How a scheme lifts quiet children's confidence

Project
Pyramid

Funding
A starter pack and training to run Pyramid costs £9,000 for up to 10 schools. The scheme is paid for by schools and local authorities, but ContinYou recently secured £10,000 from Santander to launch the scheme ?in Bradford

Purpose
To boost the social skills, confidence and emotional wellbeing of quiet and withdrawn children

Background
Children who are quiet or withdrawn at school often get overlooked because they do not cause trouble. Yet without support, these shy children may be at risk of developing more serious emotional and behavioural problems. The Pyramid concept was devised in the 1970s by education social worker Kay FitzHerbert to address the needs of this group. The after-school-club model was developed and rolled out by the National Pyramid Trust, which became part of education charity ContinYou in 2007.

Action
The Pyramid process starts with careful screening. “We’re looking for children who have emotional difficulties, who often don’t get noticed,” explains Bronach Hughes, emotional health and wellbeing co-ordinator at ContinYou. “It is very difficult to work with a group of quiet children if there are two or three disruptive children in the same group.”

The 10-week after-school clubs feature a range of activities designed to bring children out of their shells and improve skills and confidence. These include cooking, games, arts and crafts and circle time, where children are encouraged to share thoughts and feelings. The flexibility of the scheme means activities can be tailored to suit different ages and the needs of each group. Being part of a group is a key element, explains Hughes. “Being accepted by your peers is very important for children aged seven to 14,” she says. “If they’re not part of a group then they may embark on risky behaviour in order to feel accepted by their peer group when they’re older.”

Specially trained workers, who may be school staff or volunteers, lead the clubs and there is a high child to adult ratio of at least three leaders to 10 children. Older, sixth form pupils help out with some projects.

“The scheme doesn’t cost very much money but people do need to be prepared to set aside time for it and see it as a valuable activity,” says Hughes.

The scheme operates mainly in primary schools but there are some clubs in secondary schools helping young people who have struggled to settle in. There is a Pyramid for Parents scheme, which can run alongside the clubs to help parents understand how best to support their children, which also involves group work, activities and circle time.

Outcome
Nearly 4,000 children aged seven to 14 attended Pyramid clubs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2010/11.

A study by researchers at the University of West London found Pyramid after-school clubs had improved the social and emotional wellbeing of vulnerable children. The research was published in May, in the British Journal of Educational Psychology, and followed 103 seven-year-olds who attended Pyramid after-school clubs in Ealing and Manchester, comparing them to 282 of their classmates.

Children were assessed before and after attending the 10-week club using strengths and difficulties questionnaires, which revealed significant improvements in social skills, peer integration and self-confidence. There was a significant decrease in average difficulty scores for children who attended Pyramid sessions from 10.06 to 7.88 compared to a slight increase in the comparison group, from 8.03 to 8.23.

Scores can be banded to identify children at higher risk of developing emotional, social and behavioural problems. Before attending Pyramid, 22.5 per cent showed “abnormal” scores, 9.8 per cent were “borderline” and 67.7 per cent were “normal”. After the intervention, that shifted to 10.7 per cent “abnormal”, 11.8 per cent “borderline” and 77.5 per cent “normal”. Research on outcomes for older children is due out shortly.