Angel Wings Pilot Report

Introduction

P4/5/6 – Sandwick Primary School/ P5 – Sound School Primary School

Two classes undertook the Angel Wings Pilot one a composite 4, 5 and 6 class and a primary 5 class. In consultation with the class teachers we arrived at the following structures:

Classes were selected on the previous mental health interests and as a measure of the impact of the story on this age group.

The subject matter was explored following the reading of the book and workshops from the Mind Your Head co-ordinators to ensure that the pupils were prepared to consider the subject matter with some preparation.

The Anne Donovan story was read over two sessions by the class teacher to the pupils

Evaluation would be gathered from the class teachers to explore the immediate impact of introducing the story and relevant exercises.

A report would be collated by the Mind Your Head coordinator.

Background to the Book

Angel Wings explores the issues of mental health through the eyes of a young boy named Matthew. It explores the relationships Matthew has in his life, with his mother and close family, the way he understands mental ill health and how he experiences the issues that arise out of his mother’s episodes of mental ill health.

What Happened? (Sound School)

The book was well received by the class; it was read in two halves. After the first half, the issue which arose where discussed such as bullying, caring for an adult, mental wellbeing and celebrating being different.

Children then drew and painted a life size person based on the books character Matthew and surrounded it with thought and speech bubbles, building a character description and ‘getting him to know him better’

The second half of the book was then read and again the issues were discussed. The children then completed a co-operative activity where they created advice for Matthew to help him deal with his problem. The teacher felt that the children responded positively and maturely to the book, she felt they were keen to keep reading and learn from Matthews experiences and the their responses to the issues were sensible and relevant.

The class then went on to right advice for Matthew- this can be seen below.

The Mind Your Head co-ordinators delivered a workshop where they highlighted the misinterpretations associated to feelings and mental health. They also discussed with the class ways in which they could maintain good mental health and wellbeing. The co-ordinators used various activities to discuss the subject matter and found the class to have a good understanding of what mental health was and how it could affect people and those around them. The feedback forms from the class on the workshop showed that 100%

of the class enjoyed the materials they were given. One pupil wrote at the bottom of the form;

‘It is very important to except others who may be different from yourself. In Angel Wings it has a very good explenation of mentle health, it said that mentel health is an illness, it is a bit like a T.V and it is not tuned in properly and it can go onto different chanels and they can hear voises that we can’t hear, some are nice but some are scary’

The class aim to conclude this project by writing a further chapter for the book – continuing Matthew’s story.

What happened?(Sandwick School)

Sandwick pupils started by discussing ‘What is mental health?’ The pupils put their ideas on to a large piece of paper (graffiti board). This would be used by the teacher to evaluate the children’s knowledge over the course of the pilot.

The pupils then read the story and discussed the language and issues that arose. They also discussed the descriptions used within the book – how Matthew’s mum felt like a TV that had lost reception, and about the feelings of sadness or being different inside.

The Mind Your Head co-ordinators delivered a workshop where they highlighted the misinterpretations associated to feelings and mental health. They also discussed with the class ways in which they could maintain good mental health and wellbeing.

After the co-ordinators visit the pupils revisited the story and went onto create a set of illustrations which they believed reflected the feelings and sensations experienced by Matthews mother.

Both illustrations show the difference in Matthews’s mother’s moods and feeling.

The pupils then went onto to develop a character that may feel ‘different’ in some way. Pupils chose ‘differences’ like cancer, anger management, skin colour, heart problem and doesn’t get on with siblings. The pupils discussed this in pairs and then discussed their finding with the rest of the class. They were encouraged to discuss the characters likes/dislikes and general information about the character before mentioning the thing on the outside that made them feel ‘different’

Pupils were given a chance at the end of the pilot to revisit their ‘What is mental health?’ graffiti boards. This was to evaluate their knowledge on mental health and their confidence in discussing it. The second visit was much more productive and children seemed more confident.

Lastly they were encouraged to write down some ideas on how they could help someone with poor mental health.

What did ALL the participants think?

‘We read the book it was REALLY good’

‘It made me feel really sad to think people can’t have as much fun as we can because either one member of their family is wired up diffrently or they are wired up differently. I wonder what we could do to help...’

‘I didn’t know much about mental health when we got angel wings but I do now’

‘I think all of us really enjoyed it and I think that it has improved my understanding of mental health and of mental illness, I know now that its not anyones fault if they have got a mental illness’

‘the book also got me thinking, maybe if someone is mean to you at school you shouldn’t be mean to them maybe they have to put up with alot going on at home’

What did we learn?

In evaluating the sessions we found that perhaps more set aside time within the classroom would have been more beneficial.

Perhaps a longer session with the co-ordinators would have been useful as an hour was slightly rushed.

All teachers who took part agreed that the resources were easy to use and easily adaptable to suit the needs of their class.

By using expressive activities as well as written activities this gave pupils a chance to express their feelings in a number of ways and was beneficial to pupils who may find it difficult to put into words how they are feeling.

The storytelling and activites both worked towards fulfilling different capacities within the Curriculum for Excellence. The storytelling session contributed towards enabling the pupils to become responsible citizens with respect for others, able to develop informed choices, and ethical views. The activities and sessions undertaken with the co-ordinators encouraged the pupils to work in teams and collaborate with one and other; this ensured that we contributed towards supporting them in becoming effective contributors able to work in partnership and in teams.

We were able to assess the knowledge and understanding before Angel wings were introduced to after all activities were complete by the use of the pupil’s language, their contribution to the activities and from the teacher’s evaluations.

See below what a pupil from Sound School felt they gained from the pilot;

Where do we go from here?

If you feel this is a resource which would be suitable to use please contact Mind your head.

Jenny Teale

November 2012