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Busy Bees

Busy Bees is an after-school programme for children aged 4 to 6 displaying challenging behaviour. Their parents are also encouraged to attend. Children are involved in fun, achievable activities, and receive praise for their progress.

Set up in schools, the clubs are run by two club workers, who usually have another role within the school, and involve parents in making decisions, planning activities, choosing strategies for engaging the children, and interacting with the children.

ContinYou provides training for club workers, as well as a club book, which includes instructions for club workers, advice for parents, and activities for children.

Pilot areas

The project was piloted in four areas around England between 2002 and 2004: Leicester, Liverpool, Staffordshire and Devon. Each of the four pilot areas trialled four to five Busy Bees clubs over two to three terms. Year 1 and 2 pupils participated in the pilot clubs.

Representatives from the four pilot areas formed a steering group in order to combine their expertise and knowledge of local needs, and to develop materials and training that are most appropriate to the needs of families dealing with challenging behaviour.

Evaluation

Planned by the Midland Leadership Centre, the 2004 evaluation programme measured the impact made by the Busy Bees clubs on children's behaviour, achievement and confidence, and the relationship between parent, child and school. You can download the report, or the report summary, below:

More information

For more information, download the Busy Bees flyer (PDF file, 1 MB), or to sign up for this successful programme, email Gailyn Groves.

Visit the flyers page for more information on other parental support and family learning programmes.