RAISING SELF-ESTEEM IN PRIMARY PUPILS

Self-Esteem: "The experience of being capable of meeting life's challenges and being worthy of happiness."

The National Association for Self-Esteem

"Success is the culmination of failures, mistakes, false starts, confusion - - and the determination to keep going anyway."

Nick Gleason, Founder and CEO, CitySoft

“Perhaps once in a hundred years a person may be ruined by excessive praise,
but surely once every minute someone dies inside for lack of it.”

Cecil G. Osborne, author

We know that attitudes are a critical part of the learning process – and if pupils believe they can learn, they will. Pupils (and teachers) who feel good about themselves, value who they are, what they do and where they are going help make teaching a real joy – and pupils who exhibit the signs of low self-esteem can be a real challenge.

So what can teachers do - responding to individuals or working with a class - to raise and sustain high self-esteem and what can they do working collectively to make this systemic throughout their school? This course is designed to provide some insights and answers.

AIMS OF THE COURSE

1. to discuss and clarify our perceptions and understanding of self-esteem

2. to identify how teachers can utilise their unique relationship with individual pupils to help build self-esteem

3. to describe a range of classroom activities and approaches which can nurture pupils’ self-esteem

4. to discuss ways in which the ethos and management of the school can contribute to raising self-esteem

5. to deal with delegates’ aspirations and concerns

WHO WOULD BENEFIT? Teachers, Managers, Leaders and Classroom Assistants in Infant, First, Junior, Primary and Middle Schools. It will also be of interest to teachers working in the early years of Secondary education.

TUTORS

Jeff Lewis has spent over thirty years working in and for education in a wide range of roles - including Head, Advisor, Assistant Education Officer and Director of a Teachers’ Professional Development Centre. He is a Master Practitioner of NLP, Director of The NLP Education Network and New Oceans Education (providing training and consultancy services in education) and is dedicated to empowering people to fulfil their potential.

Ron Addelman taught for over 20 years.  He has been a Head of Department, Deputy Head and General Adviser.  He was for a while an Ofsted inspector and has various publications to his name.  He now focuses on training and consultancy throughout England, Scotland and Wales and abroad.  He has chaired the National Educational Policy Committee of the Association for Language Learning, has an M. Ed degree which draws on SEN and is an NLP Practitioner.

COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAMME

STARTING POINTS

Introduction and underlying principles:

Through demonstration and practical processes, we will explore the concept of self-esteem, our own perceptions and experiences of it, and approaches to developing it.

WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACHES

A wide range of strategies will be described and discussed.

These include approaches to feedback, incentives and sanctions, celebrations and the school environment.

WORKING IN THE CLASSSROOM

How pupils' self-esteem can be affected by responses to different learning styles, the development of pupils' listening skills, classroom covenants, and the creation of ‘special’ days.

WORKING WITH INDIVIDUAL PUPILS

How teachers can respond to the needs of individuals.