Challenging teenagers are helping disruptive children aged three to eight tackle their social, emotional and behavioural problems, as part of an innovative project operating in Ipswich.
Working along the lines of the old notion of 'poacher turned gamekeeper', the teenagers act responsibly when given responsibility and set a good example. The aim of the cross-age tutoring project, run by the First Base pupil referral unit, is that both age groups will learn to modify their behaviour.
No formal evaluation was made of the outcomes for the first cohort of teenagers, who launched the project last summer. But, says Janet Osborne, their head of year at the town's Coppleston High School, 'The benefits are still there. These are children who were constantly defying and challenging authority, stopping teachers from teaching and other students from learning. We gave them this opportunity to be trusted and heard. They were closely supervised and only two went at a time, but they were given responsibility, and they gained in confidence and were praised.'
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