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Case Study

Healing Feeling - Think Happy, Be Happy

The Healing Feeling is a unique educational workshop sensitively and creatively written in a therapeutic approach to nurture the emotional and social well-being of children aged 6 to 11.

School/organisation: 
Farnham Green Primary School
School/organisation details: 
Farnham Green is a two-form entry primary school situated on an attractive site in Ilford on the outskirts of London. The school is much larger than other primary schools with 462 pupils aged 3 to 11.
Description of activities: 
The workshop introduces and promotes emotional literacy skills and techniques to children. The key activities include circle time games, discussion, creative imagination, relaxation exercises, art/craft activities, breathing and movement, and mirror work to promote self-esteem through positive affirmations. The relaxation exercises are carried out with parental permission.
Key challenges and how these were overcome: 

When the extended school co-ordinator observed the sessions, she suggested that we should take photographs for an article within the borough to promote the workshop, and to produce a DVD to highlight the success of the activities, that benefit the children, teachers and parents of the children.

As this was not planned for, we had to write to the parents for their permission to allow their children to be filmed and photographed.  We didn’t get replies from all the parents and therefore not all the children were filmed, although they enjoyed having the filming crew there.
Benefits of activities: 

What makes the workshop a success is that it educates the heart as well as the mind. It encourages children to identify and use their positive qualities. They learn to really get in touch with their feelings, and not to bottle them up. This helps them to cope with the issues they face by making them realise that they have the power within themselves to control circumstances to help deal with the issues they face. Children face a lot of challenges in their life, such as bullying, fear, friendship issues, as well as other pressures from home and school. This workshop gives them skills and tools that promote a sense of self-worth. They really enjoy coming to the club and they teach their skills to their family and friends.  

The children can use the techniques easily at any time. The skills learnt can be taught to their friends and family and this develops their relationships and confidence further.  

Children who have learnt skills and abilities through The Healing Feeling emotional literacy programme are able to:

  • self-motivate and stay committed to projects/tasks in and out of school
  • set their own goals and work towards them
  • recognise and change their own behaviours, and (depending on the age of the child)
  • influence other people’s behaviours in response
  • communicate well and show empathy towards others
  • be more assertive, independent and have high self-esteem
  • be good mediators and good role models for other children.
The workshop has an impact on their longer-term health benefits. If they are happy children, they will be happy adults, able to cope with life challenges. This is beneficial to parents, teachers and the school because when a child is happy, their jobs become easier and less stressful and children perform better in their studies. 
Next steps: 
  • There are opportunities for this workshop to be used in different contexts.  For example, schools can use it to provide evidence for their portfolios for the Quality in Study Support and to show they are using partners and helping them to achieve recognition. Also, if they are part of a cluster, then other schools within the cluster will also benefit.
  • The workshop can be used for individual or small group work as part of a school behaviour improvement programme within the curriculum time.
  • Other children’s organisations can integrate this workshop into their programme as there is an emphasis on emotional intelligence and accelerated learning, and it fits in with the Every Child Matters agenda. From a ‘health’ perspective, for example, the skills learnt are a preventative approach and have long-term benefits for the children. If they feel a sense of purpose and achievement and feel good about themselves, they are less likely to have mental health issues in the future.
  • Usha Chudasama, who runs the workshops, also runs a similar adults course called 'Heal Your Life'. There is scope for staff to benefit from the course, or it could be offered to parents.
Additional information: 
The headteacher, deputy headteacher and the class teacher commented on the impact of the club and how much the children are in touch with their feelings and have enjoyed the club.
Key partner involvement: 
Healing Feeling was initially funded through the New Opportunities Fund – the funding paid for the resources and equipment used during the club and to employ Usha Chudasama. The school is now funding the project directly.
Contact/Website: