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Safe Schools Children’s Activities: Living Well Together

1. Introduction and Overview

Welcome to the Safe Schools Children’s Activities! This manual provides detailed instructions on how to plan and implement activities with children focused on social and emotional learning, gender equality, protection and violence prevention, as part of Action Pack 4.

2. Objectives

The overall objectives of the Safe Schools Children’s Activities are to promote the following skills and knowledge in children:

Social and emotional learning: Children develop social and emotional competencies, especially those which support healthy relationship development (e.g. emotional regulation, conflict resolution, empathy, respect for differences and diversity).

Violence Awareness: Children understand different types of violence and how to protect themselves and seek help

Gender Equality: Children understand and promote positive gender norms and gender equitable relationships

In addition to the core learning objectives of the activities, these activities are an important strategy for building child leadership in your Safe Schools project. There are three options for activities with children: In-classroom curriculum, Safe School children’s clubs (during, after school, or on weekends) and informal learning activities. If possible, we recommend supporting children to implement a Safe Schools Children’s Club Project, which will help them promote broader improvements to the school environment and enhance child participation (see annex 1).

3. Planning the activities

This manual provides a starting point of key content and activities in the 3 learning areas above. However, it will always need significant revision and adaptation according to project priorities, local context, culture and government guidelines. It will also require significant preparation and capacity building of facilitators. Below are some key considerations for planning the activities.

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TOPIC 8: DEALING WITH DIFFICULT EMOTIONS Learning Activity: Taming the dragon

TOPIC 9: UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW Learning Activity: From where you stand!

TOPIC 10: DEALING WITH FRUSTRATION Learning activity: I didn’t make the team!

TOPIC 11: RECOGNIZING VIOLENCE Learning Activity: Stories of Violence

TOPIC 12: UNWANTED ATTENTIONLearning activity: Unwanted attention

TOPIC 13: SOURCES OF VIOLENCE Learning Activity: Watch out

TOPIC 14: THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD CHILD TO CHILD RELATIONSHIPS Learning Activity: Understanding what bullying is

TOPIC 15: THE BEST DEFENSE Learning Activity: Good relationships between teachers and children

TOPIC 16: THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS Learning Activity: Good relationships between teachers and children

TOPIC 17: WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN WE SEE VIOLENCE Learning Activity: Good and bad ways to act when you see violence

TOPIC 18: SAFE CIRCLE Learning Activity: Spidergram

TOPIC 19: FEELING SAFE AT SCHOOL Learning activity: Mapping our school and community

TOPIC 20: FEELING SAFE EVEN IN CONFLICT Learning activity: Feeling Safe

ANNEX: SUPPORTING A STUDENT-LED SAFE SCHOOLS PROJECT

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Additional games: As mentioned above, if children find the activity content heavy, then it would be important to add in some games and fun activities in different sessions!

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6. Activities with Children: Detailed InstructionsBelow you will find the detailed instructions to plan and implement each activity with children.

TOPIC 1: WHAT MAKES ME UNIQUE & WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON

Main messages: We each of us have a mix of different characteristics. Our

individual combination of characteristics is unique, but also many of our characteristics we have in common with others we know.

Domains: This activity addresses the following domains: Social and emotional learning

Self-awareness Social awareness

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Discuss: (15 minutes) Tell the children that you like each and every one of the pieces of

artwork because they are each individual and different. Encourage the children to discuss their artwork using the following

questions: “How did you feel while you were making your self-portrait?” “What did you draw or cut out of the magazines?” (note:

Important to find magazines that have people that the children can identify with/that look like them).

“Did you find one or more characteristics that you share with your classmates?”

“If yes, please tell us what they were.” “Are there any characteristics about yourself that you think you

do not share with anyone else in the classroom?”

Wrap up and summarise (2 minutes) Today we learned that there are things about us that we share with

our classmates and others that make us unique or different. We need to learn to value both what is the same and what is different.

Extension for all children 1 (15 minutes) Ask the children to take the pictures they have made and stick them

to their chest/t-shirt. Tell the children to form into groups of 4-5 children – with no child left

out. Give them 2-3 minutes to form the groups. Once they have all formed into a group ask them how they decided

who to include in their group? Repeat the activity asking them to form new groups? Discuss: They often will form groups based on what they have in

common, and not look to try to increase the mix in their groups. But when we do things together with others who are different from us we may come up with new and different ideas, games we don’t know, learn new things.

Extending for all children 2: (15 minutes) Read the following out to the children:

Close your eyes5 and pay attention to what I’m about to tell you: All of us, at one point or another, have felt very alone, and we have missed our friends and classmates. We need them not only to have fun or do group assignments, but also so they can support us. Sometimes, the best times are the ones we share, instead of the ones we spend alone.

Afterwards ask the following questions and listen to the children’s answers. What do you think about what I just told you? Have you ever felt like you were all alone?

5 This Learning Activity is adapted from “Yellow Alert, Red Alert,” Page 81-87 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Third Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/918251527275945409/Teacher-s-Guide-Third-Grade

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http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/918251527275945409/Teacher-s-Guide-Third-Grade


Have you ever wanted to share a joke or an interesting story with a friend, but you weren’t able to?

Have you ever seen someone who was all alone and didn’t have anyone to play with or talk to?

Luckily, all of us have the power to help others so that they don’t feel alone. To do this, we can invite them to have fun with us. This is what we call the power of inclusion.

Some ideas of what you can do to include someone who is feeling different and left out: Ask the person questions so you can get to know her better. Invite her to do something fun, be part of your group in the

classroom or playground. Tell her some things about yourself. Try to think how that person might be feeling and how we would

feel if we were in his place. Gently stop those who are leaving that person out.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (10 minutes) With a group of older children n, ask the following questions and allow them time to discuss their answers with you and among themselves. What is good about spending time with, working, and playing with

children who are the same us? What is good about spending time with, working and playing with

children who are different to us? How would life be different if we were all the same? How would life

be different if we were all completely different?

Repeat: (20 mins)Frequency to be repeated: WEEKLY on first day of each week The teacher should track which children are sitting where in the

classroom, who is sitting next to whom, who wants to sit next to whom, and who often is left out.

After a few weeks the teachers should start a new process for beginning the week… Each week the teachers ensure that the children sit in a different seating arrangement and do not sit with the same people.

At the beginning of each week, when you have made the children sit with someone new, you will pair all the children in the classroom off and allow the children 5 minutes to talk in pairs. Each pair must identify at least 3 things they have in common. They must then share these commonalities with the class.

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TOPIC 2: APPRECIATING AND ACCEPTING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN US

Main messages: When we understand why people have certain opinions,

even if they are different from ours, we learn to appreciate these differences between people, and maybe learnt to be friends.

Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Self-awareness Social awareness Relationship skills Responsible decision making

Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting, and referral) Reinforce SEL skills related to violence prevention: self-concept,

self-efficacy, empathy, conflict mediation, critical thinking, understanding consequences

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1st practice with the sentence: “My favourite colour is blue.” After children have voted by going to stand next to the sign that

matches what they think ask someone to say why they gave that answer (note, this will demonstrate that students will be asked about the reasons for their answers after they ‘vote with their feet’)

2nd practice: “I like to eat sweet foods.” Follow this by asking them the reason for their answer as above. Remind children that it is OK for them to change their mind and

move to a new sign at any time. Remind children that we are not looking for “right” or “wrong”

answers, we are looking for people’s opinions⑦ Read each statement (below) out loud one by one.

Let children vote with their feet each time After all of them have ‘voted,’ ask volunteers to give the

reasons they went to “always,” “sometimes,” or “never.” Note: Ask probing questions and add ideas to challenge any

harmful social or gender norms (see note below)⑧ After completing all the statements, ask children to return to their

seats for discussion.

Activity Statements (note- adapt to context) Reading is more fun than math Dogs are bigger than cats I should try to protect children that are younger than me. Football is the most fun sport If all of my friends are doing something, I must do it also, even if I do not want

to. Girls are smarter than boys*. If I am late to school, I should get caned* Bananas are the most delicious fruit Children with disabilities can be very smart*. It is ok for older children to beat a younger pupil for discipline. If I see a pupil kicking another pupil, I should tell an adult.

Discuss (10 minutes) Ask the children the following three questions:

How did they feel when other children had a different opinion than theirs?

Did what anyone said make them change their mind and want to go to a different sign? If so, why?

What did you learn from this exercise?

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*Note to facilitator: If you include statements related to violence, gender and inclusion (e.g. girls are smarter) the facilitator needs to be well prepared. If statements can reinforce negative gender or social norms this should be questioned and challenged with a well facilitated discussion and probing questions. For example, some children might believe that girls or boys are always smarter, and you should try to ask questions to bring out the idea that both boys and girls can be smart (e.g. do you know boys who are good at math? Do you know girls who are good at reading? Etc), if no and you can refer to your own experience and say something like “I have taught children in many different places and I have seen some very smart girls and very

Wrap up and summarise (3 minutes) Tell the children that everyone has a right to their opinions and a right to

express them. Remind children that people have different opinions and these differences should be respected and not judged.

When you respect others differences it is easier to have conversations with each other about ideas.

Repeat (15 minutes) Frequency to be repeated WeeklyLook for opportunities to facilitate similar questions and discussions around gender stereotypes when students mention what boys or girls “always do” “never do” or “should do”

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (20 minutes)

What makes you feel most different from the other children in the class?

What makes you feel like you are similar to other children? What makes you feel part of the group?

What do you think children do to fit in, to try to be similar to other members of their group?

Why is it good to be the same? Why could it be bad?

TOPIC 3: EVERYONE HAS RIGHTS

Main messages All of us, including children, have human rights. You have

these rights whoever you are, whoever your parents are, whatever the colour of your skin, whatever religion you belong to, whatever language you speak, whether you have a disability or not, whether you are rich or poor or whether you are a girl or a boy.

DomainsThis activity addresses the following domains

Social and emotional learning Self-awareness Social awareness

What we will learn today: Understanding what children’s

rights are That there is an international

agreement called the United

What we will need: Paper & markers (to draw the

right)

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Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that says what rights every child has, no matter who they are, or where they live

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness

activity 45 minutes – learning activity 5 minutes – wrap up 15 minutes – activity with 13-

16 y.o. 5 minutes ongoing – repeat

activity

Where will we be: Inside or outside is fine, as

long as there is room to work in small groups

Preparations Facilitators should be familiar with the UN Convention on the Rights

of the Child. Here is a good child friendly version. It would be great to have a few copies of this that the children can look at.

Cut out the slips of paper for the Draw Your Rights activity. Or, you can just write the words them on pieces of paper if you don’t want to cut them out.

Mindfulness activityMindful breathing8 (5 minutes) Get the children to sit in a comfortable position and ask them to close

their eyes. Next, ask how their breath feels as they draw it into themselves, and

then as it leaves. Ask them to put a hand on their own belly, so that they will be able to

feel the rise and the fall of their breath. Do this about five times – five inhales, five exhales. After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they

might be aware of, then invite them to let go of those thoughts and feelings.

Ask them to imagine that the thoughts and feelings are bubbles, floating away, as they return to their breathing.

Repeat the five breaths – five in, five out – and do this as many times as feels right.

Learning activity outline

Say: (10 min) “Rights” are things every child should have or be able to do to make

sure they stay alive, safe, healthy, and learn and develop to their potential. Girls and boys have the same rights. These rights are listed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Almost every country has agreed to these rights. All the rights are connected to

8 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com

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http://www.heysigmund.com/

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/content/dam/global/reports/uncrc-child-friendly-version1.pdf

each other, and all are equally important. As you grow, you have more responsibility to make choices and use your rights.9

What rights do you think that you have? Listen to the children’s reactions and responses Then, give some examples of what children’s rights are:

To be alive and safe To have care for their health Protection from violence and being hurt An education that enables children to fulfil their potential Express their opinions and be listened to.

Then say: “Why do you think it’s important to know what children’s rights are?

Listen to their reactions and responses. You could say:o You need to know your rights so you can do something or

ask others for help if your rights are not respected.o If you don’t know your rights, it’s harder to stand up for

yourself and others if you are in a dangerous or unsafe situation.

o You need to know about rights so you can respect the rights of others.

And then, say: “We’re going to talk about what rights we have and what you can do if you feel like you can’t access your rights.”

Do: Draw Your Rights (20 minutes)10

① Tell the children: “Today we’re going to break into small groups. I’m going to give

each group a piece of paper with a right written on it and markers. Don’t share this with the other groups. In small groups, try to draw your right.”

Article 28 You have the right to education Article 15 You have the right to be with friends and join or set up clubs, unless this breaks the rights of others. Article 12 You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously Article 37 You have the right not to be punished in a cruel or hurtful way Article 24 You have a right to the best health possible and to medical care and to information that will help you to stay well. Article 19 You have the right to be protected from being hurt or badly treated.

9 Adapted in part from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Girl Shine Life Skills curriculum: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/girl-shine10 Adapted in part from Equitas’s Play it Fair Toolkit: https://equitas.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TK_PIF_Sample_2014_FINAL_copyright_web.pdf

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https://equitas.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TK_PIF_Sample_2014_FINAL_copyright_web.pdf

https://equitas.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TK_PIF_Sample_2014_FINAL_copyright_web.pdf

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/girl-shine

Article 32 You have the right to protection from work that is bad for your health or education

② Walk around as the children draw their pictures. Help them if they are stuck or ask for advice. These are hard ideas to draw, but see what they come up with.

③ Then, give each group a turn to present their picture. All the other children will need to guess what right it is. If they are very stuck, you can help. Don’t worry if they don’t get the language perfect, just the general idea of what the right is.

Discuss (15 minutes) After the exercise, ask the following questions and listen to the

children’s answers: What can you do if you don’t think you have access to some of

the rights that we just talked about? You can remind the children of the rights that you mentioned earlier:

To be alive and safe To have care for their health Protection from violence and being hurt An education that enables children to fulfil their

potential Express their opinions and be listened to.

o Possible answers: Talk to a teacher, a parent, or another adult, join together with a group of other children to ask for a change

What could you do to support a friend or another child if you knew that they didn’t have access to some of their rights?o Possible answers: You could talk to your friend and remind

them that they have rights. You would work together with others and try to bring it to the attention of adults.

Wrap up and summarise (5 min) Your rights are what you must have and what people responsible

for you have to do for you. They should all make sure you are happy, safe, healthy, able to study and speak up about things which are important to you.

You have these rights, whoever you are, whoever your parents are, whatever the colour of your skin, whatever religion you belong to, whatever language you speak, whether you have a disability or not, whether you are rich or poor or whether you are a girl or a boy.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children Introduce the idea of participation rights in more detail. Make sure

it’s still connected to this idea that children and youth have the right to be protected.

Say “Children have the right to be included in making decisions about things that affect them; and adults -- through family, community and government -- have the responsibility to protect these rights. Adults can show their support for and recognize

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children’s contribution to society by turning the ideas of children into reality. Children are truly participating when adults listen carefully to their ideas and take their suggestions seriously.”

Children and youth should be able to participate in decisions about how to make sure that their homes, schools, and communities are safe places for all young people.

Lead a discussion about how young people’s opinions are taken into account when it comes to making sure that they feel safe. First, talk about the home environment and participating in decision-making, then schools, and then community-level participation. Some questions you could ask include:

o How are children and youth consulted or asked their opinion in different environments?

o What ideas might children and youth have that are different than adults?

o How could adults/community leaders do a better job of including children and youth in the decision-making process?

Wrap up: Decide on an action that members of the group could take if they want to try to participate in their communities.

RepeatFrequency to be repeated: ongoing When you are talking about other topics, remind children that they

have rights, and that they are able to tell advocate for themselves if they don’t think their rights are being met.

TOPIC 4: POWER AND INCLUSION

Main messages: In society there are different types of power – power in itself is

not bad but it is how we use that power that makes a difference and can be harmful

In society some people are given more power than others with harmful consequences when one person exerts more power than another.

We should be free to exercise power within our own lives but not over other people

Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and emotional learning


Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and referral) School climate/social norms

Gender norms Power and status

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What we will learn today: Children will understand the different dimensions of power and how that can make us stronger within, but also how power can be used in society to cause harm.

What we will need: Flipchart paper Sticky tape A5 paper or card

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 60 minutes – learning activity 15 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. 15 minutes – repeat activity

Where will we be: A space that is large enough for the children to walk around and talk to each other.

Guidance for facilitators: There are different types of power and children should

understand that misusing this power is not correct. In relationships such as teacher-student, older child-younger child, boy-girl, there may be power imbalances. Because of this, the person with less power may have no say and become a target of violence or abuse. Often those with less power have their feelings and needs ignored.

Power in itself is not bad. Power means strength and it is how we use this strength that makes a difference. Having power is central to oppression and discrimination, but it is also central to empowerment.

Broadly, we talk of four different types of power:o Power Over: this implies having control over someone or

a situation in a negative way, and being able to make others do what you want or feel a certain way. Related words include: repression, force, dominate, oppress

o Power With: having power with others is being connected, getting together to share ideas and act even where there are differences.Related words include: collective action, solidarity, support, collaboration

o Power Within: having power within is being confident and believing in your own skills and abilities. Related words include: self-esteem, agency, confidence, will, self-belief

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o Power To: is having choices to is having choices to act to pursue our own goals and to support others. Related words include: action, supporting, encouragement, inclusion, bringing others in

When we talk of ‘empowerment’ we often talk of the following:o Choice – a person’s ability to make and influence choices

that affect their lives and futureso Voice – a person’s ability to express their beliefs, emotions

and needs, and share in discussions and decision-makingo Agency – a person’s ability to take action and pursue

goals, and make decisions over their own bodies, futures and lives.

Power is closely related to fulfilment of rights (previous session) people who have more power to do what they want and have power over others will generally be able to access and demand their rights more.

Preparations: Prepare flipchart paper with the following story, once you have

adapted the names and details for your context, leaving blank spaces as indicated:

o Paul and Mary go to the same school. They are friends and both like mathematics. As individuals they both have power (a)_________ themselves and are confident that they deserve to go to a good school. John also goes to the same school. John has a little sister but they argue a lot because he tries to use his power (b)_________ her to control what games she plays and make her do all the household chores. Mary and Paul don’t like seeing John be mean to his little sister, so Mary joins power (c)_______ Paul to speak up to John and encourage him to be kind and supportive to his sister. They explain that if he helps his sister with the household chores, she will have more time to study. John understands and agrees to be kinder to his sister. Together they decide to use their power (d) ________ encourage all girls and boys to share chores at home.

