Zippy’s friends bring a smile to children’s faces
International visitors are coming to Warwickshire to find out about the way that youngsters learn how to deal with conflicts, cope with problems and making friends.
The way that Warwickshire County Council runs the Zippy’s Friends scheme is being held up as a shining example of helping children aged between five and seven talk about their feelings.
Visitors from New Jersey will be visiting Brookhurst Primary School in Leamington and Clinton Primary School in Kenilworth to find out more about the scheme.
The scheme features stories about Zippy – a stick insect – and his friends. They are used to encourage the children to talk about a variety of scenarios that involve expressing different feelings.
Children spend an hour a week on the programme, which fits in with the schools’ Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum. They cover areas such as feelings, communication, making and breaking friends, conflict resolution, dealing with change and loss and how to cope.
Gerry Coster and Lorri Sullivan from the YCS Institute for Infant and Pre-School Mental Health in New Jersey are to see how the teachers are trained to use the scheme by the county council’s Educational Psychology Service.
Area co-ordinator Helen Du’Mont said: “This is an international programme and the Educational Psychology Service has the licence to run it in Warwickshire. We are pleased to be identified as a model of good practice for this visit. Currently we have around 25 schools involved, all over the county. This scheme gives children the building blocks to develop their emotional well-being. By using Zippy and his friends they find it easier because they are talking about situations they understand but do not have to talk about themselves.”