An Evaluation of the Implementation of Elephants Tea Party in a Local Authority Mainstream - PowerPoint Presentation

1. An Evaluation of the Implementation of Elephants Tea Party in a Local Authority Mainstream Secondary SchoolAlison WoodsEducational Psychologist

2. AimsIntroduce the Scottish National Action Enquiry InitiativeProvide a definition of poverty within the specific local authority contextIntroduce Elephants Tea Party, a universal bereavement education event develop by CBUKTo report the small-scale exploratory study submitted to the 2018-19 National Action Enquiry Initiative, we will look at the following:What did we ask? (Research Questions)What is the evidence base?What did we do?What did we do next?

3. National Enquiry Initiative 2018-2019Research which evidences the delivery of the Scottish AttainmentChallenge; clear focus on literacy, numeracy or health and wellbeingCollaboration within and between services in encouragedDefinition of poverty within specific Scottish context Research summary of all action enquiry reports will feature on the National Improvement Hub

4. Defining poverty in the local context; West DunbartonshirePoverty can defined and measured in various ways. Within the local context of West Dunbartonshire a disproportionate representation of children and young people live in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 1 and 2. This equates to 42% of primary aged children living in these deciles. The relationship between poverty, attainment and achievement is well characterised across Scottish education and within West Dunbartonshire evidence suggests an equality gap remains to exist between the most and least deprived.

5. Child Bereavement UK; Elephants Tea PartyUniversal bereavement education event; primary school and secondary school packs availableCreative resources and lessons plans which allow staff to help pupils explore the subject of death and grief in an age-appropriate, straightforward and accessible way.Uses lifecycles and behaviours of Elephants as a metaphor for learning.Suggested framework for implementation providedExtension Activities Can be linked to CfE outcomes and experiences as part of Health and Wellbeing curriculum; I am learning skills and strategies which will support me in challenging times, particularly in relation to change and loss. HWB 0-07a / HWB 1-07a / HWB 2-07a / HWB 3-07a / HWB 4-07a

6. What did we ask? (Research Questions)Evaluation based on pre-determined learning objectives outlined by CBUK:Raise understanding and awareness of the life cycle ranging from birth to death by using elephants and the way in which they interact with each other as a metaphor for learning.Learn about the importance of memories for elephants.Research questions:Is Elephants Tea Party a valuable program at providing young people at a universal level (for all children) with the skills necessary to cope with death both now and in the future?Does the outcome data from the implementation of Elephants Tea Party provide evidence to support the importance of death education at the universal level within schools?Do staff feel Elephants Tea Party is an effective way in which to provide young people with death education at a universal level?

7. What is the evidence base?In the UK each day around 111 children under the age of 18 are bereaved of a parent.It is thought 1 in 29 children are bereaved of a parent or siblings which equates to roughly 1 within every classroom.6000 families a year bereaved as a result of suicide (Child Bereavement UK, 2019)Links exist between poverty and bereavement; they operate in several ways, for example:Children living in poverty are more likely to experience bereavement in childhoodBereavement is one route into child povertyFor disadvantaged children bereavement has particularly harmful effectsThe experience of bereavement in childhood increases the risk of poverty in adulthood(Child Bereavement Network UK, 2014)

8. What did we do?Ethics; consentSmall scale (N=13) exploratory pilot studyConvenience sampling A within subjects repeated measures design Qualitative research methodology Pre and post pupil questionnaire Pupil interviews (3)Interview with class teacher Data analysed using template analysis (data coded under a priori themes)

9. What have we found?Understanding of the lifecycle of Elephants and how this can be used as a metaphor for learning in relation bereavement and lossYoung people were able to communicate an understanding in relation to normal reactions to grief; they were able to identity feelings related to suchAble to provide insight into how they would help a peer had experienced bereavement/loss; also aware of what would be less helpfulAn understanding of the importance of memories was demonstrated and examples of why memories might be important was provided (1 pupil explored ways in which memories may trigger emotion)Anecdotal information:I don’t know why dying is still a taboo subject; I know some families talk about it more than others‘I don’t know why now, could we not do it before?’‘Enjoyed it, learned from it but earlier wold be good’

10. Results; class teacher Meeting with Class Teacher and Implementation LeadCT Experience School Needs AnalysisNext StepsYoung People ExperienceImplementationMethodology

11. What do we plan to do next?Consideration to be given to the roll out of Elephants Tea Party across appropriate year groupWorking group to be developed to review schools policy in relation to bereavement/loss. To include the school considering how they support young people to cope with bereavement across the following three levels: universal, targeted/group work, individualSome discussion in relation to role of EP in supporting school to undertake action research in the near future; this would allow for upscaling and sustainability

12. Available ResourcesBoth Primary School and Secondary School packs are downloadable from CBUK website once registeredhttps://www.childbereavementuk.org/Pages/Category/elephants-tea-partyCan download Elephants Tea Party Pack to go alongside resources CBUK can be contacted through locality offices CBUK can be contacted in order to discuss resources and implementation