Write up four pieces of flipchart paper, each saying one of the types of power:

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Note on Adaptation: The activity using the reading above may require significant adaptation. Language: The translation of the text and different types of power will need very careful translation- in some languages the meaning may not be changed with prepositions (over, with, within, to) but will need different words entirely. Level: The above reading may be difficult for some children under the age of 12 so you may need to pilot and adapt this if necessary. The key point is that there is bad power (dominating over others) and good power (self-confidence and helping others), see below for ideas on how to simplify.

Power ToPower OverPower WithPower Within

On card or pieces of paper write one of the following examples on each:

“Shut up and sit down”

“I think if we work together we can make a positive

change”

“What can I do to support you?”

“I think you’ve got important things to say”

“How do you think we could solve this

problem?”

“I deserve to be here”

“I’m really good at science”

“I want to be a doctor when I

grow up”

“She’s so ugly her skin is so bad”

“You’re just being

emotional”

“What do you think Grace?”

“Why don’t we practice our French

together?”“You’re

education is not very

important”

“I can help you with your

homework if you would like me to”

“If you work hard you can achieve big

things”

Mindfulness activity

Mindful breathing11 (5 minutes) Get the children to sit in a comfortable position and ask them to

close their eyes. Ask them to imagine they are walking in a beautiful garden. Ask them to imagine a colourful flower on the ground in front of

them. Encourage them to think about what the flower looks like and

smells like. Next, they should open their eyes. Ask them to bend down and ‘pick’ their flower, and hold it up in

their right hand. Now they should imagine a table next to them, with a candle on

the table. Ask them to ‘pick up’ the candle with their left hand. Then they should smell the flower (demonstrate deep slow

breathe in) and then blow out the candle (demonstrate slow breath out).

11 This mindfulness activity is adapted from the Save the Children HEART (Healing and Education through the Arts) toolkit

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Repeat in and out breathes (smelling the flower and blowing out the candle) five times.

Learning Activity: What is power? (Part One)12

Say: (3 minutes) Explain that the purpose of this activity is to think about power

and what that means for each of us as individuals and as groups

Explain that we will be reflecting on our own experiences

Do: (20 minutes) ① Write the word “power” in the middle of a large square of

flipchart paper.② Ask participants to take turns contributing words and

expressions that mean “power.”③ Write all contributions on the flipchart, around the word

“power.” Keep this process at the pace of a fast brainstorm. (Contributions could include: strength, ability, authority, violence, force, prestige, control, money, energy, etc.)

④ Thank participants for their contributions.⑤ Ask and discuss: “Would you consider power as a good thing or

a bad thing? Why?”⑥ Explain: “There are many types of power, it can be used

positively or negatively. In this next exercise we will explore how power can take different forms.”

⑦ Hang the prepared flipchart with the story on the wall about Paul, Mary and John. Make sure you also read out the story aloud especially if children may struggle with reading.

⑧ Read the story on the flipchart. Read “mmmm” when you encounter a gap in the text.

⑨ Now read the story again and pause during the blank spaces. After each pause, ask participants to think about what they thing the missing word is.

⑩ Discuss until you reach an agreement.⑪ As a group complete the missing words accordingly:

a. Withinb. Overc. Withd. To

12 This activity has been adapted by the Sasa! Start Training module p.7

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Note: As mentioned above, if you think the fill-in-blanks activity is too difficult, you could read the story with all the words and then the students to identify when the word “power” (e.g. raise hands when they hear it) and then you can pause to discuss whether it is “good” or “bad” power in each case

⑫ Explain: “There are different kinds of power: power within oneself, power over someone, power with others and power to do something. Power can be used positively or negatively.”

Learning Activity: What is power? (Part Two)13

Do: (10 minutes)⑬ Using the prepared flipchart papers, stick one with tape on

each wall so that you have four walls labelled:- Power Over- Power Within- Power With - Power To

⑭ Using the story from Part One of this learning activity, as a group encourage children to think in turn what each of these types of power means. Use the definitions and examples in the notes to facilitator to help guide this.

Say: (3 minutes)

⑮ Once children are comfortable with the different types of power, explain that you will now explore this in more detail to see what this types of power look like in our day to day lives.

⑯ Give pairs of children (or groups of 3 depending on class size) one of the pieces of paper with quotes prepared.

⑰ Ask them to read the paper and discuss in their pair/group which type of power they thing their statement would be demonstrating. They should move around the room and stand by the type of power that they think reflects their statement best. If they stand between two types of power because they think it might be a bit of both, that is okay – sometimes it is not always clear and is open for interpretation.

Do: (20 minutes)⑱ Go around the room asking each pair/group to read out their

statement and explain why they have chosen that type of power.

⑲ If they are unsure, ask other children if they agree or disagree with which type of power they have chosen and why.

⑳ Guide them to the correct answers (remember there is space for interpretation) using the below guidance:

“Shut up and sit down”

Power Over: this statement is authoritative but not supportive, stopping the other person from having any voice.

“I think you’ve got Power To: this statement is encouraging

13 This activity has been adapted with permission by the UK Fearless Futures Schools Peer Power Toolkit for adolescent girls http://www.fearlessfutures.org/schools/

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http://www.fearlessfutures.org/schools/

important things to say”

someone else to have confidence in their own voice.

“I’m really good at science”

Power Within: this statement shows self-confidence in a person’s own ability to succeed

“I think if we work together we can make a positive change”

Power With: this statement is encouraging collective action and support between individuals as a group

“I want to be a doctor when I grow up”

Power Within: this statement shows confidence in the person’s own skills and ability to succeed

“What do you think Grace?”

Power To: this statement is encouraging another person to share their thoughts and speak up

“What can I do to support you?”

Power To: this statement gives someone the opportunity to voice their needs

“I have a right to go to school”

Power Within: this statement shows confidence to participate

“She’s so ugly her skin is so bad”

Power Over: this statement is exerting power over someone by using your voice to make them feel bad and lower their confidence

“Why don’t we practice our French together?”

Power With: this statement is encouraging a supportive and collective group

Discuss: (10 minutes)㉑ Give children 1-2 minutes to think about what they have learnt during this activity. Then ask:

a. What did you learn about power?b. Was there anything that surprised you?

㉒ Encourage children to reflect on the different types of power they learned about:

a. What are the positives of power?b. When can power cause harm?c. What can we do to give power to others?

㉓ Finally, encourage children to reflect on what this means in their communities:

a. Do some people have more power than others in society?

b. Do they use that power as power over or power to and power with?

Wrap up and summarise (2 minutes) There are different types of power that can be used positively

or negatively We all have power within us even if at times we don’t realise it.

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Mention the importance of being aware of the power we have and how we can use that to shut down others, or to encourage and support them

Using our power over someone else is an abuse of that person’s rights

Remind children that we all have power within and should be supported by the people around us to nurture that power

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children:14 (15 minutes) Give each participant two pieces of paper Ask them to sit in pairs Each pair should come up with their own power statements,

one for each of the four types of power: power with, power within, power to, power over

Ask the group to share back their statements and which type of power they are

Repeat: (15 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING On a day-to-day basis when there are disputes in the classroom

between individuals or between groups of children, once the immediate anger and dispute has been resolved look to find a calm moment to discuss the following questions: Who in the situation has more power? Why does this person have more power? How are they using the power? Is it possible for someone to resolve the argument using

their power in a good way?

TOPIC 5: WHAT DO GIRLS AND BOYS LIKE?

Main messages: Sex and gender are different concepts. Sex refers to the

biological characteristics that we are born with e.g. ‘male’ or ‘female’ genitalia, puberty etc. Gender is the socially constructed roles, behaviours and attributes that society considers appropriate for girls, boys, women and men.

Girls and boys can like the same or different things regardless of whether they are bots or girls.

Domains: This activity addresses the following domains

14 This activity has been adapted by the Sasa! Start Training module p.11

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Social and emotional learning Self-awareness Social awareness


Gender norms Gender concepts and identities Gender equality Power and status

What we will learn today: To question cultural stereotypes about what boys and girls like.

What we will need: 10 signs – see details below Adhesive putty

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 45 minutes – learning activity 15 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. 15 minutes and on-going – repeat activity

Where will we be: Inside with a blank wall or board where you can stick the signs

Preparations: Before carrying out this activity the teacher must think about

the words they will use. What vocabulary exists in the language you are using? Is there a word for gender? If there is, will the children know the word gender?

Maybe teachers should not use the words “sex” and “gender” but rather explain that there is a difference between: The parts of your body you are born with (SEX) The ideas and ‘rules’ that society teaches you about how

you should behave and what roles you should do at home and in the community (GENDER)

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SEX versus GENDER15

SEX GENDER Biological (male or female) Universal (factors are the

same around the world) Born with Generally unchanging (with

the exception of surgery) Does not vary between or

within cultures

Socially constructed roles, responsibilities and behaviors (masculine or feminine)

Cultural Learned Changes over time Varies within and between

cultures

The teacher should change the names in the short stories given in the text box “Short stories about she likes, he likes.” The names used should be clearly either boys or girls names, and should be names commonly used in the context.

The teacher will need to prepare the 10 signs before the activity. Each sign will have one of the following phrases written on it (note: adapt to cultural context)1 “The Colour Pink” 2 “The Colour Blue” 3 “The Colour Yellow” 4 “The Colour Green” 5 “Riding a Bike” 6 “Reading” 7 “Playing Soccer / Football” 8 “Dancing” 9 “Smelling flowers” 10 “Playing with cars”

When children are too small to read you can make visual signs – see the diagram below for ideas on how to prepare visual signs

Example visual signs

15 Page 48 of Doorways III: Teacher Training Manual On School-Related Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response, United States Agency for International Development Office of Women in Development, March 2009, http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/

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http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/


Mindful breathing16 (5 minutes) Get the children to sit in a comfortable position and ask them to close







Learning Activity: She likes, He likes17

Say: (2 minutes) Today we are going to do an activity that shows us that girls and

boys may both enjoy the same things, or they may enjoy different things.

16 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com 17 This Learning Activity is adapted from “He Likes, She Likes,” Page 135-139 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Third Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/918251527275945409/Teacher-s-Guide-Third-Grade The World Bank activity, is in turn an adaptation from Miller, A. “Boys Like, Girls Like, Kids Like.” www.humaneducation.org

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http://www.humaneducation.org/




Who likes sweet foods more? Who likes salty food more? Who likes to watch television? Who likes to run? Listen to your children’ answers

Today we’re going to talk a little more about the things we like and who likes what.

Do: (35 minutes total)

① First divide your board or large paper into three equal width columns by drawing two vertical lines all the way from the top to the bottom of the board, equal distance apart. At the top of the first column write the word “Girls”; at the top of the third column write “Boys.” Leave the second column blank for now.

Girls Boys

② Discussion ( this discussion should take 10-15 mins) Tell the children: “We’re going to try to make some predictions. Do you know

what a prediction is? It’s when we try to guess something that’s going to happen.

I’m going to show you some signs with words on them that talk about colours, activities, or games, and you’re going to try to predict whether that colour, activity, or game is something that a boy or a girl would like more. We’re going to hang each sign in the column that says “Boys” or the column that says “Girls,” based on your predictions. In those cases where we can’t agree, we’re going to take a vote to decide in which column we should hang it.”

③ Take out the signs you have made and show them to the group of children one-by one

④ Ask the children to tell you which column each of the signs should be stuck in

⑤ If you have the time you may want to ask them a general question: General question “Do girls like this more or boys?” Or a specific question addressed to individual children “Do you

like this?” to see if there is a pattern in responses from the girls and boys.

It will take longer if you do both, but you will be able to highlight how there is difference between what individual children – girls and boys – like and what society expects individuals – girls and boys – to like.

⑥ After you have put all the signs up in a column; begin the story (this part will take 20-25 mins)Tell the children: “Now I’m going to read you some very short stories. The

children in the stories I am telling you are the same age as you. We’re going to find out how many of our predictions match what we’re about to read.”

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“For each story, I would like a volunteer / child to come up to the blackboard and help me to put the sign where it should go. If necessary, you’ll have to change the column or put it in the third column.”

“When I am telling the stories listen very carefully. “When the story talks about a colour or activity that a girl is

doing but we put it in the boys’ column – we are going to put that colour or activity in the middle – blank – column.”

“When the story talks about a colour or activity that a boy is doing but we put it in the girls’ column – we are going to put that colour or activity in the middle – blank – column.”

“When the sign is in a column that matches what the story says (for example, we put the sign in the boys’ column and the text says that this is something that a boy likes), we’re going to leave it where it is.”

⑦ Read each of the stories in the text box in turn, allowing a volunteer to come up and place the signs in the correct column after each story before going on to the next story.

Short stories about she likes, he likes Lamin loves the colour pink and riding a bicycle. He especially

likes riding his bicycles through the grass in the park near his house so he can smell the wild flowers as he speeds through. Lamin can ride through his whole neighborhood on his bike in less than ten minutes! If the signs that say “the colour pink,” “riding a bicycle”

and/or “smelling flowers” are in the girls’ column, the volunteer who has come up to the blackboard should take them down and hang them in the third column. If they are in the boys’ column, the volunteer can leave them where they are. Guide the activity using this procedure for each one of the following examples.

Sophia likes to read in the mornings and play soccer in the afternoons. Her team’s uniform is blue. Blue has now become her favourite colour.

Muhammad loves the colour yellow and he also likes to dance. Every afternoon when he gets home from school, he dances with his sister Milena so he can practice new dance moves.

Ana likes the colour green and she loves to play with toy cars. When she grows up, she wants to run her own car repair garage.

⑧ Show the children how in the middle column, we can now see some colours, activities, or games that we originally thought were for boys, but in the stories we heard that girls like them too. We can also see some colours, activities, or games that we originally thought were for girls, but in the stories we heard that boys can like them too.

⑨ Emphasise that there is NOTHING in the world that all boys like, and NOTHING that all girls like. Children are all individuals.

⑩ Ask the children what title they want to give this middle column then write the title they choose in the column for them.

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Diagram showing a possible outcome when you ask children what they think girls and boys like and when you ask them what girls and boys really like

Discuss: (15 minutes) Today you all did a great job identifying colours, activities, and

games that both boy and girls can like. Can you think of more examples of other colours, activities, games,

etc., that we may think are only for boys or only for girls, but which in fact both boys and girls can like?

What other things do you think both boys and girls can share?

Wrap up and summarise (2 minutes) Sometimes, there are people, songs, films, stories, pictures, etc.,

that all tell us that certain colours, activities, games, etc., are FOR boys and that other colours, activities, games, etc. are FOR girls. The truth is that there are many things – colours, activities, games, etc. that both boys and girls can like. Also – not all boys like the same things, not all girls like the same things.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (15 minutes) Present and discuss the idea of stereotypes:

We can define a stereotype as a widely held fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or category of people. We assume that the idea is true for each and every individual within the broad category of people. But it is not always true.

Share some examples of stereotypes that are relevant to the setting. For example that men are doctors, lawyers, and policepersons because they are smart and strong, and women are housewives because they are better at taking care of the home and children. Be very careful about what you say and how you say it – you need to be clear you are listing frequently used stereotypes but that you do not agree with all these stereotypes.

Ask the children to share some examples they can give. Examples may include: Girls are good at cooking and boys are

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Facilitator’s note: In some contexts and with some groups of children, they may bring up the biological differences between girls and boys (sex). The purpose of this activity is not teach children the concepts of sex and gender, but if it does come up in discussion or you want to include this, then you may refer to the explanations in the preparation section.

good at throwing balls. Old people are forgetful. Children are loud and silly.

Discuss the stereotypes with the children: Do the children sometimes feel that what they as individuals do

or like does not fit with the stereotypes and other people’s expectations of them?

What happens when they do not do or like things as is expected?

How does this make them feel? Conclude by stating that stereotypes about what girls or boys should

do or like can restrict girls and boys’ choices and impact on their education and future work.

NOTE: In settings where it is possible to talk about sexual orientation (discuss as a team/with TA on whether there is political, legal and social restrictions on this), it would be worth also mentioning and listing negative expressions against those of diverse sexual orientation, such as “that is so gay,” “that’s so queer,” and “you are such a fag.” These are forms of discrimination against those of diverse sexual orientation.

Repeat: (30 mins)The following are two options for repeat activities that can be used to turn the knowledge acquired through the activity above into practice. You do not have to do all three of these, see which is most suitable to the group

of

children you are working with. Frequency to be repeated: 15-25 MINUTE ACTIVITY IS A ONE-OFF TO BE FOLLOWED BY ON-GOING DISCUSSION OF HARMFUL LANGUAGE Develop a list with the children of the types of harmful expressions

that reinforce negative stereotypes about girls and boys. You may want to list common expressions both in the language that you are using in the classroom as well as any other languages the children use at home. In English examples include: “He throws like a girl” “Boys don’t

cry” “That’s not very ladylike” “He cries like a girl” “You walk like a man” (when said to a girl) “Man up” and “Be a man”

Other stereotypes may include:18

Girls Boys CaregiverMotherGossipEmotionalBossyPrettyPrincess

Risk-takerToughProtectorHead of household Decisive Breadwinner Strict

18 Trends drawn from Gender Equality e-Learning 2018 which was based on SC feedback of gender stereotypes across multiple countries and continents.

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Alternative/Additional Resources: More comprehensive activities on gender roles and stereotypes can be found in the IRC Girl Shine manual, specifically: i) looking at chores (pg 240) ii) Agree/disagree (pg 241)

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/11943/pdf/irc-girl-shine-part-2.pdf

PassiveDelicatePureWeak

Man of the houseStrongDo not cry Decisive

Discuss these stereotypes:Can boys be caring and kind?Can girls be brave and strong?Can both girls and boys like sports or reading?

What is the impact of these stereotypes on girls and boys?What would you say to people in your community who believe these stereotypes? What examples would you use to change their minds?

Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING DISCUSSION OF HARMFUL LANGUAGE TO FOLLOW ON FROM THE 15 MINUTE ACTIVITY ABOVE Whenever a child uses one of these expressions, or says something

that is reinforcing a stereotype: Identify the phrase they have used. Ask the child to think through why this might be harmful. Explain why it is a problem to use such sentences. Try to find an alternative together that is more positive. If an individual child uses a harmful expression, to avoid humiliating the child, this may be best done in a one-to-one conversation. If it is a group of children who are all talking this way then the discussion can take place with the whole group.

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TOPIC 6: GENDER EQUALITY

Main messages: Both men and women can be and are equally successful at the

same jobs, even though children may have learned that some occupations are only for women and some occupations are only for men.


Self awareness Social awareness



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Cook Hair dresser Gardener Doctor Cleaner Banker

Put these pieces of paper in a container for children to draw the job picture from.

