PARKFIELD COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Parkfield Road, Saltley, Birmingham

SEAL - SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING

SEAL stands for Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning. This project is a really important part of our curriculum at Parkfield.

There are five social and emotional aspects of learning:

  • self-awareness;
  • managing feelings;
  • motivation;
  • empathy;
  • social skills.

These skills are really important to develop. They enable us to:

  • understand and to deal with a range of feelings;
  • be effective learners;
  • get on with other people;
  • be responsible citizens.

What themes are covered?

There are seven themes for SEAL, which we cover at Parkfield over a two year cycle. These include:

  • New Beginnings (first half of Autumn Term 2009/10);
  • Say No to Bullying (second half of Autumn Term 2009/10);
  • Getting On and Falling Out (Spring Term 2009/10);
  • Relationships (Summer Term 2009/10);
  • Going for Goals (first half of Autumn Term 2010/11);
  • Say No to Bullying (second half of Autumn Term 2010/11);
  • Good to Be Me (Spring Term 2010/11);
  • Changes (Summer Term 2010/11).

Say no to Bullying is covered annually to coincide with anti bullying week.

Each theme is introduced with a special assembly. All of the following assemblies that term are then linked to the SEAL theme being studied. Each class also has a SEAL lesson each week where the themes are explored in more detail. At the end of each theme two selected year groups perform a special assembly for the rest of the school and for parents that celebrates their learning and the work produced for that theme.

OUR CURRENT THEME: NEW BEGINNINGS and SAY NO TO BULLYING

The theme for this term's work in social and emotional aspects of learning is New Beginnings and Say No to Bullying.

Over the first half term the children will be will be thinking about the new beginnings they have made this academic year, such as having a new teacher and being in a new year group.

They will explore how these changes affect them and their responsibilities. They will also look at developing strategies they can use to help themselves and others when making 'a new beginning', such as helping someone feel welcome when they are starting a new school.

In the second half term, to coincide with National Bullying Week, we will look at the theme of say no to bullying.

Here we will identify what bullying is as well its effects. We will also discuss and identify possible strategies to use if a child is being bullied or they see somebody else being bullied. The importance of telling an adult about bullying is reinforced throughout this unit.

What do parents and children at our school think about SEAL?

At Parkfield we are always eager to collect the views of parents and children about different aspects of school life. At the end of each SEAL topic therefore we ask parents and children for their opinions about it.

This is what our nursery parents thought about our last theme - Getting on and falling out.

  • "My son used to fight at home. Now he won't because he knows that it is wrong and he can also say why it is wrong thanks to SEAL."
  • "He now knows what good behaviour is and what is bad."
  • "My daughter talked about when she was tied to her friend and how they had to work together to walk across the classroom."
  • "She told me what she had to do if someone hit her. She knows now that it is wrong to hit them back."

This is what our nursery children thought about our last theme - Getting on and falling out.

  • "I like working with my friends."
  • "I liked it when we had to pass the bucket. We had to work together."
  • "I know what a bad friend is."
  • "I know what a good friend is."
  • "I know what to do if someone hurts me."
  • "I asked if someone was ok when they were sad."

What can I do to support my child with SEAL?

Below are some activities our parents and carers might like to do together with their children and families, to support the work your child has been doing at school:

Some examples of children's SEAL work

  • Year 6 have been using the computers, in their SEAL lessons, to create a comic strip exploring how a child may have problems in a new school.
  • Year 5 have been discussing bullying and ways they can stop it. They have designed a poster to say no to bullying.
  • Year 1 have made posters using ICT which also say no to bullying.
  • Year 5 have talked about times when we have felt nervous. We then discussed ways of coping with this.