More on SEAL - taking ownership - talk2me

The SEAL guidance recommends:

"When teaching social, emotional and behavioural skills the teacher/practitioner should be constantly asking themselves how they can encourage children to take ownership. Ideas might include:

• involving children fully in the decision to implement the SEAL curricular approach, and making sure they, as well as adults, understand the purpose of the work and the hoped-for outcomes;
• involving them in the identification of criteria that demonstrate success;
• involving them in the evaluation of their learning;
• providing choice as to how activities and tasks are completed and information presented;
• allowing them to determine their own questions for enquiry and debate;
• using behaviour management techniques that encourage children to make a choice about their behaviour;
• providing opportunities for children to determine class and playground rules and routines, and ground rules for the activities to develop their social, emotional and behavioural skills;
• providing opportunities for children to explore how they might establish a classroom environment and ethos that promotes good learning and emotional well-being.

Many schools have school councils that allow children to take part in decision-making within the whole-school context. These are most effective when they are supported by regular class councils or circle time that provide a forum for class and school issues to be discussed."

This last point: "school councils that allow children to take part in decision-making" is a good way of "involving them in the identification of criteria that demonstrate success [and] involving them in the evaluation of their learning........"

A good way to advance and to evaluate progress in personal, social and emotional education is to use talk2me. The school council can be involved in the process of implementing talk2me which will prompt the pupils to think about "taking ownership".