Divide your board or large sheet of paper into 4 columns (see below) and put the headings at the top of each column

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After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they might be aware of, then invite them to let go of those thoughts and feelings.



Learning Activity: What does he do? What does she do? What do you want to do?20

Say: (2 minutes) Explain that the purpose of this activity is to become aware of what

men and women are able to do for their jobs.

Note: It is hoped that children will learn through the activity that men and women can be successful at the same jobs, even where the jobs are normally thought to be certain jobs that are just for men and certain other jobs that are just for women. However, you don’t need to tell children that at the beginning as they should explore this through the activity.

Do: (25 minutes)

① Ask for a volunteer to come up and pick one of the pictures out of the container or box. They should then call out to the rest of the group what the job pictured on the paper is. Help them if they cannot read or identify what job the picture shows. They should then the picture of the job on the board in the column under the heading ‘Job’.

② Ask the group the following questions: Can a woman do this job? Can a man do this job?

③ Organise a vote for each job: Ask the children to raise their hands if they think this is a job

mainly for a woman. Count the hands and write this number under the word ‘woman’.

Do the same for “man”. Finally ask children to raise their hands if they think that this job

is for both a man and a woman. Count the hands and write this number under the word ‘both’.

④ Repeat this activity for as many of the occupations as possible and as long as time allows. (20 minutes)

Discuss (15 minutes) Guide children to understand that men and woman can have the

same jobs. Point to jobs that most children felt were more for a woman. Ask

children: Why they think these jobs are mainly for a woman.

20 This is an adaptation of an original work developed under the USAID/Uganda USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This activity is based on Activity 20: “Equal Job Opportunities,” Pages 80 – 82, Journeys: Activity Handbook for Children, Research Triangle Institute, 2017.

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Can they give examples of when this job is acceptable for a man?

Can they give examples of men they know who do these jobs?If examples don’t exist in your local community, try and draw on wider examples from other parts of the country.

Point to jobs that most children felt were more for a man. Ask children: Why they think these jobs are mainly for a man. Can they give examples of when this job is acceptable for a

woman? Can they give examples of women they know who do these

jobs? Ask the children;

What is the impact on us if we say that only men can do some jobs, and only women can do others?

If they feel they are allowed to do any job they want in the future?

If not, then what will stop them doing the job they want? How could they change the things that might stop them?

Wrap up and summarise (2 minutes) Wrap up by explaining that even though children may have learned

that some jobs are only for women and other jobs are only for men, both men and women can be and are equally good at the same jobs.

Extension activity for all children (15 minutes)

If you have been able to find some individuals who have jobs that do not fit with societies expectations for their sex or gender, then invite them to the group and they are able to come to the group on the day of the activity. Or you could also find a local video about such a person. Carry out the following exercise. Introduce the children to the person Ask the person to talk very briefly about what they do, how they

learnt how to do what they do, and how long they have been doing it Ask the children if they have any questions they want to ask about

the job they do Conclude by thanking the person for their time


Discuss with children what subjects they think girls are better at and what subjects they think boys are better at. Discuss all the subjects that you offer children in your school: science, history, geography, languages, reading, poetry, art

Ask the children to list the subjects they think girls do better in; and the subjects they think boys do better in; and the subjects where they think girls and boys perform the same.

Now ask the children to think about which subjects lead to which jobs?

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Clarify that the stereotypes of what job a woman or a man can do may lead to children being pushed from an early age to study certain subjects and not others. So it may seem like boys or girls prefer a certain subject but this can be because of stereotypes and what they are expected to do- in reality boys and girls could be good at the same subjects.

Question: where do these stereotypes come from? What messages do we get about what our roles should be in society? E.g. media, toys, different chores, books

You can also read out the following story, see how the children answer, and then discuss the answer. Typically, most will assume the surgeon is a man and must be the father, but the surgeon is the mother. “A father and son were involved in a car accident in which the

father was killed and the son was seriously injured.. The son was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and was immediately wheeled into an emergency operating room. A surgeon was called. Upon arrival and seeing the patient, the attending surgeon exclaimed “Oh my, it’s my son!’ Can you explain this?”

Repeat: (5 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING DISCUSSION OF HARMFUL LANGUAGE Try to get the children to question the stereotypes they see around

them all the time. Whenever you are using a text book, reading a book, or the children

are watching someone on television in a job or role discuss if it is reinforcing what people expect or if it is challenging what people expect from someone who is a woman or man?

TOPIC 6: POWER AND GENDER

Main messages: Some people have privileges over others, often based on

gender, economic status, or being part of a majority group. Being a boy or man, being older, and having authority, money, or physical strength can mean you are allowed to have power over others in society.

People sometimes don’t like others because they are different to them. These prejudices + power = discrimination. These differences in power can also lead to violence. However, people can also chose to use the power given to them by society to help others and build a positive school.

Using power well is the responsibility of everyone.



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What we will learn today: Children will understand how some people are given more privilege in society than others, meaning that they have unearned power. Children will explore the relationship between gender and power.

What we will need: Stones/pebbles Role cards Sheets of paper

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 35 minutes – learning activity one30 minutes – alternative learning activity for older children15 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. 5 minutes – repeat activity

Where will we be: A space that is large enough for the children to walk around and talk to each other.

Preparations: Gather enough pebbles/stones or marbles for there to be

enough for 5 per pupil (you could also use pennies, scraps of paper or pencils). They should be small and light enough for children to pick up handfuls.

Write up the following role cards on individual pieces of paper, adapting to your context:A head teacher A nurseAn 8 year old girl at school A 15 year old boy in schoolA male community chief A fatherA mother A 14 year old girl out of

schoolThe president A refugee girlAn old man in a poor household

A woman with a disability with difficulty walking

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Mindful breathing21 (5 minutes) Get the children to sit in a comfortable position and ask them to

close their eyes. Ask them to imagine they are walking in a beautiful garden. Ask them to imagine a colourful flower on the ground in front of

them. Encourage them to think about what the flower looks like and

smells like. Next, they should open their eyes. Ask them to bend down and ‘pick’ their flower, and hold it up in

their right hand. Now they should imagine a table next to them, with a candle on

the table. Ask them to ‘pick up’ the candle with their left hand. Then they should smell the flower (demonstrate deep slow

breathe in) and then blow out the candle (demonstrate slow breath out).

Repeat in and out breathes (smelling the flower and blowing out the candle) five times.

Learning Activity One: Power stones22

Discuss: (10 minutes) Remind children to think back to the session where they

discussed the different types of power. Can they remember the four different types and what they

meant? Recap briefly

Do: (10 minutes) 1 Do not explain the activity to the children before you start. 2 Lay out all the stones (or equivalent tokens – see preparations)

on the floor. 3 Then, give out following roles, splitting the room into four groups:

a. Group 1 must sit at the side of the room and cannot pick up any stones

b. Group 2 can only pick up stones using a sheet of paper c. Group 3 have the power to ask anyone in the room for their

stones at any time, and the person has to pass them over.

21 This mindfulness activity is adapted from the Save the Children HEART (Healing and Education through the Arts) toolkit 22 This activity has been adapted with permission by the UK Fearless Futures Schools Peer Power Toolkit for adolescent girls http://www.fearlessfutures.org/schools/

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http://www.fearlessfutures.org/schools/

d. Group 4 can play normally – they can use their hands to pick up stones but they also cannot take stones from other groups.

4 Make it very clearly that the roles have been randomly. 5 Then explain that you will have a race, to see who can pick up

the most stones. They will only have 3 minutes to get as many stones as they can, but they have to remember the rules they have each been given.

6 Ensure everyone is clear on their own roles and the task7 Give the group a 3 --- 2 ---- 1---- count down to start!8 Give the group 3 minutes and then ask them to sit back down.

Discuss: (15 minutes) Once the group has sat back down, reflect with them on how

different experiences for the children with different roles:o Who ended up with the most stones?o Why do we think this is?o Who ended up with the least? Why?

Now encourage the group to think about how they felt in the different roles? Particularly focus on the people that had a harder job getting stones or were left out entirely:

o How did it feel to have to sit at the side and not pick up any stones?

o How did it feel to only be able to use a sheet of paper?o How did it feel to have your stones taken by another

group?

Finally, encourage the group to reflect on what the game means in wider society:

o Was it fair rules?o In real life, do some people have an easier time than

others? Do some people face unfair restrictions?o Who might these people be? (E.g. girls, people with

disabilities, people with less money)o What can we do to make it more fair?

Alternative Activity for 13-16 year olds: Power walk23

The following activity could be used with older groups as an alternative or addition to the pebble activity as it has similar learning objectives but requires more critical thinking that younger children may find difficult.

23 This activity has been adapted from the ICRW Gender Equity Movement in Schools – Training Manual for Facilitators page 67. http://www.ungei.org/Gender-Equality-Movement-in-Schools-Training-Manual.pdf

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http://www.ungei.org/Gender-Equality-Movement-in-Schools-Training-Manual.pdf


Say: (5 minutes) Ask children (all or a group of children depending on class size)

to line up in a row. They will need plenty of space to move around.

Explain that you are going to give each pupil a role card, and then read out some statements.

If the statement applies to them then they must take a step forward!

Do: (10 minutes) Give out the role cards randomly – see preparations. Try to

ensure that you mix it up between boys and girls, so not all the male role cards go to boys etc.

Remind children if they think they can do something as their role, they should take one step forward.

If they think they cannot do something, they should stay standing where they are.

Read out the following statements, ensuring after each one children are able to make a quick decision of whether they want to step forward or stay standing. There are no right answers here.

Statements:o Who has power to tell other people in the community

what to do? If you, step forward!o Who could easily go to secondary school? If you, step

forward!o Who does not have to cook food?o Who can talk loudly at home?o Who can play football and sport?o Who does not have to cook and clean?o Who can travel easily?o Who feels safe walking alone in their community?o Who is able to learn and read books?o Who is making decisions about money?o Who is the head of the household?

Discuss: (15 minutes) Ask the group to reflect:

o What do you see? Who is ahead? Why?o Who had to stay behind? Why?o How did it feel being the one at the front?o How did it feel being the ones at the back?

Now encourage children to think about how gender is related to privilege and power:

o Are people with more boys and men role cards at the front?

o Why might boys get more privilege?

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o Why do girls have more restrictions?o Are there any other restrictions for girls in school?o Did we chose who we were born as? Is it fair?o What would happen if girls and boys got the same

opportunities and privileges?Wrap up and summarise (2 minutes) Being born a girl or a boy should not make a difference to the

way you are treated. Girls and boys may be different but they are equal. However sometimes they have different access to power and

privileges in society. This can often be unfair. When some people have all the power, other people get left

behind.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (15 minutes) OPTION TWOGive each participant two pieces of paper. On one paper children should write:

I feel I have power when…

If writing is challenging then write the statements on flipchart paper and ask children to reflect on their own answers.

On the second paper children should write:I feel I lack power when…

Give children 5 minutes to sit and think for themselves about when they feel they have power and don’t have power

Don’t ask them to share their examples, but ask them to reflect on and share:

o How does it make you feel when you don’t have power?o How does it make you feel when you feel powerful?

OPTION TWO24

Ask students to create role plays based on different types of relationships – showing how they can use ‘power with’ and ‘power to’ rather than ‘power over’

Role play options include:o A teacher supporting students with a piece of work they

are finding difficulto A boy and girl in the same classo A student in a higher class who is trying to give chores

to a student in a lower class o A mother who is encouraging her daughter to stay at

home and not go to school

24 his activity has been adapted from the ICRW Gender Equity Movement in Schools – Training Manual for Facilitators page 55. http://www.ungei.org/Gender-Equality-Movement-in-Schools-Training-Manual.pdf

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o A father who is being strict on his son for showing emotions

For their role play, the group should think about what dominant ‘power over’ would look like, and then think about how that can be transformed to ‘power to’ and ‘power with’, or encouraging ‘power within’.- What is different about this method?- How do we think the people in the role play feel using

these methods? - Reflect on: who has power at home? Who has power in

schools?

Repeat: (15 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ONCE A MONTH

Using all their knowledge from the last four sessions on gender and power, encourage students to reflect on their own experiences of the different types of power throughout school and home.

Once a month, you can host an “overheard this month” session, where children can share examples (they don’t have to say where or from whom they heard it” of statements that:o Reflect gender stereotypes

ORo Reflect one of the types of power

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TOPIC 7: RECOGNISING AND UNDERSTANDING OUR EMOTIONS

Main messages: People often express their feelings in body language. Different people will express the same emotion in different

ways. If you notice a friend or fellow pupil expressing certain

emotions through their body language, even if they are not talking about these feelings, there are ways you can try to help.

Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Self-awareness Social awareness Relationship skills Feeling and showing empathy for others

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Repeat and name the emotion clearly so all children have heard it

Ask all the children to pretend they are feeling the same emotion – to act and use gestures and behaviours that show this emotion, all at the same time

You as the teacher should act out the emotion along with the children to help the children feel comfortable with the game.

⑥ Clap for each child who is acting out the emotions and for each child who guesses the emotion correctly. Each time ask if the person who guessed the emotion correctly would like to come up next and act out another emotion. If they are too shy or awkward do not push them. Continue to cover as many emotions as possible in about 20 minutes.

Discuss: (15 mins) Briefly mention some of the ‘feelings words’ and ask for children to

say some examples of what it is that makes them ‘feel this way.’ Do not push children to share if they are not comfortable doing so

Ask if anyone in the group can think of a time when they could tell that a friend or family member was feeling sad. Ask the children: Without telling us all WHO had these feelings… What gave them a clue that their friend or family member was

feeling sad? How did they feel when they noticed that their friend or family

member was sad? What did they do or want to do to help? Sometimes we want to help but we can’t think of anything at

the moment in time because we also have emotions resulting from our friend’s emotions. Now that you are thinking about the situation later, what do you think you could have done that you did not do? You can extend this question to the wider group

Ask if anyone in the group can think of a time when they could tell a friend or family member was feeling angry. Ask the pupil to tell the group: Without telling us all WHO had these feelings… What gave them a clue that friend or family member was feeling

angry? How they felt when they noticed their friend or family member

being angry? What they did or what they wanted to do to help? Sometimes we want to help but we can’t think of anything at

the moment in time because we also have emotions resulting from our friend’s emotions. Now that you are thinking about the situation later, what do you think you could have done that you did not do? You can extend this question to the wider group

Continue the same discussion for the emotions ‘afraid’ and ‘worried.’ Think back to our session on gender stereotypes. Do we sometimes

tell boys or girls that it’s not ok to show some types of emotions? E.g. boys – sadness, fear Girls – anger. What impact does this have on girls and boys seeking help?

Wrap up and summarise People may show their feelings in different ways. People may have

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different reactions and thus emotions in response to the same thing.

When we notice a friend expressing some emotions, even if they are not talking about it, we can reach out to them and try to help them.

Both boys and girls experience all types of emotions – fear, sadness, anger, excitement and express these in different ways.

Often, simply listening when your friend tells you about something that has made them sad, angry, or frightened helps them.

It is also good to be aware of how your behaviour affects other people’s feelings.

Mention some of the examples given by children in the discussion.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (10 mins) When children are given reading activities for the classroom or

homework ask the following questions to discuss the feelings of characters in the books: What behaviours did the main characters [give name of a

specific character] demonstrate? What feelings did you think they had when they were doing this

action [discuss specific action]? Did you all understand the feeling in the same way? Why do you

understand the feelings differently? In settings where it is known that children have regular access to

television discuss what the children have been watching on the television by asking the following questions. [This activity should not be done in contexts where only a few children will have television as this could create jealousy.] What films or TV programmes did you watch recently? Who are the characters in the film? What feelings did they have recently? What did they do that

showed them these feelings? In both cases allow the students to debate if they have different

perspectives on what the behaviours indicated in terms of feelings. Explain that we will often show our feelings in different ways. There is

no right or wrong way to show feelings. There is no right or wrong way to interpret other’s actions.

Ask if there are patterns in the way that different people express their feelings because of where they come from or their gender? Give the following example and discuss it: In some places when

people are sad at a funeral they cry openly and throw themselves on the coffin of the person who has passed away. This is accepted and expected. In other countries this is not considered acceptable and close family and friends are expected to cry quietly and conceal their grief as much as possible.

In some cultures, women are expected to cry and men are not supposed to cry or show their emotions.

How about in our culture? Is it ok for boys to cry? Why or why not?

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Ask if we can understand the emotions of those who are living with disabilities in the same way? Are all disabilities the same? Will all those with disabilities

express their feelings in the same way? Make it clear that children living with disabilities also have

diverse emotions and diverse ways of showing their emotions.

Repeat: (15 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING Whenever you read stories in the classroom ask the children to think

about the actions of the different characters. If the characters are gender stereotyped, e.g. only the boys are brave, only the girls show emotion, then discuss this with the class building on the previous ‘gender stereotypes’ activity:

o Does that make us feel like boys or girls should only behave in certain ways?

o Why is that problematic? What is the impact of that? Use everyday conversations to ask children how they feel. For

example, when they are playing or they are telling you about things that have happened to them ask them how things made them feel. Try to name their emotions with them. It is especially important to help them identify those situations that trigger strong emotions.

Try to encourage both boys and girls to feel they can show the full range of emotions, rather than praising them for ‘bravery’ because they did not cry, or using phrases like “you cry like a girl” that reinforce negative messages about gender roles.

Whenever a child shows strong emotions try to find a time when you can discuss those feelings with the child ONE-TO-ONE. Try to name the emotion with the child, acknowledge the emotion, and explain that the child has a right to have the emotion they have had. If they have hurt someone else because of the emotion (for example they were expressing anger or embarrassment) talk them through the feelings of the other child and why the actions they took may not be good for others.

Frequency to be repeated: ONE-OFF For younger children you can print off and read “Once I was very very

scared” available here , and discuss the behaviours of the different animals, how each is very different though they are all expressing a similar emotion. Explain also how the behaviours that result from one person’s emotions can bring about other emotions among other children

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http://piploproductions.com/stories/once/?fbclid=IwAR0Vy0gCz6MTuOuU1KnRI6yHKCiK3isPofHqu0l5Y_Yoqt2M6_N2jiOwuKQ

TOPIC 8: DEALING WITH DIFFICULT EMOTIONS

Main messages: To try to be able to identify and control our emotions. Deal with difficult or negative emotions.


