Time to Shine
Inspiring and Empowering Mentoring for Young People
TESTIMONIALS
“I’ve wanted to meet you for some time and say thank you, thank you for helping my daughter, I see the difference in her and I need to learn these skills too! Do you do anything for parents?”
~ Mother of 9 year old girl
~ Well-being Programme
“I feel that I can control my thoughts about my exams more and I’ll remember everything you’ve told us. Thank you.”
~ 17 year old female student
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“You wouldn’t believe it but all the children in that group were the quietest ones in their class..!”
~ Debbie Hayes, Trinity Primary School
~ Well-being Programme
“It’s showed me that we’re all in the same boat and we’re all stressed and we can turn that stress into being more productive.”
~ 18 year old male student
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“I chose 10 pupils who were suffering from a range of issues such as mental health, stress, poor self-esteem, lack of organisation etc. Deborah spent 8 weeks with the group and her impact was profound. The students have said they really enjoyed the sessions and I noticed over the weeks that the skills and coping strategies she gave them were working fantastically well. I noticed that there was a more positive atmosphere and the students were helping and coaching each other, practicing revision and relaxation techniques. We have been extremely impressed with the impact of Deborah’s work.”
~ Colin McCormick, Head of History, Alsop High
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“Almost everyone took something away from this. We need you to come back next year.”
~ Guadalupe Rangel-Vazquez, Head of Sixth Form, Alsop High School
~ Inspirational Motivational Talk
“This is the only place I feel like I can be myself in school.”
~ 12 year old boy
~ Well-being Programme
“Throughout my time in education I have never come across a programme as powerful as this. Research demonstrates that children are effective learners when they feel safe, secure and valued. Through their participation in this programme, our children continue to develop in all aspects of the curriculum. Deborah now visits the school every single week and will continue to do so, working with the school’s most vulnerable children.”
~ Adam Vasco, Deputy Head Teacher, St Vincent de Paul Primary School
~ Well-being Programme
“I feel more positive about my exams and don’t feel as negative about them… I feel I can pass them.”
~ 17 year old female student
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“Coming here has helped me to actually have confidence.”
~ 13 year old girl
~ Well-being Programme
“Is my son okay? He seems… confident and not stressed!”
~ Parent, phoning the school after her 17 year old son participated in the Effective Exam Preparation Programme
“I’ve definitely got a more relaxed and positive outlook on my exams. I used to be really negative about them but I feel a lot better now.”
~ 17 year old male student
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“What’s really helped me is knowing not to pass the pain on when someone hurts me.”
~ 11 year old girl
~ Well-being Programme
“It was decent!”
~ 17 year old male student
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“I used the visualisation to win the talent show… I kept seeing the trophy winking at me!”
~ 10 year old boy
~ Well-being Programme
“The students very quickly established a group identity and individually developed their own self-esteem. The students’ feedback speaks for itself but I know that each student now has increased levels of positivity, confidence and self-worth.”
~ Mark Wyss, Principal, Ormiston Bolingbrook Academy
~ Well-being Programme
“I can cope with my stress now and everything I’ve learned will help me with my exams.”
~ 18 year old male student
~ Exam Preparation Programme
“Deborah you are worth your weight in gold and we want you to come back every week forever.”
~ Phillip Stewart, (then) Headteacher, St. Vincent de Paul Primary School
~Well-being Programme
“I always use the meditation and it helps get my anger down straight away.”
~ 11 year old boy
~ Well-being Programme
“I’ve been using the meditation with my Mum and we’re getting on better and that’s what I really wanted, to get on better with my Mum.”
~ 15 year old girl
~ Well-being Programme
Well-being Primary
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Posted on September 7, 2017 by DeborahBee
Twenty percent of primary school children suffer from a low sense of wellbeing*.
The Well-being Programme Primary delivers 8 weeks of weekly mentoring and coaching sessions. The sessions are tailored towards children in a primary setting and result in:
In a UNICEF survey in 2007,
the UK ranked at the bottom on
children’s wellbeing compared
with North America and
18 European countries.
A safe space is created with a focus on thought provoking and empowering story books, discussion, group counselling, Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques, coaching techniques, games, stress management, emotional intelligence, mental health understanding exercises, relaxation and meditation and self-governance of the group. Children are given real tools to help build inner resilience and are inspired to a more empowering way of thinking and acting which increases their self-belief. These tools can be used for life and the children are encouraged to use them wherever possible.
I model the very tools the children are learning and is able to share big events from my childhood such as divorce, bereavement, lack of self-confidence and self-belief, sibling rivalry, being bullied, bullying others, exam stress, changing schools, friendships and preparing for university in an honest language which the young people can relate to; and with an awareness of how these impact emotional health, thoughts and behaviour. I am able to describe how I turned around my thinking and feeling regarding many of those events using the tools I am teaching.
In an average classroom, 10 will
have witnessed their parents separate,
8 will have experienced severe physical
violence, sexual abuse or neglect, 1 will
have experienced the death of a parent
and 7 will be bullied.
(Faulkner J, 2011)
Some children feel they can trust me and turn to me with problems and issues that I am then able to communicate to the Safeguarding Officer or teacher, creating a trusting supportive relationship between the child and the school along the way.
I have experience working with vulnerable children with medical issues, who are witnessing violence in the home, who have experienced abuse, who have experienced neglect, who are dealing with bereavement, who are experiencing divorce, who are being bullied, who are cared for children and those who have mental health issues. Trained as a Youth Mental Health First Aider, I am equipped with knowledge regarding mental health issues that young people experience and am aware of signs to look out for.
10% of children and young
people aged 5 to 16 suffer
from a diagnosable
mental health disorder.
(Green, H., McGinnity A.,
Meltzer, H., et al 2005)
The results of the Well-being Programme Primary are that the children’s inner reserves of self-confidence, self-belief and self-awareness are increased. This increased confidence and self-belief ripples through the child’s life, affecting every area positively and has a positive effect on the child’s academic performance.
Many of the children I have worked with ask their teachers for me to return – even a year after the programme is completed, – as they benefitted greatly from the sessions.
*Morrison-Gutman et al, 2008.
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