VIEWS From the pen of... Professor Sue Roffey


This month in our regular look at authors in the field of education, we hear from PROFESSOR SUE ROFFEY. Professor Roffey is known internationally for her work on all aspects of school and student wellbeing. Her publications are primarily for educators, but now she has written “The Wellbeing Stories” for young people aged 9-13, to help them cope with issues they may be facing.


Many children are not doing so well, plagued by anxiety, depression and fear of not fitting in. The Green Paper consultation, ‘Transforming Young People’s Mental Health Provision’, published last year, is a welcome acknowledgement of how serious this has become - but the main thrust of the Green Paper is how quickly a young


person might get specialist help after problems have been identified. Although there is the suggestion of having a ‘Mental Health’ lead teacher in every school there is little on what schools might do to promote resilience and wellbeing in the first place, so fewer students get to this ‘pointy end’ of need. The Wellbeing Stories are an attempt to address this gap.


Based on positive and narrative psychology, research on resilience, and cognitive behavioural approaches these six stories explore the impact of positive and negative thinking on outcomes for young people. The stories focus on issues that are very relevant to the 9-13 age group such as test anxiety, transition from primary to secondary school, perfectionism, loss and depression. Our internal dialogue impacts on how we feel about


ourselves, how we see other people and our overall world view. How we interpret what happens to us then impacts on outcomes. It is easy to get buried in a cycle of negativity that underpins poor mental health. Children need to know that there are other ways of thinking and become aware of what will be more helpful to them in staying resilient. We have targeted this age group deliberately, as mindsets become more difficult to change after adolescence. We were in the middle of writing the stories when the


animated film ‘Inside Out’ was released and there are some similarities – ‘Inside Out’ is about emotions and ‘The Wellbeing Stories’ are about thinking. The unique feature of the stories are the ten characters representing different kinds of positive or negative thinking. These have been beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth Stanley and include: the Worry Wart who can grow into a Panic Monster; SoBs – the Sprite of Bad Stories; the Doom Merchant, who catastrophises with always and never thoughts; the Mindfulness Magician who helps us stay in the here and now, and ZIP – an androgynous character who goes around on a skateboard and sees the best in everyone and the opportunity in every challenge. The six stories do not, however, stand alone. Each comes with


a Teacher Toolkit and a Family Toolkit – and the Education Set includes a pack of photocopiable resources. Every story has ten short chapters with activities for students to do in class, to promote discussion and reflection on the issues raised. They are all based in the Circle Solutions framework and ASPIRE principles that make social and emotional learning a safe and positive experience for both students and teachers.


uSue can be contacted at s.roffey@exeter.ac.uk or sue@sueroffey.com


July/August 2018 British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) Do not overlook the need


for educational resources This month, PATRICK HAYES, regular Education Today contributor and Director at school suppliers association BESA, calls on government to remember the importance of resource funding for schools.


That schools are increasingly being forced to ask parents and teachers to pay for basic educational resources comes as little surprise to us at BESA. With school funding being cut in real-terms, resources budgets are one of the areas of a school’s budget being hardest hit. Working with the National Education Research Panel, BESA has


monitored school resources expenditure for decades, and the current period of expenditure is in a trough that is comparable only with expenditure during the Great Recession. Last year, the average amount spent by a primary school on resources dropped by 3.4%, and the average secondary school spent 3.6% less. At a time when the volume of pupils at schools is increasing, this amounts to a severe drop that comes after several consecutive years of decline. No wonder, then that parents are being asked to pay for resources


that range from “scientific slime” to textbooks and glue sticks. And schools are using a wide range of initiatives to encourage parents to contribute – from Nesta’s Rocket Fund, which helps schools purchase the latest technology by fundraising from businesses and their community, to old fashioned paper begging letters. And it’s not just parents who are being asked to pay. A recent


sector survey found that 94% of teaching staff have paid out of their own pockets for essential classroom materials. It is not an overstatement that schools are facing a funding crisis.


The Education Policy Institute shows that, for the majority of schools, any cash increases to their budgets are wiped out by the 1% pay settlement given to teachers last year. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that schools will have experienced a 6.5% real terms cut by 2019/20. These budgetary pressures are keenly felt by schools. Our own


research shows that less than 30% of primary and secondary schools think they have enough funding to provide an adequate teaching and learning environment and, even with the new funding formula, less than a quarter of schools are optimistic about funding for the next school year. Schools are already starting to lack essential resources. One


secondary school teacher told me recently that: “If I need specialist resources, I have to buy them myself. Money is tight – I find myself getting wound up over children using too much glue, or sharpening pencils too much! Decisions are being made based on finance, not educational value.” This is why we have launched the Resource Our Schools campaign,


working with subject associations and representative bodies such as the NAHT, Naace and the Association for Science Education, to ensure every school has access to the resources they need to deliver the education that our children deserve. While there are doubtless efficiencies to be made, the impact of


cutting back on resources upon a child’s education should not be underestimated. There is a powerful evidence base to show that resources matter – from the size of the furniture, to the quality of the science equipment. It is, of course, understandable that the school funding debate has


focused largely on increasing staff salaries and removing the cap on public sector pay. However, it is paramount that resource funding is not overlooked.


uFor information from BESA contact: u020 7537 4997 upatrick@besa.org.uk uwww.besa.org.uk


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