Self-awareness Self- Regulation Relationship skills


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Story of the super twins Hi! We are the Super Twins. Do you know where our power is? It’s not in our fists, or in our tongues… It’s in our brains. And with our brains we trained our dragons. Emotions are like Dragons, they can be scary but they can also be warm and a lot of fun if you know how to train them! Like when someone pushes us, when we lose our pencils, when we feel scared or so happy we want to jump in our desks… our dragon wakes up and wants to fly and spit fire! We know how to train it, and we will tell you so you can do it too! Just follow these steps:

Purple Twin: When we are feeling too intense, like going too fast, we stop and take at least three deep breaths. This gets our heart rate down a bit. Then we count backwards from 10 to 1 or think of things we like until we feel calmed. This is like helping the dragon slow down and to not get too fierce.

Orange Twin: When we are not feeling much, like going too slow, we stand up and jump high, like we just scored the winning point. This gets our blood moving a little. Then we think of the feeling we like to feel (happy, proud, excited, amused) and the things that usually make us feel that way. This is like helping the dragon to fly higher and putting some fire into it.

NOTE: Ensure that the colours that are chosen to describe the twins do not have a male/female association. Here we have used orange and purple but this can be changed depending on the context. The story should not reinforce any gender stereotypes.

⑩ Now give them this series of instructions that will show them actions

they can take to control energetic and fiery emotions: “Now we’re going to practice each one of these tricks. You’re

going to move around as if you were flying dragons again, first in a calm and orderly fashion,

“Now, after I count to three, I want you all to go fast and out of control.”

“Now, take at least three deep, long, deep, breaths so you can calm down and regain control. With each breath, you should slow down and once again move around in an orderly fashion.”

“Now, when I count to three, you are going to lose control again”.

“Now distract yourselves from the chaos and concentrate on counting backwards from 10 to 1 as they slow down. Also ask them to think of things they like a lot and that make them feel calm.”

⑪ Now give them this series of instructions, which will show them actions that can help them to deal with slower emotions. “Good job, now keep moving around in an orderly fashion, like

happy flying dragons, and then, when I count to three, you’ll go very, very slow, as if you have lost energy and are feeling bored.”

“When this happens, ask the students to jump very high with one fist up, like a winning jump. Then ask them to think of a nice

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feeling they like to feel and remember something that makes them feel that way.”

“Hold that thought in your mind, and start moving again like happy flying dragons.”

Discuss (15 minutes) What have you learnt from this activity? What actions may help us to control angry or negative emotions? What actions may help us to address sad emotions? When do you think you can use these tricks here at school? Possible answers: When they’re playing with their classmates and

they run into each other by accident, when they want to say something and no one listens to them, or when someone takes away their things

Wrap up and summarise (5 minutes) You did a great job with this activity, and you managed to control

yourselves. Do you know where your power is? It’s not in our fists or tongue…

It’s in our brain. And with our brains we trained our dragons. Emotions are like Dragons, they can be scary but they can also be warm and a lot of fun if you know how to train them! Like when someone pushes us, when we lose our pencils, when we feel so happy that we want to jump in our desks… our dragon wakes up and wants to fly and spit fire! We know how to train it, and we will tell you so you can do it too! Take Deep Breaths: When we are feeling too intense, like

going too fast… Stop and take at least three deep breaths. Breathe in lots of air and release it slowly.

Jump-start Our Body: When we are not feeling much, like going too slow… stand up and jump high! Get your blood moving a little! Think of the feeling you like to feel and the things that make you feel that way.

Remember that you can use these tricks when you have feelings that feel too strong or out of control and you want to control them. When you feel too much or too little.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (15 minutes) Ask the children the following questions:

What most often causes children to be happy at school? What do children do when they are angry? What most often causes children to get angry at school? What do children do when they are angry? What can we do individually to soothe and calm our own anger,

or sadness, or jealousy? How can we help others to deal with their anger, sadness, or

jealousy?

Repeat: (5 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING

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Don’t scold children when they are very agitated, since this may send the message that emotions are bad. Instead of doing this, you can help them to identify their emotions by asking them to name their feelings based on the symbols in the previous session or by saying things like, “it seems like you are really excited about this,” “I can see you’re feeling very angry,” “You’re very happy,” or “It’s ok if this makes you feel scared.”

Validate the child’s emotions and help them to manage them. For example, ask the girl or boy to stop and take several deep breaths or to think of things they like. Once the child has calmed down, recognize this achievement and accompany them as they decide on how to act.

Learning is related to many emotions: to the joy of knowing something new, but also to the sadness and anger of not being able to do a task that seems very difficult. You can help your students or children to recognize their emotions when they are doing their homework or participating in an activity. Recognizing emotions will help them to learn more and learn better.

The example you teach and show them with your behaviour is very important. Think about how much you control your emotions in front of the children, for example, when you have to discipline them, do you get very angry, or are you able to show control , calmness and understanding

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TOPIC 9: UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

Main messages: Understanding different perspectives.


Self-awareness Social awareness Relationship Skills

Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and referral) Reinforce SEL skills related to violence prevention:

empathy

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What do you think [name of character on left-hand side of board] is feeling?

What do you think [name of character on left-hand side of board] would do?

Situation to be read out loud

Character’sname to be written on right-hand side of theblackboard

Character’sname to be written on left-hand side of theblackboard

1 A cat comes over Philippe, who was oncebitten very hard by a cat

Ana, who has a toy cat

2 The results of a competition or contest are going to be published / released

Camille, who didn’t take part in the competition / contest

Zara who won the contest/competition

3 Marianne wants to eat a a sweet, but her mother gives her rice and peas instead

Marianne Marianne’s mother

Discuss (15 minutes) After the exercise, ask the following questions and listen to the

children’s answers: What happened when we all changed sides of the blackboard? Why did the characters think differently in the same situation? Why is it important to understand what others are thinking?

o Possible answers: It is easier to solve conflicts that way; it helps us understand if others do not agree with us, etc.

When would it help us to try to understand what other people are thinking?o Possible answers: When we have a conflict with someone,

when we want something and other people want it, too, etc.

Wrap up and summarise (1 minutes) We all have different ways of understanding things, depending on

what we think, feel, and the information we have. As we saw today, it is important to stand in someone else’s shoes and try to understand why he is acting a certain way. If we need to, we should ask him to clear things up so we can understand him.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (10 minutes) Discuss a third possible character for situation 2 – “Someone who

entered the competition/contest and lost” – and ask the children what that person would think?

And what about if the contest meant you could win a big prize or a lot of money, would that change how they felt?

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Wrap up by emphasising that there are not only two perspectives. Each person will see things differently depending on their personal situation and characteristics. The exact context will also differ for each person and will affect how they feel.

Repeat activity (5 minutes) Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING To get children practicing trying to see the same situation from

different perspectives, whenever you are reading a book with the children ask them to imagine the feelings and perspectives of different characters who are in the same scene at the same time.

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TOPIC 10: DEALING WITH FRUSTRATION

Main messages: Today we will talk about ways to deal with our own frustration

and disappointment.


Self awareness Self management Social awareness

Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and referral) Avoiding violence & self protection strategies

What we will learn today: Things we can do to reach an agreement with others, so that we don’t get angry, and we can all be happy.

What we will need: Blackboard and chalk or

whiteboard and marker

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 60 minutes – learning activity 20 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. 5 minutes – repeat activity

Where will we be: Inside with a board where you can write feedback from the children

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Do this about five times – five inhales, five exhales. After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they




Learning Activity: I didn’t make the team!33

Say: (2 minutes) Sometimes, when we want to be part of a group and we’re not able

to, we feel sad and then this makes us sad or angry. Today we are going to learn other ways to deal with our sadness so we don’t become angry, and we find a solution to our problem.

Note: Make sure you review the activities, the characters and activities to make sure they are relevant to the context

Do: (45 minutes)

① Tell the children: “Let’s start today by making an angry face and growling.”

② You yourself should also wake a face and growl, to show them how to do it, and encourage them to make funny faces when they are growling.

③ Today, we’re going to hear the story of Lin. We’re also going to meet the Super Friends, who will help us learn what to do in the situation that Lin finds herself in.

④ Read the following story, pausing where suggested to encourage reflection by using the following questions. Listen to the answers from volunteers and validate their feelings.

In preparation: when adapting the story, try to challenge gender stereotypes in your community. For example, use female characters for football and sports examples.

The goalkeeperLin wants to play on her school’s football team. She has worked hard and improved her skills so she can try out to be the goalkeeper. Every day, she practices her leaps in the neighbourhood park and she feels very enthusiastic.

⑤ Ask the children: “Have you ever wanted to belong to a group or a team?”

Lin has always wanted to play for the school team, because she really 33 This Learning Activity is adapted from “I didn’t make the team!”, Page 57 - 62 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Third Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/918251527275945409/Teacher-s-Guide-Third-Grade The World Bank activity, is in turn an adaptation from Miller, A. “Boys Like, Girls Like, Kids Like.” www.humaneducation.org

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admires the children other who play on the team. She also dreams of becoming a professional goalkeeper when she is older.

Today, they’re going to choose the children who will be part of the team.

⑥ Ask the children: “How would you feel the day a team is to be chosen you want to be part of? What would you be feeling just before?”Possible answers: Anxious, scared, happy, enthusiastic, nervous, etc.

Lin walks towards the goal. Several children kick the ball and she manages to stop them from scoring a goal sometimes, but many of the children do manage to score goals. When she finishes, she waits while others try out for the position of goalkeeper. At the end of the morning, the coach reads the names of those who were picked, but Lin’s name isn’t on the list.

Lin feels very bad. She feels like all the blood in her body has rushed to her head and it’s going to explode: she feels hot, she wants to cry, her hands are sweating, she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, and she decides to walk off.

⑦ What emotions do you think Lin is feeling?Possible answers: Anger, sadness, anxiety, etc.

⑧ Say to the children: “What Lin is feeling is called frustration. She is frustrated because she wasn’t chosen.”

Lin goes off to a corner of the schoolyard. Because of her anger, she starts to think, “I’m no good at anything.” At the same time, she feels sad because she won’t get to play on the school’s soccer team.

⑨ Ask the children: “what might Lin do if she feels angry and sad ?” Suggested answer: Lin can find ways to keep calm and to

comfort herself, if she doesn’t help herself to stay calm, if her anger becomes out of control she might yell at someone or hurt them. She might shut herself away because she feels embarrassed”

⑩ Now, we’re going to meet the Super Pals: Wilma Wisdom, Pat Patience, and Corey Courage.Note: It would be ideal to create local images for these characters

Wilma WisdomWilma is a superhero who we can call when we aren’t able to do something we wanted to, and she’ll help us calm down and think about what we can change and what we can’t change. Wilma’s superpower is to let us borrow her hat, so that when we put it on, we can answer the following question:

“Wilma, what can I change about the situation that makes me frustrated, mad, or sad, and what can’t I change?”

Pat Patience34

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Pat is a superhero who we can call when we need to calm down and accept something. Tell them that when they say, “Pat, help me to calm down and accept things,” Pat will show up and use her superpower to help us to calm down and accept the things we can’t change. To do this, we have to repeat the phrase while we breathe in and let Pat into our bodies.

Pat please help me to calm down and accept the things I cannot change.

Corey Courage35

Corey is a superhero who helps us when we need to be brave so we can change something that makes us feel frustrated. To ask her for help, we call her like this: “Corey, help me calm down, find courage, and act.” Corey will arrive and use his superpower to e, so he can help us calm down and find the courage we have inside to face that difficult situation. All we have to do is repeat the phrase – “Corey, help me calm down, find courage, and act.” – while we breathe in and Corey will enter our bodies to help us feel calm and find the courage to act.

“Corey, help me calm down, find courage, and act.”

⑪ Now we’re going to perform a short play. I need four volunteers. They will play Lin, Wilma, Pat, and Corey.

⑫ The person playing Wilma should help Lin think and answer the following question: “What can I change, and what can’t I change?” “What can’t I change? What went wrong during the try-outs so

that I didn’t get picked for the team?” “What can I change? In order to make the team next year, what

can I do … can practice hard for future try-outs and look for other things to do in the meantime.

34 The pictures used here are from: “I didn’t make the team!”, Page 57 - 62 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Third Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/918251527275945409/Teacher-s-Guide-Third-Grade The World Bank activity, is in turn an adaptation from Miller, A. “Boys Like, Girls Like, Kids Like.” www.humaneducation.org35 The pictures used here are from: “I didn’t make the team!”, Page 57 - 62 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Third Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/918251527275945409/Teacher-s-Guide-Third-Grade The World Bank activity, is in turn an adaptation from Miller, A. “Boys Like, Girls Like, Kids Like.” www.humaneducation.org

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⑬ If the children are of reading age, write down the things that Lin can’t change on one side of the blackboard, and the things she can change on the other side.

⑭ The person playing Pat should come out and ask Lin to take a deep breath and accept the things she can’t change. She can look at the blackboard and read: “Pat, help me to accept that I didn’t get picked for the team and

I will have to wait until next year to try out again.”

Key message: Life will sometimes bring disappointments and sadness and that is ok to feel sad, calming down and accepting things is an important to step to help us feel bette.r

⑮ The person playing Corey comes out and asks Lin to take a deep breath and imagine that she gets picked for the team next year. Then, she asks her: “What do you have to do to make that wish come true?” The child playing Lin offers a few ideas. Then, the child playing

Corey invites the whole class to come up with more ideas to help Lin think.

⑯ Write down some ideas on the blackboard. Examples may include: keep practicing, ask the coach what he did well and what things he could improve at, look for someone to teach him or to practice with, try out for another team for a different sport, etc.

Discuss (10 minutes) Today, we met Wilma Wisdom, Pat Patience, and Cory Courage.

Do you think they can help us? In what situations? How can we call them?

Wrap up and summarise (1 minutes) Sometimes, when we can’t form part of a group or team, we may

feel sad, or disappointed. This is ok. Just like we saw today, we can call Wilma Wisdom to help us figure out whether or not the problem we are facing has a solution. If it doesn’t have one, we can call Pat to help us calm down, accept this, and look for other ways to achieve what we want in the future.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (20 minutes) 36

Talk through the following questions with the group of children Think of a time when you were with someone who got angry.

36 These questions are taken and adapted from the Learning Activity “Defeat Anger,” Page 48 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Sixth Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/290821527261325049/pdf/126571-WP-v1-P149416-PUBLIC-TG-Grade-6.pdf

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http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/290821527261325049/pdf/126571-WP-v1-P149416-PUBLIC-TG-Grade-6.pdf


What did they do to show their anger? What did you do in response to their anger?

Is it easy to calm ourselves down when someone else is very angry?

Suggested answer: It’s very hard, because sometimes we feel like we have to react strongly in order to calm the other person down, but the truth is that this makes the situation worse.

How can we manage to calm ourselves down? Suggested answer: We can use the techniques we discussed in

this lesson such as breathing to calm down, and reflecting on what we can and can’t change.

How can we help someone else to calm down? Suggested answer:

o By calming ourselves down firsto By suggesting to take a break, a deep breath or a walk to

calm down together firsto Even if we have different perspectives we can show that we

want to understand by asking questions Can you think of any ideas about what we could do?

Repeat Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING When children show signs of feelings of frustration because they

cannot belong to a group or team, because they cannot draw the thing they want to draw, or do the thing they saw someone else do, help them to manage the emotions associated with this frustration by working on techniques for calming down.

You can give these techniques fun names, like we have given the names Wilma, Corey, and Pat in this activity. This way, it will be easier to remember and use them.

You can also help the children identify negative thoughts such as “I’ll never be able to do this,” and change them to thoughts that will help establish short-term goals to get nearer to the final objective: “I wasn’t accepted this time, so I’ll keep practicing.” Try to find ways to turn the “I can’t do it” into “It’s hard, but I can do it” or “Maybe I can’t do it all, but I can do part of it.”

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TOPIC 11: RECOGNISING VIOLENCE

Main messages: There are many types of violence that children face every day. Violence is not only behaviour that hurts someone physically. It is also violence

when someone teases, lies about someone, leaves someone out, or is bullied verbally, because this hurts them emotionally. This is emotional violence and it is harmful to children and adults.

Engagement in any kind of violence is harmful to relationships.


Social awareness Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and referral)

Child Rights Understanding violence and our limits (i.e. SGBV,

harassment, bullying, corporal punishment) School climate/social norms

Gender norms Gender equality Power and status

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Preparation:

Prepare context and age-appropriate stories for the stories of violence activities. Below are some example stories for 9-12 and 13-16 but these will need adapting depending on the context and the children’s reading level.

Ensure that the facilitator is aware of the local child protection protocols and focal points in case they need to make any referrals or seek support

Stories for 9-12 Year Olds:

Story 1My name is Sam and I really like school. I am often alone because I don’t have any friends among the boys in my class. I know many of the girls in school because I have six sisters. I usually study alone or talk to my sisters’ friends. I avoid the boys because they like to fight, even for fun, but I don’t like to fight. The boys call me names like ‘sissy’ and ‘coward’. I like my studies, but when I am at school, I can’t help but cry when the older and bigger boys pick on me. One day, I was crying and my teacher asked me why. When I told the teacher why I was crying, she said, ‘Well, you should quit acting like a girl and quit playing with girls’. This made me feel embarrassed and alone because the only real friends I have are my sisters’ friends. I don’t feel that anyone understands me now, and no one likes me, not even my teachers. It is hard to concentrate at school because I feel that I might get beat up

Story 2Mary and Lydia are good friends. Lydia is one year younger than Mary and just started grade 4. At first, Lydia liked her new class and told her friend Mary how happy she was to be in grade 4. Now, Lydia does not like school very much. Every day after school when the two friends walk home together, Lydia tells Mary how mean the girls in her class are. Children in Lydia’s class sometimes call her unkind names, such as ‘stupid’ and ‘ugly’. Sometimes the older children on the school grounds grab her book pack. Today, Lydia told Mary that the other girls would not let her play with them at break. She said to Mary, ‘If I try to play with them, they just

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Alternative/Additional Stories for 13-16 year olds You can give older students other stories which are related to sexual harassment and

abuse (which is developed more in the next session)

Story 3Emmanuel has arrived at school with a bad scrape on his knee. He tells his friends that while he was on his way to the market, he was accidently hit by a man on a bicycle. The next day Emmanuel is limping, his nose is bleeding, and he has dirt all over him. His teacher is concerned and asks him how this happened. Emmanuel tells the truth and admits that two older boys bother him every day on the way to school. He reported to his teacher that on this day one of the boys punched him in the face so hard that Emmanuel fell to the ground. Emmanuel is very scared to walk to and from school. He is more scared now because he told the teacher, he is thinking, ‘If

Story 4Robert loves school and he is going to a new class. Robert hoped that he would please his new teacher because of his high marks. On the first day Robert and his friend were working on a group project and the new teacher Mr Miller heard them talking. Mr Miller shouted at both of them for playing and told them to stand in the corner. Robert and his friend had to stand in the corner the remainder of the day and were not allowed to go for a break. Robert was embarrassed and humiliated. The next day, Robert gave the wrong answer to a question. As a punishment, he was required to carry heavy buckets of water from the school to Mr Miller’s house every day for two weeks. Robert is no longer excited to go to school and has started getting low marks. He wants to dropout.

