Friday 6 May 2016

Help Young People with Decision-Making

Activities to help Young People Deal with Decisions & Choices
by Stephanie George & Patricia Andrews-Wardell

A resource to support teachers and pastoral  staff to help students navigate the choices, well-being and character development  journeys  that they make each and every day


There are 20 Choices and Decision-Making activities that cross the bridge between the pastoral and curriculum aspects of learning. The activities can be used in PSHE lessons, circle time, one-to-one sessions, small groups and mentoring sessions and include:

  • Decisions and Choices Initial Self-Assessment – to give students the opportunity to assess themselves in order to provide a baseline for measuring progress with a focus on decision-making and choices.
  • Decisions and Choices Action Plan – developing a set of SMART targets and creation of a plan of action following completion of the decisions and choices assessment.
  • Choices at 16 – two follow-on activities allowing students to understand the range of choices at the end of Year 11.

Activities to Help Young People Deal with Decisions & Choices

  • Choices at 14 – for students to consider the range of choices at the end of KS3.
  • Sam and Poppy’s Decision – a scenario on peer pressure and friendships.
  • It Wasn’t me, Miss – to consider the decisions to be made around a theft and who the culprit might be. Students will examine the facts, make a judgement and make a choice.
  • Mark’s Mobile Phone – students are asked to identify and recognise when it is appropriate to use a mobile phone.
  • Influences and Decisions – exploration of who has the most influence over the students.
  • Friendship Choices and Qualities – examination of the actions and consequences regarding certain situations with friends.
  • The Skills Search – to give students the opportunity consider the skills set that they have, if they can further develop them and the choices that they will need to make to do this.
  • The Qualities Quest – students reflect upon the qualities they have and consider how to nurture and improve upon these as part of their own personal development and character building.
There is real pressure on our young people in modern society – from social media, mobile phones, the Internet, friendships, peer groups, parents to school demands – and pressure can come in many forms and affect many areas of their lives. When pressure leads to poor choices and decisions this can have undesirable consequences for young people who have so much to manage and juggle at a time of intense physical and emotional change. This book is about helping young people to make informed choices and decisions.
 
It is intended for use by those working in a variety of settings including schools, alternative education settings, Learning Support Units, Pupil/Student Referral Units, Isolation Units, Exclusion Rooms, youth clubs, community groups and similar settings. The activities can be led by teachers, student support workers, behaviour mentors, pastoral assistants, learning mentors, isolation room leaders and special educational needs staff. The FREE CD-Rom contains the complete content of the book to allow easy printing of the instructions for running the activities and the accompanying worksheets or they can be photocopied. Includes a Student Feedback and Tracking Workbook to print out or photocopy.
 
ISBN 978-1-909380-92-9 Ages 11-18 A4, 80 pages, photocopiable, FREE CD-Rom

Activities to help Young People Deal with Decisions & Choices
Ref 198-149a
£35.00
 
Also available:
Special Offer - All 6 Stephanie George Books
Ref 205-149a
£199.50
 
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TO ORDER:
By phone: (01604) 870 828
By fax: (01604) 870 986
By email: orders@loggerheadpublishing.co.uk
By post: Loggerhead Publishing, PO Box 928, Northampton, NN7 9AP
By the website: www.loggerheadpublishing.co.uk
 
Stephanie George

About the Authors
Stephanie George


Stephanie George is a deputy head teacher based in London. She is also a writer and her book The Learning Mentor Manual, is the leading educational textbook on Learning Mentor Practice in England. Stephanie has worked with teams of Pastoral Leaders, Heads of Year, Inclusion Teams and Learning Mentors in a variety of challenging settings across the United Kingdom. She has been responsible for the training and development of Learning Mentors since their inception. Stephanie regularly runs courses and INSET on all aspects of mentoring and intervention practice in educational settings throughout the UK and has trained over 1,000 Learning Mentors. In 2013 Stephanie and her team were awarded the Times Educational Supplement Award for Support Team of the Year.

Patricia Andrews-Wardell

Patricia Andrews-Wardell is an assistant head teacher based in London. She has over 25 years’ experience leading pastoral and curriculum teams to support the achievements of young people. Patricia has brought her determination, enthusiasm, coaching and motivational armour as an ex-international athlete to the classroom, departments and schools that she has been involved with over the past three decades. She has developed student leadership systems that build young people’s personal development, resilience, grit and character. Pat’s systems have been shared and replicated in other schools locally and nationally. She has also been awarded for her outstanding leadership steering Duke of Edinburgh awards.

Patricia Andrews-Wardell