
being overheard or interrupted.
Agree ground rules, e.g.
 Listen to each other
 No put downs (as in circle time)
 Recognise that we all have different ideas about what helps
and what gets in the way and that it is important that
everyone gets a say
Use a large sheet of paper to record students’ responses, e.g. a
flipchart.
One student at a time
 One student is asked to go first, with the rest of the group
listening, questioning or adding comments.
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
 At the end of the session, the group would consider each
student’s chart and then make a final chart, recording the
factors and barriers common to two or more of the students
in the group.
 Factors mentioned only by one student would be recorded
on the right hand side of the final chart - see Picture 3.
Picture 3: Recording for a group
SYMBOLS
Our very best days 
Pictures/words
representing
supportive
factors or
barriers
Individual
students’
responses
Line dividing
individual
student’s
factors from
group factors
Factors that
improve
the situation
Factors
placed
within
horizontal
lines are
those that
help
improve
the
situation
Our worst days 
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
Group exercise
Alternatively, this activity could also be undertaken jointly as a
group exercise to establish shared supportive or negative factors.
Areas to discuss include those listed above (for individual
students), and recording would be the same as ‘Recording for a
group’ (Picture 3).
Example of how one school carried out this activity
In one school teacher prompted the class to think about school by
using an example from his own school life.
Each pupil was given an A3 sheet of paper with ‘My best day’ at
the top, with a box for a picture and 6 bubbles for them to write in.
In the lower half of the paper, ‘My worst day’ was written. There
were 4 bubbles for negative factors and a box to draw a picture.
There was a line down the right hand side.
The class decided between themselves which factors were most
important in making their best and worst days.
The activity was brought to a close by the teacher commenting that
some things can stay with you for a long time and that you often
remember things that you didn’t like happening. He said that their
ideas may change with time.
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Point to Point: Activity to promote discussion of barriers & supports
Chart for recording best and words days (A3)
Very best day 
Worst day 
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