Story 5 Betty is sitting with her friends and talking about their school marks. Betty is not happy about her marks in mathematics. The marks are too low, especially because she has tried very hard this term. She decides to go see the head teacher. The head teacher asks Betty to report to the office after school so they can talk about it. When Betty goes to the office, the head teacher closes the door and says, ‘I can make your marks higher if you do something for me’. Betty is immediately worried, but the head teacher says, ‘Do not worry. I will only ask you to let me hold your hand’. When Betty does that, the head teacher tries to kiss her on the lips. Betty runs out. Now Betty is afraid to come to school because she might be punished for running out of the office.Story 6Helen walks to school every day with other girls in the village. Boys also walk to school, but not with the girls. Sometimes the boys yell things at the girls such as, ‘Hey beautiful! Will you marry me?’ All of the boys laugh and sometimes the girls laugh too. One day, one of the boys, John, came up to Helen and grabbed her blouse, pinched her bottom and ran back to the group of boys who all laughed. From then on, Helen tried to hide when she saw John on the way to school, but he still picked on her and often yelled things at her, calling her ‘sexy girl’, saying, ‘marry me, Helen’ or ‘come home with me Helen’ in front of the other boys who always got a good laugh. One day, John pulled Helen’s blouse down, exposing her breasts. Helen’s friend, Gladys, went over to the boys and told John to leave Helen alone. Gladys told him that she was going to tell the teacher about him if he did not stop bothering Helen.

Mindfulness activity:








Learning activity: Stories of Violence38

Say (2minutes) Explain that the purpose of this activity is for children to become

more aware of the different types of violence that happen at school and when they are walking to and from school.

DO (35 minutes) ① Divide the children into

groups of four and distribute one story to each group

② Working in three groups with their assigned assistant, give children seven – ten minutes to:

Listen to or read the story two times in the local language;

Discuss the story together;


38 This is an adaptation of an original work developed under the USAID/Uganda USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This activity is based on Activity 22: “Pictures of Violence,” Pages 86 – 87, Journeys: Activity Handbook for Children, Research Triangle Institute, 2017.

Note to facilitator on child-safeguarding: Be aware that for some children who have experienced trauma from violence the following activity could upset them. Therefore remind children that all activities are voluntary, look out for signs of distress, and follow the child protection protocol in annex 2.

Notes on Preparing and running this activity

• This activity will only work if some of the students are strong independent readers.

• Before running the activity you should identify stronger readers and make sure one is assigned to each group

• If the reading level is not sufficient then you will need to prepare another way to run this activity-e.g. facilitator reads the


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Discuss the Talking Points;

After about seven - ten minutes ask the children to come back together for the discussion.

③ Bring the groups back together and ask each group to present on their discussion, including:

a. Tell the story they were assigned;b. Discuss how the group answered each talking point c. If not mentioned- ask- who could the child speak to get

help?d. SAY: If we are affected by violence or we see that

someone we know is affected by violence it is very important to know where to seek help- in your school you can XXX* or outside of school you can also XXX*- * complete with any names or positions of relevant child protection focal point, reporting mechanisms, services or help lines in and outside of school)

Discuss (20 minutes) Ask the children if they noticed:

Different acts of violence? Who was being violent, who was the person responsible for or

committing the act of violence (e.g., male, female, teacher, other adult, pupil)?

Who the person who was being harmed or hurt by the violence (e.g., male, female, teacher, pupil, young old)?

Was the violence always physical? What other kinds of violence are there?

Ask the children if there are different types of violence experienced by a girl, or experienced by a boy?

Talking Points• What happened to bring harm to the pupil in the story?• Who was responsible for this?• How did this violence affect the pupil in the story?• What advice do you have for the pupil who was harmed?

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Who can we talk to about violence? Who can help us to stop violence?

Example actions Father hugging his daughter. NOT VIOLENCE Mother hitting her daughter for spilling milk on

the floor. VIOLENCE

Father beating his son to punish him. VIOLENCE An older boy pushing a little boy from his seat

at the school canteen. VIOLENCE

Father reading to his child. NOT VIOLENCE A teacher calling a student 'stupid' for forgetting

her homework. VIOLENCE

A neighbour touching you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

VIOLENCE

A boy teasing a younger boy because the younger boy is in a wheelchair.

VIOLENCE

Mother cleaning a child’s cuts and bruises which makes the child cry because they hurt.

NOT VIOLENCE

Your neighbour shouting all the time at the girl who works in their house.

VIOLENCE

Repeat: (15 minutes)Frequency to be repeated: EVERY TWO WEEKS (FORTNIGHTLY) Keep the violence posters up on the wall. Set aside a 15 minute time

slot every week to look again at the posters and discuss, using the following questions to guide the conversation: “Have you seen any of these forms of violence in and around

the school this week?” “Have you seen new types of violence that are not included in

the poster?” “Without giving names of the person who experienced the

violence, can you describe what the new type of violence was?” “Who do you think can help you to stop this violence

happening?”

TOPIC 12: UNWANTED ATTENTION

Note to Facilitator-Planning Safe Schools Children’s Club Project: If you are planning on supporting a Safe Schools Children’s Club Project, you should soon begin planning the process and begin step 1 in the following weeks. If have not done so already, you should speak to a teacher or school administrator from the Safe Schools Committee or School Management committee about how they might support the students’ safe schools project. See Annex 1 for more details.

Note to Facilitator: Separate Activities for Girls and BoysPlease note that some of the content in these activities is potentially sensitive and related to sexual harassment or abuse. Girls may feel more comfortable discussing this issues in female-only spaces, so you should run the activities separately for girls and boys (with same sex facilitators). As always, ensure that children are aware they can opt out

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Main messages: Unwanted attention is a form of violence and children have a

right to say ‘NO’ to violence. Safety must always come first. If for any reason any pupil feels unsafe they can scream for

help. It is always acceptable to run away from a situation and tell an adult you know and trust about what scared you.


Self-awareness Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and

referral) Reinforce Social Emotional Learning skills related to

violence prevention: empathy

What we will learn today: Unwanted attention is a form of violence and children always have a right to say ‘no’ to violence.

What we will need: Blackboard and chalk,

whiteboard and markers, or large paper and markers

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 50 minutes – learning activity 15 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. On-going – repeat activity 1 15 minutes – repeat activity 2

Where will we be: Inside

Preparations: Prepare three columns on the blackboard, as below, with a Positive

attention and a Negative attention column. Leave the third column blank:

Positive attention Negative attention

NOTE: If children cannot read and/or write you can draw a happy face for the positive column and a sad face for the negative column

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Learning Activity: Unwanted attention40

Say: (3 minutes) After this activity, children will know the difference between positive

attention and negative attention and will develop an understanding about different ways to stop unwanted attention.

Ask students not to give the names of specific individuals or people during this activity.

Remind children that this a safe and confidential space and that nothing will be shared outside of the group which is private. However, if I think anyone is in danger of being hurt then I will need to get help to make sure you are safe- does everyone understand?

Inform the children that sometimes the attention you get from other children or adults makes you feel good. This is positive attention.

Other times attention makes you feel uncomfortable or frightened. This is negative or unwanted attention.

Tell the children that if they don’t like the sound of the activity then they can always sit out and come back to the group next time.

Do: (30 minutes)

39 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com 40 This is an adaptation of an original work developed under the USAID/Uganda USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This activity is based on Activity 10: “Unwanted Attention” page 56 – 58, Journeys: Activity Handbook for Children, Research Triangle Institute, 2017.

Note to facilitator: Be aware that for some children who have experienced abuse this activity could upset them. Therefore remind children that all activities are voluntary, look out for signs of distress, and follow the child protection protocol in annex 2.


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① Ask a student assistant to help list or draw a picture for the responses during the activity.

② Ask the children: “What are some examples of positive attention, such as things

that happen between two people that make you feel good.” ③ Mention examples of positive attention that were not mentioned in

the children’s response and add to the list on the board. See the table below for some examples.

④ Ask the children: “What are some examples of negative or unwanted attention;

attention that makes you feel bad or even frightened.”⑤ Mention examples of negative or unwanted attention that were not

mentioned in the children’s response and add to the list on the board. See the table below for some examples.

Positive attention Negative attention Rewarding good work in class

or remembering to bring exercise books.

Someone saying hello, please, thank you.

Someone saying they like your shirt.

A handshake. Some giving you a

compliment.

Being pushed Bad touches (e.g. touches

which cause pain or touches to your private parts)

Someone making unkind remarks.

Someone commenting on your body or pointing out bits of your body

Someone asking you to do tasks you should not be doing or sexual acts in return for a gift or good grades.

⑥ Now break the children up into pairs. ⑦ Give the pairs the first talking point and give them 3-5 minutes to

discuss it – without naming anybody. ⑧ Give the pairs the second talking point and give them 3-5 minutes to

discuss it – without naming anybody.

Discuss (15 minutes) Invite as many volunteers as possible to:

① Can you discuss a time when someone gave you good / positive attention? How did that make you feel?

② Can you discuss a time when someone gave you negative or unwanted attention? How did that make you feel?

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Share their story about receiving positive attention – remind them that they should do this without mentioning any names - and to tell how this made them feel.

Share their story about receiving negative attention – remind them that they should do this without mentioning any names - and to tell the group how this made them feel.

In the last column on the board put the heading “What I Can Do” Ask children to try to think of some things they did when they

received negative or unwanted attention. The assistant should try to depict pupil comments in pictures

but may use words. Make sure to repeat in simple terms after comments are made so that younger children stay engaged.

You can try to act out some of the things children did if they are appropriate.

Suggest any of the actions below that have not already been mentioned. Ask children if they agree that this would be something they could do.

WHAT I CAN DO Tell the person to stop immediately. Call for help. Run away and tell an adult you trust about it. Tell a friend and go together to tell an adult you

trust. Tell another adult if the first adult does not

assist.

Wrap up and summarise (3 minutes) To wrap up say that unwanted attention is a form of violence and

children have a right to say ‘no’ to violence, but safety comes first. Any attention that makes you feel uncomfortable counts as

unwanted attention. If they feel unsafe children can tell the person to stop or scream for

help. It is always acceptable to run away from a situation and tell an adult that you trust.

Mention that it is always a good idea to tell an adult that you know and trust.

Discuss also the fact that no one should be asking a child to keep some form of unwanted touch or violence a secret. Some secrets should never be kept. Say to the children: “There are some secrets you should never keep, even if you

promised not to tell. No bully should ask you to keep the bullying a secret. Often, people who do bad things to children tell the child that they must not tell what happened to anybody. They know they have done something wrong and they are afraid of getting punished.”

“Hugs and kisses are nice, especially from people we like. But no one should ask you to keep a kiss, hug or touch a secret. The grown-up may say that 'it is our little secret'. If anyone says that to you, even if you know that person, tell a grown-up you trust.”41

41 These points of discussion come from page 43 of Safe you and Safe me, Save the Children, 2006, https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/safe-you-and-safe-me

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/safe-you-and-safe-me

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If you are able to access and print it, read this story to children in class and discuss afterwards: https://www.issuu.com/stacia6/docs/maiandtamcomic-childprotectio,

Discuss touch you do and do not like – some people like being tickled – others do not. We should each get to decide. What touch do some of you not like that others do like?

Tell the children that the emphasis should always be that even if a touch is not on private parts it may make you feel uncomfortable and you can still say no.

Now ask the children: How can you stop people touching you? Are there different things you can do with different people? When do you have to tell them to stop touching you?

Children can tell someone to stop touching them whenever they like and however the feel most comfortable doing it.

Even if they have let someone touch them before, they are allowed to try to stop the person from touching them a second, third, or fourth time.

They should always try to tell an adult, or tell a friend so they can go together with their friend to talk to an adult.

A variation or extension of this activity focusing on consent in intimate partner relationships can be found in the toolkit Girl Shine page 252:


Repeat 1: (5 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING On a daily basis guide children to think about issues of consent in

relation to everything they do. Children always have a right to say no to being touched or to

touching others. Guiding children on when and how they can touch each other and engage each other in play etc. is important.

If children are tickling each other and one says no, the other should stop. The teacher can intervene and remind them

If one child wants to hold hands to walk out to the playground and the other does not, then they should not be forced to, you can suggest an alternative – such as holding their shirtsleeve. Whilst


https://www.issuu.com/stacia6/docs/mai_and_tam_comic_-_child_protectio

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respecting that the first child should not be forced to touch the second child.

If one child wants to kiss or hug a second child and the second does not, maybe they can accept a kiss that is blown, or a virtual hug. Help them to negotiate this.

All of this teaches a child that no one should force them to accept touches they do not like.

Repeat 2: (10 mins)Frequency to be repeated: ONE-OFF Teachers can read “Anna’s story” page 33 – 37 to the children 42and

follow this with a discussion with children using the following questions: Who helped Anna? How did talking to her friend help Anna?

When you wrap up, emphasise that sometimes talking to a friend is very helpful as even if they cannot solve the problem, they can give you the courage to get the help you need, or they can go and get the help for you.

42 Anna’s story is on page 33 – 37 of Safe you and Safe me, Save the Children, 2006, https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/safe-you-and-safe-me

Note to Facilitator-Planning Safe Schools Children’s Club Project: If you are planning on supporting a Safe Schools Children’s Club Project, by now you should be implementing step 1. If have not done so already, you should speak to a teacher or school administrator from the Safe Schools Committee or School Management committee about how they might support the students’ safe schools project. See Annex 1 for more details.


TOPIC 13: SOURCES OF VIOLENCE

Main messages: Children need to be aware of situations that could bring them

harm, to avoid danger when possible, and to tell an adult who they can trust when something bad does happen.

Domains: Social and emotional learning

Self-awareness Self management Social awareness Responsible decision-making

What we will learn today: It is important to be aware that there are people who are not safe to be around.

What we will need: Enough chairs, benches, or

mats for all the children.

How long this will take: 15 minutes – mindfulness activity 40 minutes – learning activity 15 minutes – repeat activity 15 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o.

Where will we be:Decide on a large outdoor area for the game.

Preparations: On one side of the outdoor area that you will be using put a line of

chairs, benches, or mats.


Mindful Safari (15 mins) Take the children outside. Tell the children you are going to take

them on a Safari - Oh but not just any safari! You are going on a local safari to look for the smallest little things that you do not see or notice every day!

Tell them they are looking for any animal that crawls, flies, or walks. The idea here is to guide them towards focussing less on their own

internal thoughts, switching on their senses, and being fully engaged in the present moment.

Let them know that they have to be quiet and alert, with their hearing, feeling and seeing super-senses switched on so they can

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discover all the tiny creatures and beasts that they may or may not have noticed or seen before.

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Hid behind another children.

Mention that with their actions the children were making choices to avoid the danger players and could do this because of the following reasons: The children knew who the ‘danger players’ were in the game; Children’ actions were strategic choices they made to avoid the

danger player.

Wrap up and summarise (3 minutes) To wrap the session up, inform the group that children need to be

conscientious and aware of people or situations that could bring them harm and to avoid danger when possible. Underscore the importance of children to report any situations in which they do not feel safe and to tell an adult they you know and trust.

Remind children that to avoid and prevent violence, all of the following are important: Be aware of dangerous persons or places; Make choices and take actions to avoid danger and protect

yourself; Talk to trusted persons about any unsafe situation.

Extend 13-16 year olds (10 – 15 minutes) Ask the group of older children the following questions:

What have you done in real life to avoid danger? What do girls do to avoid danger? What do boys do to avoid danger? Do girls and boys do different things to avoid danger? Do children who live in different parts of [name the village,

town, city, area, or neighbourhood in which the school is based] do different things to avoid danger?

Repeat (10 – 15 minutes) Frequency to be repeated: ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS (FORTNIGHTLY) Twice a month take 10-15 minutes to ask the children some

questions: Have they had to avoid danger in real life since you last

discussed danger with them? Who was the source of danger? Tell the children that they

should not name any names, but describe their relationship to the child – was it an older child, a stranger, a shopkeeper, etc.?

What did they do to avoid the danger? Have they used any ideas they learnt in the classroom to avoid danger?

TOPIC 14: THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD CHILD TO CHILD RELATIONSHIPS: UNDERSTANDING WHAT BULLYING IS

Main messages: Bullying is an act of violence and brings harm to children. Bullying can be physical or verbal. Bullying of any kind is harmful to relationships. Children who are bullied may become depressed, have

difficulty concentrating in class and may drop out of school.Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and emotional learning

Social awareness Responsible Decision Making

Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and referral) Understanding violence and our limits (i.e. GBV,

harassment, bullying, and corporal punishment)

What we will learn today: Understanding the different forms bullying can take and how bullying can bring harm to our fellow classmates

What we will need: Bullying scenario – see

below 20 papers (10 cm X 8 cm

each) Marker pens Sticky tape

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 50 minutes – learning activity 20 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. On-going - repeat activity


Preparations: Study the definition of the word “bullying,” below. Establish a

definition in your local languages, that children in your context will understand.

Read and practice telling the bullying story (below) in the local language.

Cut 20 pieces of paper, each 10 cm x 8 cm Make a large label saying “Bullying” and stick it in the middle of a

plain wall

Definitions of key termsBullying is defined as any non-sexual form of intimidation that is perpetrated with an intention to harm, either physically or

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psychologically. The act of bullying is grounded in the power differential that exists between the perpetrator and the victim. Excluding corporal punishment, acts of physical bullying range from severe acts of physical violence, such as beatings, to less harsh acts of violence, such as pulling at someone’s clothes or hair or grabbing a students’ belongings. Acts of psychological bullying include name-calling, public humiliation and other forms of teasing, and exclusion. Bullying does not include sexual harassment. The intentional exclusion of a peer from social circles (sometimes referred to as ‘relational bullying’) and theft are also forms of bullying, as is intimidating students via text messaging or on social media sites, which is referred to as cyber bullying. Bullying and other non-sexual forms of intimidation can be perpetrated by peers, teachers, other school staff and persons encountered on the way to and from school.2









Learning Activity: Understanding what bullying is45

Say: (2 minutes) This activity will help children to understand the different types of

bullying and how bullying can bring harm to fellow children and classmates.

Do: (30 minutes) ① Read out the bullying story and then ask some follow on questions:

What are the different things the children did that were unkind to John?

Is this physical or non-physical bullying?

44 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com 45 This is an adaptation of an original work developed under the USAID/Uganda USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This activity is based on Activity 23: “Bullying” page 88 – 91, Journeys: Activity Handbook for Children, Research Triangle Institute, 2017.


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Would you call this violence? Why or why not? How was this harmful to John?

Bullying storyJohn plays football with his classmates after school every day. One day, his classmate, Peter, kicked the football to him, and John missed it. Peter shouted, “You play like a girl, John!” That same day, John caught the pass and tried to make a goal, but missed. The other team got the ball. Once again, Peter shouted at him, this time shouting “Your mom could play better than you!” The next day, when John came to join the team, everyone ignored him. Although John was on the field, no one ever passed a ball to him. His friends were doing this on purpose to leave him out of the game. After two days, John did not come back to play football after school. He felt very sad and could not concentrate in class. He wanted to quit school.

② Organize the children into five groups. ③ Cut 20 pieces of paper (10 cm x 8 cm) and distribute four pieces of

paper and some marker pens to each group.④ Give 10 – 15 minutes for groups to:

Discuss different acts of bullying. Decide on four examples/types of bullying. Draw a picture or write a word representing each of these four

types of bullying, one on each piece of paper. Get the children to move their chairs around the ‘bullying wall’

so they can all see.

⑤ Ask all the children to gather around the bullying wall. Ask one group to volunteer to go first. Make sure that it is a mix of girls and boys who are volunteering to talk. Ask them to: Explain the different types of bullying they have drawn, one by

one Continue for all four acts of bullying Take their pictures and stick them up in a straight line on the

wall labelled “bullying.”

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⑥ Go to each of the 4 remaining groups, one by one, and ask if they have any acts of bullying that are different from the ones previously mentioned. If so, ask a spokesperson for the group to: Name any NEW acts of bullying that were not mentioned by the

first group. Give the picture of the new form of bullying to the teacher for

them to stick up on the wall in the same row⑦ Go to each of the remaining groups, one by one, and do the same.

Each time only hearing about new forms of bullying that have not been discussed by previous groups.

⑧ When all of the groups have had a chance to present their work, point to and name each of the different acts of bullying posted in the row.

⑨ Ask all the groups to come up and tape the pictures (or words) that they still have directly under the pictures (or words) that they match in the row. Alternatively, ask someone from each group to name their remaining ones and the teacher tapes them under the ones that they match. See the picture below to be clear on how it should look.

Note: The following are acts of bullying that are often missed or not mentioned:

Being left out of a group of friends Stealing things like a book bag or food Threatening a classmate or their family

⑩ Add these if the children do not mention them themselves.

Discuss (15 minutes) Give the children five minutes to take a ‘gallery walk’ to view the

pictures of bullying. Lead a discussion about the nature of bullying, asking questions such

as the following: What are some of the most common acts of bullying you see? Which are physical and which are non- physical? What other acts of bullying can you think of? How does a person who is bullied feel? (it can make them feel

hurt, alone, scared, sad and can lead them to drop out of school)

Why do you think some people bully others? (possible answers- they feel insecure or scared themselves, they may have learn it from others or been bullied themselves and be scared, they

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may have confused good power (confidence- power within) with bad power (power over)

Ask children to share ideas they have about what they can do to stop bullying in their schools. (Note: if you will implement a child-led SS project this could be good focus of it- see annex 1)

Underscore that we can act assertively, but should not respond aggressively or the violence can escalate. We will learn more about assertive communication in the next session.

Wrap up and summarise (1 minute) Today we looked at some situations that we may experience with

our classmates or friends We also discussed what we can do to put a stop to them by acting

assertively – NOT aggressively.

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: What if this happened to you?46 (20 minutes)

Ask the children to imagine that they are experiencing some of the following situations with their classmates or friends and answer the questions. You would probably have time to discuss 2 of the situations listed below in 20 minutes.

Situation 1: Someone gives you a nickname that annoys you. How does this affect you? What would you feel? What would you like, need, or want to happen? How could you say what you feel and what you want in an

assertive manner (without offending or hurting anyone)?

Situation 2: Someone blames you for a mistake that someone else made. How does this affect you? What would you feel? What would you like, need, or want to happen? How could you say what you feel and what you want in an

assertive manner (without offending or hurting anyone)?

Situation 3: Someone interrupts you constantly while you’re talking. How does this affect you? What would you feel? What would you like, need, or want to happen?

46 This Learning Activity is adapted from “What Would Happen If this happened to you?”, Page 89 – 95 of Mejía, José Fernando; Rodríguez, Gloria Inés; Guerra, Nancy G.; Bustamante, Alejandra; Chaparro, María Paula; Castellanos, Melisa. 2016. Step by Step : Teacher’s Guide – Seventh Grade (English). Social and Emotional Learning Program. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/653501527263897975/pdf/126572-WP-v1-P149416-PUBLIC-TG-Grade-7.pdf



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How could you say what you feel and what you want in an assertive manner (without offending or hurting anyone)?

Wrap up by saying: When faced with these situations, is it a good idea to keep

quiet? Why? Suggested answers: No, because the situation will keep

happening; they’re hurting us or disrespecting our rights; we need to stand up to situations that are unfair, etc.

What would happen if we respond aggressively? Suggested answers: We would create an even bigger problem;

we might hurt other people and wind up getting hurt ourselves; we would be reinforcing the idea that violence solves problems, etc.

Repeat: (On-going)Frequency to be repeated: ON-GOING Whenever you see a child pushing, shoving, humiliating, or being

rude to another child in the classroom: i. Stop the behaviour when it is happening. Talk to the child with

empathy and affection – remember they may be being violent because they have experienced violence themselves or because they are having big feelings they don’t know how to deal with.

ii. Ask both children to breathe deeply and calm down using strategies identified in Taming the Dragon and I didn’t make the team

iii. Ask the child who was carrying out (perpetrating) the violence to try to think about how they must be making the other child feel. How they would feel if someone did this to them.

iv. Apologise on behalf of the child who was hurting the victim. Making the child say the word “sorry” will not teach them to really feel sorry – but modelling empathy and apologising will help them to learn.

v. Give positive feedback when a child who has been bullying others is nice to other children.

TOPIC 15: THE BEST DEFENSE

Main messages: By answering in a clear, calm and firm, yet not aggressive manner to other people’s aggressions we defend ourselves properly. If we don’t do anything or if we answer aggressively, the situation will

Note to Facilitator-Planning Safe Schools Children’s Club Project: If you are planning a Safe Schools Children’s Club Project, now is good time to begin introducing the idea, planning and setting aside time after the next activity for step 1. If have not done so already, you should speak to a teacher or school administrator

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most likely continue or get even worse (for example, the other person may keep on attacking us, even more intensely).Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and emotional learning

Social awareness Relationship Skills

What we will learn today: How to stand up ourselves without hurting others

What we will need: 20 papers (10 cm X 8 cm

each) Marker pens Sticky tape Blackboard or whiteboard

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 30 mins- learning activity 5 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o30 minutes - repeat activity


Preparations: Prepare and adapt the story (including names) to the context and

age range of you r group.











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Learning Activity: Out best defence

Say: (5 minutes)

There are situations in which other people say or do things to us that we don’t like or that make us feel upset or mad. For example, we may feel upset or mad when someone hits us, puts us nicknames, mocks us or says offensive words to us, and especially if this happens a lot and becomes bullying.

Note to Facilitator- you can share a situation in which someone has said offensive words or has made fun of you.

Without naming anyone , would anyone like to tell us about a situation where you felt really annoyed at school for something someone else did or said to you?

Listen to your students and validate their feelings. Sometimes, it may be difficult to know how to react in these

situations, since each answer may lead you to different results; that is what we will learn today.

In some schools, there are persons who frequently bother other people. For example, they hit, put nicknames or make fun of others every day. Today we will learn how to face these situations in case we, or someone we know, experience them. Generally, when these situations occur, we may respond in three different ways:

1. Passively: We do not express what we feel or think, and do not defend our rights. That means we don’t do anything or just keep silent. 2. Aggressively: We do express what we feel or think and defend our rights, but hurting others. 3. Assertively: We express what we feel or think, and defend our rights without hurting other people.

Do: (25 minutes) ① Write down the three concepts on the blackboard using the

following headings: passive answers, aggressive answers and assertive answers.

Now, let’s read the story of and Tiger

② Ask the children questions about the story (10-15 mins)

Tiger is the biggest and strongest student in the fifth grade. He has many friends and his classmates do whatever he says. For example, the other day Tiger was hungry and forced Oswald to buy him food at the school store. Oswald didn’t have much money, but he couldn’t say no and did what Tiger ordered. Oswald, on the other hand, is a small, shy and quiet student. He doesn’t have many friends, and some people say he is weird because he is always by himself during recess. Tiger thinks Oswald looks funny and he makes fun of him all the time, saying, “Oswald is a dweeb!” He feels very frustrated. Going to school has become a nightmare, as he knows Tiger will

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What will happen if Oswald responds passively, if he doesn’t do anything to defend himself? (For example, Tiger will continue bothering him and the situation will continue as it is.)

What will happen if Oswald responds aggressively, that is, if he tries to insult orhit Tiger to defend himself? (For example, Tiger will become angry and he will probably attack Oswald physically; the situation will get worse).

What other non-aggressive ways to defend himself would Oswald have in thiscase? (For example: Tell Tiger what he is doing is not right, ask Tiger to stop bothering him, ask a friend to go with him to tell him to stop)

Write on the blackboard all the non-aggressive options the students suggest.

Ask- What are non-aggressive ways can friends defend Oswald? (for example- not to laugh when he mocks Oswald, tell him he is not being funny

Write on the blackboard all the non-aggressive options the students suggest.

What are the pros of responding assertively (that is, neither aggressive nor passively)? What are the cons of responding passively or aggressively when facing a situation like that of Oswald?

Wrap up and summarise (1 minutes) Today, you have all done a great job practicing assertive answers

when facingaggressive situations.

By answering in a clear, calm and firm, yet not aggressive manner to other people’s aggressions we defend ourselves properly. If we don’t do anything or if we answer aggressively, the situation will most likely continue or get even worse (for example, the other person may keep on attacking us, even more intensely).

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (30-45 minutes)

Divide the students into three groups. Give each group a scenario to act out:

o Scenario 1: Mr. Kamara is one of Nancy’s favourite teachers. One day he asks her to carry his books home to his house after school.

o Scenario 2: Fatmata is 11 and her body is beginning to change. Whenever John, a boy at school, is with his friends, he shouts and makes fun of her body.

o Scenario 3: Alice and Mohamed are boyfriend and girlfriend. They like to hold hands and once Mohamed kissed Alice. Mohamed has told Alice he is ready to have sex. Alice has told him she does not want to because she is not ready, but he keeps pressuring her.

Extension activity: If time, you can extend this activity by asking groups of children to act out different responses, then having the other students reflect on whether it was a passive, aggressive, or assertive response

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Ask each group to prepare two role-plays for each scenario—one in which the person in the role-play responds passively, the other in which the person responds actively/assertively.

After the groups have performed their role-plays, review the Discussion Points as a whole group

If students need more practice, and you have time, then introduce these 5 steps of communicating an assertive message:

Go back to the role-plays Divide students into pairs and give each pair a role-play to act out. Some groups will have the same role-play.

Each person should practice using the Five Steps to Communicating an Assertive Message.

After students have finished, call several pairs to the front to share their role-plays and responses.

Explain that this way of communicating is very useful because it doesn’t embarrass the other person or blame them.

DISCUSSION POINTS: What was the best response in each scenario? Why? Is it difficult to be active/assertive? Why? Do you think girls face special difficulties in being active/assertive? What are some ways to overcome these difficulties? Do boys have any challenges in being active/assertive without being aggressive? What is the difference between the two behaviours? What can boys and girls do to help each other regarding gender behaviours and communication? How does passive communication put you at risk?

Five Steps to Communicating an Assertive Message1. Explain your feelings. Say what has upset you and why. • “I felt _______

when you ______.” For example, “I felt unhappy when you told my secret to Leroy.”

2. Make your request. State clearly what you would like to have happen. • “I would like you to ________.” Or “I wish you would ______.” • For example, “I wish you would not share secrets I tell you with other people.”

3. Ask how the other person feels about your request. Invite the other person to express his or her feelings or thoughts about your request. “How do you feel about it?” or “What do you think of that?

4. Give the other person a chance to respond. Let the other person share his or her feelings about your thoughts and request.

5. Accept with thanks. If the other person agrees with your request, saying “thank you” is a good way to end the discussion

Wrap up and Summarize Conclude by pointing out that staying healthy and safe is directly

connected to being active/assertive. • Point out that students standing up for themselves is essential for staying healthy an safe and not putting themselves at risk

Remind them of gender roles and how traditionally society expects women to be passive, so they must practice speaking up for themselves and not remain silent when they could be in danger.

Also remind students that boys are expected by society to be aggressive, but being aggressive is not the same as being active/assertive.

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Note to Facilitator-Planning Safe Schools Children’s Club Project: If you are planning on supporting a Safe Schools Children’s Club Project, by now you should be planning or implementing step 1. If have not done so already, you should speak to a teacher or school administrator from the Safe Schools Committee or School Management committee about how they might support the students safe schools project. See Annex 1 for more details.

Wrap up and Summarize Conclude by pointing out that staying healthy and safe is directly

connected to being active/assertive. • Point out that students standing up for themselves is essential for staying healthy an safe and not putting themselves at risk

Remind them of gender roles and how traditionally society expects women to be passive, so they must practice speaking up for themselves and not remain silent when they could be in danger.

Also remind students that boys are expected by society to be aggressive, but being aggressive is not the same as being active/assertive.

TOPIC 16: THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS

THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD BE FACILITATED BY SOMEONE KNOWN BY THE CHILDREN WHO DOES NOT TEACH THE CHILDREN Find someone who is independent who the children will feel

comfortable talking to about any issues that may already exist between the teacher and students.

As always, the facilitator should be well prepared in the child protection and referral protocols

Main messages: A school is a better place for everyone – teachers and children –

if there is a good relationship between teachers and children. Children will be happier to keep coming to school if they have a

good relationship with their teachers.Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and emotional learning


What we will learn today: A school is a more positive place to learn when teachers and children are respectful and kind to each other.

What we will need: 20 papers (10 cm X 8 cm

each) Marker pens Sticky tape Blackboard or whiteboard

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 65 minutes – learning activity 5 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. 30 minutes - repeat activity


Preparations: Cut up enough pieces of paper for 1 per child Draw a picture of a teacher and child together on the side of the

blackboard or whiteboard Split the remaining part of the board that does not have the picture

into two columns – one marked GOOD or with a SMILEY FACE the other column entitled BAD or with a SAD FACE

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their eyes.



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A teacher who always ignores the child who is in a wheelchair and never let’s them answer questions in the classroom

A teacher who touches a student inappropriately, or puts pressure on them t do things that makes them uncomfortable in return for grades

OR⑤ You can try to draw these different examples if you are comfortable

drawing. OR

⑥ Alternatively you can act out the scenarios with children who volunteer – if you like acting and can prepare the role play with a child beforehand (notice you should not work with one child alone on this – this could become a safeguarding issue).

⑦ Next, organise the children into pairs and distribute two small pieces of paper and a marker to each pair. Give the pairs about five minutes to discuss and draw on the separate papers: One example of GOOD relations between teachers and children. One example of BAD relations between teachers and children.

⑧ Give each pair one minute to: Show and explain their pictures of the good and bad examples. Tape their pictures of the examples they discussed on the

blackboard, in the good or bad columns. ⑨ Give the children 5 minutes to go for a gallery walk and then come

back to their seats.

Discuss (20 minutes) Lead a discussion to guide the group in thinking about things they

could do to make the negative aspects of teacher and pupil relations more positive. Ask children: What were some of the bad examples of teacher and pupil

relations? What are some things children can do to develop better

relationships with teachers? Who would you talk to if one of your teachers is doing

something that make you uncomfortable?

Write down a list of all the different actions / ideas that the children share.

Read out again the whole list of activities. Then tell the children they will be voting for which ideas for actions

they think are most important and work the best. They can each choose three – which means they can each put their hands up three times for the ideas they like, and only three times.

Then read out each of the ideas again – one by one – having the children put their hands up after you have read each one out for the ones they are voting for. Count up the number of hands, note it, then read out the next idea. Repeat the voting process until you have voted for all the different actions.

At the end add up the numbers of votes for each and see which are the most popular.

Wrap up and summarise (1 minutes)

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Wrap up by saying that a school is a more positive place to learn when the relationships between teachers and children are positive. Congratulate children on their ideas for improving the relationships between teachers and children at their school.

State that the children can always talk to you or to XXX (child protection focal point) if their teacher is doing something that they think is bad, and that you can find a way to make the teaching better


Who would you talk to if one of your teachers is doing something that makes you uncomfortable?

Can you put yourself in the position of the teacher? Why do you think they might do some things that are bad for the teacher-child relationship? Suggested answer: They are tired, there are so many children in

the class, the children are being noisy, or the children are not doing what they are told.

What can children do to make the relationship stay positive? Suggested reply could be: Listen to classroom rules, listen to

the teacher, concentrate in class, forgive the teacher when they make a mistake.

What can teachers do to make the relationship stay positive? Suggested answer could be: Apologise if they do something by mistake that is bad – loose their temper, shout, not hear or listen to a child’s answer

What happens if a teacher is physically or sexually violent towards a student?

This is never ok. Students should report to X [CP/gender focal point/other reporting mechanism]. Students should remember that this is not their fault.

Repeat (30 minutes)Frequency to be repeated: ONCE A MONTH Have the individual who facilitated the session come back to the

school to talk to the children once a month for 30 minutes. They can chat about how the children are, what they have been doing,

who is teaching the children, what they have been learning, what their favourite lesson has been, etc. They should take the time to build a relationship of trust with the children so that children may report to them if something bad starts to happen in the classroom.

As part of this, they should tell the children that they can share anything that worries them or makes them happy about their teacher’s teaching.

Further ResourcesIn the Safe me Safe you resource, there is an good cartoon story to help children think about how to respond if they think another student is being abused by a teacher, this could be an excellent extension activity too

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(page 39- Anna’s story): https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/safe-you-and-safe-me

Note to Facilitator-Planning Safe Schools Children’s Club Project: If you are planning on supporting a Safe Schools Children’s Club Project, by now you should be planning or implementing step 1. If have not done so already, you should speak to a teacher or school administrator from the Safe Schools Committee or School Management committee about how they might support the students safe schools project. See Annex 1 for more details.


TOPIC 17: WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN WE SEE VIOLENCE

Main messages: Children often see acts of violence against other children at

school or traveling to and from school. When children see violence, it is important for them to do something that can help the child victim and prevent the violence from happening again- this is being a positive bystander. Safety is the first thing to consider.

If a child sees violence but is scared of doing something to stop it they must go and find an adult that they know and trust who can help.

Definition of bystander A bystander is someone who sees violence whilst it is happening or hears about it. They are not committing the violence or experiencing the violence. A good bystander response is when the person who sees the other child being harmed: Tries to stop the violence, only after making sure it is safe to

intervene; Tells an adult that they know; Talks to the child who is being harmed whilst the violence is

happening, reducing the perpetrator’s power; Comforts the child who has been harmed after the event.

A bad bystander response is when the person who sees the pupil who is being harmed: Makes the violence start – maybe by criticising or joking about the

victim or pointing out in a negative way the victim’s differences. (INSTIGATING)

Does nothing about the violence they are seeing or hearing about. Do nothing can be understood as approval. Provides the audience the perpetrator wants to make the perpetrator feel more powerful. (IGNORING AND ACCEPTING)

Encourages the person who is harming the pupil – maybe by laughing or by talking kindly to the person doing the violence. (ENCOURAGING)

Joins in by further harming or humiliating the pupil. (JOINING)


Self-awareness Self-management Social awareness Relationship Skills Responsible Decision Making

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What we will learn today: Children will have some good ideas on what they can do if they see or ‘hear about another child being hurt or harmed.

What we will need: Blackboard and chalk or

whiteboard and marker pens

Paper and pens Copies of Anna’s story


Where will we be: Inside with a blackboard or whiteboard

Preparation

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feel the rise and the fall of their breath. Do this about five times – five inhales, five exhales. After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they might

be aware of, then invite them to let go of those thoughts and feelings. Ask them to imagine that the thoughts and feelings are bubbles,

floating away, as they return to their breathing. Repeat the five breaths – five in, five out – and do this as many times

as feels right.



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Learning Activity: Safe me Safe You51

Say: (2 minutes) Explain that the purpose of this activity is for the children to

understand what it means to be good and do the right thing when you see or hear about another child being hurt or mistreated.

Give some examples of what a good reaction might be if you see or hear about someone who is a target of violence. (See the box “Definition of bystander” for facilitators notes)

Do: (30 minutes)

① If you have some independent readers in your group, organise the children into small groups of three to four children and ask them to read the story together. If not then you can hand out the story and point to the pictures and read it out loud,.

② Ask them to discuss in their groups when they have finished reading:a. What did Anna’s friends do to help her?b. What do you think about what Anna’s friends did? Was it a

good reaction? Why?c. What would happen if Anna’s friends do nothing? Why would

some people do nothing in that situation? ③ After 10 – 15 minutes ask the children all to come back together and

discuss as the whole group, check they understood the story and then dicuss:

a. What do you think about what Anna’s friends did? Was it a good reaction? Why? (yes it was really good reaction as they found out what was wrong and got together to take action safely by telling the headteacher)

b. What would happen if Anna’s friends do nothing? Why would some people do nothing in that situation? (some people feel scared or don’t know who to tell)

c. Does anyone want to share a time they saw or knew about violence and you acted or didn’t know how to act? (Note: don’t pressure children, remind them they don’t have to share anything, but this is a good time to share IF they want to)

Wrap up and summarise Often when violence happens there may be people who see it know

about it and they play an important role in stopping violence from happening

Like we learnt in the previous sessions, if we see another child hurting or bullying someone physically or emotionally, we can defend each other with assertive communication.

But we need to keep ourselves safe- when we are not sure what to do or we don’t feel safe, or when the violence is committed by an adult or older child, the best thing to do can be tell a trusted adult such as our parents, or XXXX (CP focal point)

51 This is an adaptation from Safe You Safe me Save the Children: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/safe-you-and-safe-me


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It takes some bravery to act against violence but we can all help to stop it from happening by speaking out.


Ask the children the following questions: Why don’t more bystanders intervene? Possible answers: They think, “It’s none of my business.” They fear getting hurt or becoming another victim. They feel powerless to stop the bully. They don’t like the victim or believe the victim “deserves” it. They don’t want to draw attention to themselves. They fear retribution. They think that telling adults won’t help or it may make things

worse. They don’t know what to do.

What bad things can happen to you even if you don’t report? Even if you don’t help the child who is being hurt?

Possible answers: Pressure to participate in the bullying Anxiety about speaking to anyone about the bullying Powerlessness to stop bullying Vulnerability to becoming victimized Fear of associating with the victim, the bully, or the bully’s pals Guilt for not having defended the victim

Wrap up by encouraging the children to come forward if they see or hear about violence. By telling them that they will not be in trouble for reporting to

you By reminding them about how reporting can help the victim

(Note: refer to local child protection focal point/services) Discuss the fact that some forms of violence we may not see –

for example unwanted touching may happen in private, beating by mother and father, etc. But you can still hear about this type of violence. If your friend TELLS you they have had these experiences, you can help them to find an adult to talk to.

Provide some examples of children who have reported before and what happened to help the violence stop

Repeat (10 minutes) Frequency to be repeated: ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS (FORTNIGHTLY) Ask children if they have tried anything to stop violence or bullying? Did it work? What works best to stop violence or bullying? Ask if there is anything they want the teacher’s help with to stop

violence or bullying?

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Additional ResourcesSafe you and Safe Me has more stories and content on how children can respond to situations of violence, which could provide good extension activities or self-directed study: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/safe-you-and-safe-me


TOPIC 18: SAFE CIRCLE

Main messages: Every pupil has a network of people that they can call on for

advice and assistance in solving problems and making decisions


Self awareness Social awareness Relationship Skills

Violence prevention and response (awareness, reporting and referral) Avoiding violence & self protection strategies Responding to, reporting, and seeking help

What we will learn today: We will identify and know the circle of people we each have around us – friend and adults – that we can trust and go to for help and advice.

What we will need: Paper and pencils or pens –

enough for each child to have one sheet of paper and one pen. The paper should be at least A3 size or be flipchart sheets


Where will we be: Inside with a blackboard or whiteboard

Preparations: Draw the spidergram example on the board

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Learning Activity: Spidergram53

Say: (2 minutes) Explain that the purpose of this activity is to help the children to

become aware of the people that they can turn to for help and advice.

Tell the children that in this activity they are going to develop a Spidergram.

Introduce the parts of the spider on the board by asking different children to come up to the board and point to different parts of the spider: body (the circle at the centre), legs (the lines joining up the different shapes), and the feet (the oval shapes around the outside).

52 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com 53 This is an adaptation of an original work developed under the USAID/Uganda USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This activity is based on Activity 13: “Spidergram,” Pages 63 – 65, Journeys: Activity Handbook for Children, Research Triangle Institute, 2017.

SPIDERGRAM

Name


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Do: (30 minutes) ① Split the group of children into pairs and have them sit together. ② Give each child a sheet of paper and some pens. ③ Tell the children to each draw their own picture of the same

“spidergram” as you have on the board on their pieces of paper – making sure the circles are big enough to draw pictures inside.

④ Ask them to write their names in the spider’s body ⑤ Write the names or draw a picture of people who they can talk to in

each foot of the spider. Tell them more feet can be added to the spider if needed.

⑥ Show the children your own example…

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⑦ When they have had 10 – 15 minutes to fill a number of feet with the pictures of who helps them, ask them to turn to their partner and explain each of the people in their spidergram.

⑧ If the children appear to be stuck for ideas, you can mention that some of the people they may feel like they can ask for advice or talk to could be: Friends Family members – mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle,

cousin, etc. Teachers Community members Someone at their church Nurses Doctors PoliceDo emphasise that they do not have to list all of these – some of these may be people they are scared of – but these are some ideas.

Discuss (20 minutes) Ask for as many children as possible to share their Spidergram and

do the following: Name one of the friends or adults they identified that they can

talk to; Tell the group what they would talk to this person about; Comment on the qualities of the person that they named. What

is it that allows them to feel good about talking with them or asking for advice?

Write notes for yourself on the qualities that children are mentioning so that you can summarise at the end when you wrap-up the activity

Wrap up and summarise (10 minutes) Tell the children that everyone has a group of people that they can

go to for help and advice. These people can help them to solve problems and make decisions or to get help they need. They do not only help with situations where you have experienced violence – they can help with many things in your every day life – but those same people will very likely be there to help you if you experience violence.

Mention that these people in the group or circle of support show certain qualities. Highlight and mention (if not mentioned by the children) qualities such as: Love Kindness Trust Can talk about anything with this person Understands Does not blame Listens carefully Helpful

If possible, give a symbol for the qualities mentioned by the children (or those you add), like the following: Heart for ‘love’ A hand for ‘helpful’

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A smile for “kindness” Ear for ‘listens’

Encourage them to use their network to seek advice and assistance when they need it.

Tell the children that they should take home their Spidergrams and add to more people with these special qualities.

Explain to the children the difference between ‘telling tales” and ‘reporting’ an incident. “Telling tales” is when a child tells an adult what another child did because they want to get the second child into trouble. This is often discouraged. “Reporting” is when a student tells an adult what another child did because they want to help someone who may be hurt or because someone was not safe. Tell the children that: “It is important that we report whenever we see something that is unsafe or hurts other people.”


Run through the following questions with the 13-16 year old children Do you always go to the same person for help with everything? Are there some things you can talk about with some people and

not others? Are the people you are most likely to talk to able to do the most

to help you? If they are not the same people – people you talk to and people

who can help you – can the people you feel comfortable talking to, help you to talk to the person who can help you?

Repeat (30 minutes)Frequency to be repeated: ONCE A MONTH Have all the children keep their spidergram pictures. Once a month have the children take their spidergram pictures out. Get them to choose one of the people in their spidergram and think

about something that person has done to help them in the past month, since they last looked at the picture?

Ask the children How did this help make them feel? Is there anyone else they would like to add to the picture?

Someone who maybe helped them since they last looked at the picture?

Tell the children to add an extra leg and foot if they can think of someone else who helped them since they last looked at the picture.

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TOPIC 19: FEELING SAFE AT SCHOOL

Main messages: It is important for children to feel safe when they are at school, on the school

grounds, and when they are traveling to and from school. A school is a better place to learn when children feel safe at all times.Domains: This activity addresses the following domains Social and emotional learning


Violence prevention and response awareness, reporting and referral Instruction School climate/social norms Avoiding violence & self protection strategies Responding to, reporting, and seeking help

Gender Norms Gender concepts and identities (only in extension activity for 13-16 year olds)

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Mindful breathing54 (5 minutes) Get the children to sit in a comfortable position and ask them to close their eyes. Next, ask how their breath feels as they draw it into themselves, and then as it leaves. Ask them to put a hand on their own belly, so that they will be able to feel the rise and the

fall of their breath. Do this about five times – five inhales, five exhales. After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they might be aware of, then

invite them to let go of those thoughts and feelings. Ask them to imagine that the thoughts and feelings are bubbles, floating away, as they

return to their breathing. Repeat the five breaths – five in, five out – and do this as many times as feels right.

Learning Activity: Mapping our school and community55

Say: (2 minutes) We can feel safer if we know where there is a bigger chance that bad things happen, and

where there are good people who can help if something bad does happen.

Do: (40 minutes) ① Stick the large sheet of paper either on the wall or on the floor. ② Explain to the children that we are going to draw our school and the community it is set in. ③ Ask a child to volunteer to draw the school buildings in the middle of the paper. Tell them

to leave space around for others to add things later. ④ Ask a child to volunteer to draw an outline of the school grounds – with the fence, hedge,

or gate that shows the limit of the school. Tell them to leave space around for others to add things later.

⑤ Ask a child to volunteer to draw an outline map of their community around the school. ⑥ Now get all the children to start filling in the details including

a. In the school: playground, library, any canteen buildings, water points, the main gate, kitchen, latrines/toilets, etc.

b. In the community: houses, water points, rivers, fields with crops, etc. c. Getting to school / the journey to school: buses, bus stops, roads, paths, bridges,

fields, trains, boats, rickshaw, etc. ⑦ Ask the children

Does this map include all the places they go on a daily basis on a school day? ⑧ Divide the children into girls and boys. Then split the girls and boys into groups. Each

group should be between 4-6 people. So you end up with several groups with ONLY GIRLS and several groups with ONLY BOYS.

⑨ Give the groups of girls all the same colour of marker pen (suggest this should not be a colour that is typically associated with being a girl – so SHOULD NOT BE PINK – could be blue, green, yellow, orange.) This should be a DIFFERENT COLOUR from the colour given to the boys.

⑩ Give the groups of boys all the same colour of marker pen (suggest this should not be a colour that is typically associated with being a boy – so SHOULD NOT BE BLUE - pink, green, yellow, orange). This should be a DIFFERENT COLOUR from the colour given to the girls.

Sites of danger: ⑪ Ask the children to discuss in their groups the places they feel unsafe. Tell them they

must each group come up with the five places they feel most in danger from violence. ⑫ Give them 5 minutes to discuss and agree the 5 places. ⑬ Ask one girl from each of the groups of girls to come to the map and circle with their pens

the places where they feel there is danger.

Sources of help: 54 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com 55 Adapted activity based on “Step 2. Situational Analysis” on Page 11 of Risk Reduction And Adaptation For East Africa: A step-by-step approach with and for children, Save the Children, available at: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/riskreductionandadaptationforeastafrica-astepbystepapproachwithandforchildren2013sci.pdf

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/risk_reduction_and_adaptation_for_east_africa_-_a_step_by_step_approach_with_and_for_children_2013_sci.pdf



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⑭ Give the groups of girls all the same colour of paper (suggest this should not be a colour that is typically associated with being a girl – so SHOULD NOT BE PINK – could be blue, green, yellow, orange.) This should be a DIFFERENT COLOUR from the colour given to the boys.

⑮ Give the groups of boys all the same colour of paper (suggest this should not be a colour that is typically associated with being a boy – so SHOULD NOT BE BLUE - pink, green, yellow, orange). This should be a DIFFERENT COLOUR from the colour given to the girls.

⑯ Ask the children to in their groups discuss and talk about the people and places they would go to for help if they experienced violence.

⑰ Get each group to come up with the five best places to look for help. ⑱ Ask them to draw on their paper that source of help. ⑲ Ask one person from each group to come to the map and stick their sources of help to the

map.

Discuss (10 minutes) Get everyone standing around and looking at the map – all the girls and the boys together. Ask the children to think about and discuss the following questions:

Are there people and places that can help near every place where there is danger? Can we avoid the places where there is danger? What can we do to make the sites of danger at school and on the way to school

safer? Can we find a way to increase the number of places you can go to for help?

Extending the activity for 13-16 year old children: (15 minutes) With the group of older children – get them to look at the map that you have all drawn

together - and discuss the following questions: Do you see a difference between the types of danger girls are experiencing and that

boys are experiencing? Is there violence that happens outside of school that sometimes comes into the

school grounds (for example fighting as part of conflict, protests when there are elections, etc.)?

Is there a difference between who girls will go to for help and who boys will go to for help?

Are there other things we could do as individuals or as a group to stop the violence happening in and around the school grounds as well as on the way to school?

Repeat (10 minutes) Frequency to be repeated: EVERY TWO WEEKS (FORTNIGHTLY) WHEN DOING THE PICTURES OF VIOLENCE REPEAT ACTIVITY After you have asked the children if there are new forms of violence they are

experiencing, ask them to add these to their maps. Ask them also: Did this new form of violence lead you to go to someone new for help? Add any new sources of help to the maps too

TOPIC 20: SAFE AT SCHOOL EVEN IN CONFLICT

Main messages: Children have a right to education and to be protected even in times of conflict. The Safe Schools Declaration is a commitment from governments around the world

to keep schools, students and teachers safe in times of conflict. Domains: This activity addresses the following domains: Risk management

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Know our risks Reduce our risks

What we will learn today: Schools should be safe spaces even in times of conflict.

What we will need: Print-outs of the positive and

harmful illustrations below

How long this will take: 5 minutes – mindfulness activity 55 minutes – learning activity 45 minutes – activity with 13-16 y.o. 40 minutes – activity with 5-8 y.o.10 minutes – repeat activity


Preparations: Print out the positive and harmful illustrations below. Poster versions of the positive and

harmful illustrations are also available in English (positive and harmful); French (positive and harmful); Arabic (positive and harmful); Swahili (positive and harmful) and Kurdish (positive and harmful).

Ensure that the facilitator is trained in child-sensitive facilitation techniques to initially handle/comfort a child (see pages 3-5 in this link for tips on working with children in conflict settings) and knows how to refer children to specialized services if a need arises during the activity.

Find out if your country has signed the Safe Schools Declaration by consulting this website (link).

Know which child protection reporting procedures are in place in your school; consult with Activity 9 in Action Pack 2 on Safe Schools Management.


Mindful breathing56 (5 minutes) Get the children to sit in a comfortable position and ask them to close their eyes. Some

children may be uncomfortable closing their eyes (i.e., might trigger bad memories, etc) and should be given the option to keep eyes open and focus on their hands or another object.

Next, ask how their breath feels as they draw it into themselves, and then as it leaves. Ask them to put a hand on their own belly, so that they will be able to feel the rise and the

fall of their breath. Do this about five times – five inhales, five exhales. After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they might be aware of, then

invite them to let go of those thoughts and feelings. Ask them to imagine that the thoughts and feelings are bubbles, floating away, as they

return to their breathing. Repeat the five breaths – five in, five out – and do this as many times as feels right.

Learning Activity: Positive practice, harmful practice57

Say: (2 minutes)

56 This mindfulness activity is adapted and used with permission from Karen Young, www.heysigmund.com 57 Adapted activity based on “Step 2. Situational Analysis” on Page 11 of Risk Reduction And Adaptation For East Africa: A step-by-step approach with and for children, Save the Children, available at: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/riskreductionandadaptationforeastafrica-astepbystepapproachwithandforchildren2013sci.pdf




http://www.protectingeducation.org/guidelines/support

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/12201/pdf/guidance_illustrations.pdf

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_kurdish_poster_negative.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_kurdish_poster_positive.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_swahili_poster_negative.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_swahili_poster_positive.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_arabic_poster_negative_0.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_arabic_poster_positive.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_french_poster_negative.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_french_poster_positive.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_english_poster_negative.jpeg

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/szop_english_poster_positive.jpeg

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FACILITATOR NOTE: Adjust the words as needed to be age-appropriate for a younger audience.

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Safe Schools Declaration (5 minutes)④ Say: The harmful practices we just discussed threaten children’s right to learn and be

safe in many places around the world where there is conflict. This is why world leaders have created a “Safe Schools Declaration”. This is an international commitment where governments agree to take steps to keep schools from being occupied or attacked during conflict.

⑤ Say: For example, in the harmful illustrations we discussed, an armed group is staying in the school. This can be dangerous for the students because they are at risk of being recruited into the armed group and the school is more likely to be attacked. The Safe Schools Declaration says that armed groups should not use schools.

⑥ Say: a. Option 1: COUNTRY NAME has signed the Safe Schools Declaration. It is important

that our leaders are held responsible for acting on that commitment.b. Option 2: COUNTRY NAME has not yet signed the Safe Schools Declaration, but

adults and children can find safe ways to ask our leaders to support this important commitment.

⑦ Ask: Why do you think the Safe Schools Declaration is important?

Discuss (15 minutes)Safe Reporting Procedures Say: It is important to speak up in a safe way when we see harmful practices in our school

or on the way to school. This can help us stay safe and can help our leaders better protect us and respect their commitment to the Safe Schools Declaration.

Ask: What are safe ways that we can report harmful practices in our school? Which adults could you safely tell if you see a harmful practice in or around your

school? Does your school have any reporting systems like a suggestion box or a help desk?

o If yes, how is it working? Can all students report with this procedure (i.e, children who cannot read or write, children with hearing or speaking impairments, girls and boys)? How could it be improved so more students have access?

o If no, what reporting systems would we like to start? How can we make these equally accessible for all students (i.e. children who cannot read or write, children with hearing or speaking impairments, girls and boys)?

Wrap up and summarise Today we have discussed positive and harmful practices for a school during conflict. We have learned about the international Safe Schools Declaration that helps

governments protect students, teachers, and schools during conflict. We have agreed on the importance of reporting harmful practices in a safe way to

adults so that our government can help protect our right to learn and be safe.

Additional activity for 13-16 year-old children*: (45 minutes) *Note on age group: This activity could also be appropriate for children ages 9 and up if the facilitator chooses statements that are age-appropriate and child-sensitive.

Learning Activity “What we have in common”

FACILITATOR NOTE: The concepts of “declaration” and “commitment” might be difficult for younger children to understand. You can either change the language to be more age-appropriate, or ask the children to help you define “declaration” and “commitment” in a way everyone can understand. Their definitions should be similar to:

Declaration: an important statement Commitment: an agreement or a pledge to do something

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Objective: Help children realize that they have a lot in common and can support each other through times of conflict.

Preparation: The facilitator should prepare general statements (i.e., I love listening to music; I always go to bed before midnight) and conflict-related statements (i.e., I meet soldiers on the way to school; I know someone who has been hurt on the way to school). Use your knowledge of the local context and the conflict-related risks to tailor these statements to the reality children are facing.

Do: (15 minutes)

① Ask all children to stand in a circle. ② Read a general statement that you have prepared. Tell students to step into the circle if

this statement is true for them. Take a moment to see who has stepped into the circle, and then ask all students to return to their starting position. Repeat this process with a few more general statements.

③ Now introduce conflict-related statements. Be aware that this is a sensitive activity and adjust the statements according to the mood in the room. For certain statements, consider asking follow-up questions (i.e., how often do you meet soldiers on the way to school?)

Discuss: (30 minutes)

After you have read out all the statements, discuss with the children: a. How did you feel as the statements were read? Were you surprised about how

many students stepped into the circle? Why or why not?i. What are some risks we all face? ii. What are some risks that only certain groups face (i.e., girls versus boys;

children from different ethnic groups; IDPs versus host community; children with disabilities)?

b. How can we support each other when we experience unsafe situations because of the conflict? What can we as students do? What can our teachers and other adults do? Emphasize that, while children can be agents of positive change, adults have the responsibility to ensure that children are safe.

Alternative activity for 5-8 year-old children: (40 minutes) The learning activity “Positive practice, harmful practice” can be adapted for younger

children by following the same instructions but dropping the discussion on the harmful practices:

o Say: Take out reference to harmful practices o Do:

Positive Practices (20 minutes) Safe Schools Declaration (5 minutes) – take out reference to harmful

practices o Discuss: Safe Reporting Procedures (15 minutes)

Repeat (10 minutes) There are different alternatives for following up this activity and helping children safely report about harmful practices in and around the school during conflict. Select the alternative that works best for your context: At the end of each child club meeting: Ask children if they have seen any new harmful

practices that they would like to report. Once a semester: Invite the children to review the positive and harmful practices posters.

o Ask if there are new harmful practices that they have seen in and around the school that adults should know about.

o Ask if the reporting systems are working well. If not, how can they be improved? For more activities that help children discuss risks related to conflict using the above

illustrations, consult this illustrations guide in English (link here) and French (link here).

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/12201/pdf/guide_illustrations_en_francais_0.pdf

https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/12201/pdf/guidance_illustrations.pdf

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ANNEX 1: Guidance on Supporting a Student-led Safe Schools Project

One of the important roles of the facilitator is to inspire their children to think about what they could do as a Safe Schools Children’s Club (SSCC) to contribute to building a safe and caring school that is free from violence, using a process which is safe and protective. While children will participate in the Safe Schools Committee, ideally a Safe Schools project will support other child-led activities to promote school safety and a positive learning environment. This is line with the principles of meaningful child participation which encourage us to look for opportunities for children to develop and lead school improvement initiatives, not only participate in initiatives led by adults.

The ‘Five-step Process for Inspiring Change’ (see image below) is a simple tool that can be used to guide children in planning and implementing a project that will help build a positive school and prevent violence.

It can be integrated and added to the Safe Schools Children’s club activities, by adding an extra 30-60 minutes in some sessions to plan and follow-up on the project. Children can work on the project in between the club meetings.

The project will work best if a teacher from the school is facilitating the children’s club, or if a teacher from the Safe Schools Committee could be invited to support the children’s club project.

It is best to introduce the project work towards the middle of the program. After activity 14 would be ideal, at this stage, children will have learned about student and teacher relationships.

The following are some examples of simple, low-cost projects that children can work together on to contribute to building a positive school that is free from violence:

• Developing a ‘No Tolerance for Bullying’ school policy;• A campaign for equal treatment of all children, girls and boys?• Developing a ‘Talking Compound’ that provides different messages reminding

children and all school staff to be kind to and help each other;• Developing a ‘Clean-up Campaign’ so that children can come together to clean

up the school grounds and keep them clean; and• Developing and maintaining a ‘Message Box’ so that all children can submit

ideas about how to make the school a positive place that is free from violence.

This process should be ‘pupil-owned’. The facilitator is encouraged to identify and work with one or two upper class children to introduce the Five-step process. The

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selected older class children will work with the facilitator to organize the children in the Safe Schools Children’s Club and get started on the project. The children in the Safe Schools Children’s Club who want to participate should be willing to commit to working together with their peers through all five steps in the tool. The selected upper class children will provide the pupil leadership that is needed to keep the children assigned to the project ‘on track’.

The facilitator should encourage the children to select small, simple actions for their project, especially in the beginning. By keeping the initial projects very simple, the children will have success. This builds self-confidence in the children’ ability to take part in making their school a more positive place to learn. These initial successes, reinforce the children’ feelings of responsibility to a positive school – as a responsible pupil and as a responsible Safe Schools Student Club.

The Five-step Process for Inspiring Change is illustrated in a simple U-shaped model, presented on the following page. Each of the five steps are then described, with an example of a team ‘positive school project’.

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58 Source: Presencing Institute, www.presencing.com

http://www.presencing.com/

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Annex 2: Guidance on Providing emotional support to children and acting on child protection concerns

This section provides guidance to facilitators to ensure that they are prepared to both recognize and respond to changes in the emotional state of children engaged in the activities, particularly if signs of distress, sadness or anger are expressed. . Facilitators should be read to and respond appropriately with empathy and kindness as well as practical actions to respond and refer serious concerns which may arise.

This annex provides some general guidance, however it is essential to follow the national, local or school level policies- either governmental or Save the Children. it is essential that before beginning the program that facilitators are trained child safeguarding and referral policies and protocols and that they understandhow to respond to child protection concerns and children in distress.

Identifying children who experience emotional distress

It is very possible that many children will have experienced some form of violence, either as a witness or by experiencing violence themselves, including bullying, physical or humiliating punishment sexual harassment or abuse. These forms of violence against childrenin schools can be referred to as school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). Annex 2 provides a description of SRGBV.When these topics come up in the Safe Schools Chidlren’s Club (SSCC) children may recall some of these experiences and become upset. The following are some signs that a pupil may be in distress:

• Limited or no participation in the activity;• Avoidance of the activity through disruptive behavior, • inappropriate laughter• Holding a head down• Showing signs of nervousness such as holding their head down,

crying or shaking;• Abruptly leaving• Crying.

Opting out of an activity with sensitive content

For activities that involve more sensitive content, especially activities referring to sexual and gender-based violence, children need to be informed that their participation is optional. If a pupil opts out of an activity the facilitator is encouraged to follow up with the pupil to learn why and to give the pupil a chance to discuss what it is about the activity that makes them uncomfortable. This follow- up with children who opt out should take place no later than following school day.

Response by the Facilitator

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Some of the important elements of a caring response to children who have shown signs of emotional distress in the SSCC include:

• Being immediately available to the pupil;• Providing a private place to talk;• Listening carefully to what they have to say;• Showing empathy and offering comfort and follow-up assistance.

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• Do not put the pupil in a threatening setting.• Do not try to distract or divert the pupil’s attention from his or her feelings.

Perpetrators who are not held accountable for their actions will continue to commit acts of violence against children. More children may be harmed and suffer lifelong consequences.Reporting and responding to reports of violence is the first step to reducing

• Do not tell the pupil how to feel.• Do not discuss the pupil’s situation with others.

2.1.2 Initiating appropriate response, reporting and tracking of incidents of SRGBV disclosed

Some children will disclose incidents of violence they have experienced to the facilitator. In addition to the immediate response (see above) the facilitator should follow-up with the pupil to see if they have been supported. This section provides some recommendations for following-up, however, national or local protocols (SC or government) should be followed and the facilitator should have been trained in the CSG and referral policies and protocols and know how to respond in these cases.

Always keep in mind that follow-up responses of any kind should be in the best interest of the child.

Always follow up with the pupil. Following up shows the pupil that you care and are dedicated to his or her wellbeing.

If available, always have a counselor or qualified person available to help children talk privately about their feelings.

Discuss with the pupil the options for their recovery and make sure that they make choices from an informed position.

Discuss with the pupil the options for reporting. Every pupil’s experience is unique and must be discussed with him or her and elevated depending on that child’s experience.

Discuss with the pupil who they can trust to talk to immediately and who they would like to accompany him or her when reporting to an authority is required.

Report any illegal acts of violence. This is a legal obligation of all teachers under many national laws. When reporting specific incidents of violence disclosed by a pupil, the pupil’s safety must come first.

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Steps to be taken when reporting and following up on an incident. Document the incident using an incident record sheet; an example is provided below.

Scenario 1:Mrs. Abalo is a P2 teacher and a committed facilitator of an SSCC. During an activity, she noticed that Jacob, a normally active P4 pupil, became withdrawn during the activity and began to cry. She asked Amina, a P6 pupil, to continue the activity while she quietly took Jacob aside. She told Jacob it was normal to feel sad when thinking about sad things. She then asked what he would like to do right then and if he wanted to stay in the team activity or leave it. Jacob wanted to stay in the team and participate. He appeared to recover and participated in the SSCC.

The next day, Mrs. Abalo met with Jacob to tell him that she had been thinking about him since the SSCC meeting and that she wanted him to know that she cares about him and wondered how he was feeling. She also asked whether he wanted to talk about why he was sad. Jacob described how, because of the chores he had to perform at home before school and the distance he must walk to school, he is often late. Upon arriving at school, he is beatenharshly with a tree branch by the prefect for being late.

He was beaten today and several times last week. He feels humiliated that he cannot get to school on time, becomes afraid when he gets close to school, and is hurt by the blows from the prefect. Mrs. Abalo asked Jacob whether she could talk to the head teacher about how the prefects could better uphold the school’s violence-free policy and exercise their leadership positions more responsibly. Jacob agreed, as long as Mrs. Abalo kept his name confidential. Mrs. Abalo discussed the issue with the head teacher, and together, they agreed on a strategy to achieve a violence-free school.

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Example from Scenario 1

Pupil reports being beaten with a stick by the prefect upon arriving at school. The name of the perpetrator perfect is knownto the pupil.

[27/04/17]and other times in the past week.

[27/04/17]ReportedtoC. Abalo.

Pupil agreed to report incident to the head teacher but not to be identifiedby name.

A P7 teacher who observed the incident confirmed that the pupil was caned by the prefect. Met with the head teacher [28/04/17] and with the VAC Coordinator andsenior male teacher [28/04/17]. VAC Coordinator addressed the school assembly [04/05/17]. Checked back with pupil [10/05/17].

Annex 3: Guidance and tool on Targeted Prevention

Much like in literacy and other education programs people have argued for remedial support for struggling learners, some experts working on the prevention of bullying, violent crime and gang violence have argued for the effectiveness of targeted or "secondary" prevention strategies- this means identifying individuals or groups of children who may be particularly at risk of perpetrating violence and ensuring that they are supported in the program. Evidence for secondary prevention has been good in North America and this approach has been successfully applied in Latin America (watch this video for more information: https://specialreports.creativeassociatesinternational.com/targeted-prevention-brings-kids-back-from-the-brink/)

There are two benefits to including a targeted prevention component: In school environments with problems of bullying or other forms of

peer violence, it can often be a small minority of students responsible for a majority of violence

Just like with academic skills, some children will need more support developing social and emotional skills due to factors such as their family environment, disruption or trauma they have experienced. They can benefit more intensive support to form positive behaviours and relationships.

However, this strategy should be used with caution: It is very important that this is done sensitively and without any

idea of stigmatizing or punishing children- targeting should be done discreetly and confidentially without ever communicating that the project targets bad children

it is very important that targeted children with behavioural and social challenges should be placed in groups for activities with a range of children including children with positive prosocial development- children who seem to be good at making friends, cooperating and empathizing with others. Placing children with behavioural challenges all together in one group has been shown to have harmful effects. Generally it has been recommend to ensure

https://specialreports.creativeassociatesinternational.com/targeted-prevention-brings-kids-back-from-the-brink/

https://specialreports.creativeassociatesinternational.com/targeted-prevention-brings-kids-back-from-the-brink/

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that a child with behavioural challenges should be placed with at least four children showing prosocial behaviour and the total group size should ideally be no more than 12 children.

If we are using some targeted prevention then skilled facilitation and management of groups is even more important, it is vital that facilitators have the skills to appropriately respond to any behavioural challenges.

How to identify children:-The idea of secondary prevention is to identify children exhibiting particular risk factors, some of the most common risk factors identified in the literature are:

Children who have previously perpetrated bullying Children who exhibit aggressive behaviour Children who seem to be "impulsive" and find it hard to manage

their feelings Children who seem socially isolated and find it hard to make friends Children who come from violent or disrupted family environments

There are several ways to identify at risk children including observation and questionnaires, however our recommended most reliable and cost-effective way is through careful and discreet consultation with teachers or other school staff. A short tool for consulting with teachers and approaching children is included below.

Step 1: Consult with teachers or school staff As part of your school management project (AP 2) you should have

agreed to the SSCCs You can approach teachers from the relevant grades of your program

for your target age group (e.g. grades 3-5). 59

rSay to the teacher:

We are planning some after school clubs with the school social worker/psychologist/(Insert relevant title of facilitators) to help promote a positive school environmental, we’d like your help in finding students to participate

We’d like to make sure that the groups contain a good mix of students with different backgrounds and personalities, including children who have lots of friends and some who find it harder to get on with others.

Please note that before moving forward that this process is strictly confidential and it is very important we take great care to make sure that no child thinks they are being asked to be in the group as they are “good” or “bad”- this is a confidential conversation between us

Ask the teacher to complete the following form or have them complete it with you.

59 If teachers have too many classes/students and do not know their students well enough for this consultation, you may not be able to use a targeted prevention strategy, or consider another way to identify students (e.g. peer referrals).

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Characteristic Names of children ( as many as you like, ideally name at least 3)

Children who are very helpful and kind to other studentsChildren who often become angry or aggressiveChildren who are student leaders or who actively participate in school government or other school or community democratic projects Children who frequently disrupt class

Thanks for your input. That is enough information for now, we will come back soon with a suggested groups of children for the project. Again, please remember that this is a private conversation.

Step 2: Plan your groupings Meet with your safe schools’ project team, involving school

management and child activities facilities if appropriate, and draw up a list of groups trying to meet the following characteristics:

o The group should have a maximum of 12 childreno Include a maximum of 1 child with behavioural challenges for

every 4 childreno Try to include some children who are noted as being prosocial

(helpful and kind)o Try to include some children who are good at making friends o Include some children who are participating in the school safety

management committeeo Aim for a gender mix of 50-50 if possible. Some sessions may be

run separately for boys and girls.

Step 3: Invite Children to participate Compile the list of children and either approach them directly, through

a facilitator or through a teacher. Explain that the program is voluntary. Explain that the clubs will have a

mix of students so that we have the opportunity to play with and make friends with children we might not normally play with.

Emphasise that it will be fun and interesting! Here is an example script to use with children: We would like to invite you to take part in some fun after school activities. My name is XX I work for XXX. We work with children and adults to try and make sure children can enjoy their rights like education and health. The after school clubs will be lots of fun, we will play games, draw pictures, and you will help us with ideas to make our school a safe and friendly place. The club will have a mix of students so we can learn and make

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friends with children we might not normally play with. This activity is voluntary which means you only need to come if you want to. Do you have any questions? If you would like to come then you can write your name on this list here and we will meet on ______ Step 4: Monitor your Groupings

Once the program is up and running, monitor how the grouping seems to be working. The idea of the children’s clubs is that they are spaces where children learn to get on well together and form positive relationships.

If some groups are very disrupted by a few students, then you might want to consider re-assigning some students between groups to try and find a good balance. As in steps 2 and 3, don’t do this in a way that might label or stigmatize any students.

Documents

resourcecentre.savethechildren.net › sites › ... · Web viewSafe Schools Children’s Activities: Living Well Together. Introduction and Overview. Welcome to the Safe Schools