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Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA - CHINA 1

Good mental health for children - for life

PARTNERSHIP FOR

Partners around the

world

1

CONTENTS

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 CONTENTSPartnership for Children International Workshop 2016

Africa & Indian Ocean

Asia & the Middle East

Europe

NorthAmerica

LatinAmerica

2-3 Partners around the world map

4 Introduction

5 Mauritius, Rodrigues & Reunion

6 China - Apple’s Friends

7 China - Mainland

8 China - Hong Kong

9 India

10 Jordan

11 Kuwait

12 Singapore

13 Belgium

14 Bulgaria

15 Czech Republic

16 Denmark

17 England & Wales

18 France

19 Iceland

20 Ireland

21 Lithuania

22 Netherlands

23 Norway

24 Poland

25 Russia

26 Slovakia

27 Canada

28 Trinidad and Tobago

29 USA

30 Argentina

31 Brazil

32 Chile

33 El Salvador

34 Mexico

35 Panama

2 Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 3

Partners around the world

CanadaTrinidad and TobagoUSA

ArgentinaBrazilChileEl SalvadorMexicoPanama

LATIN AMERICA

NORTH AMERICA

BelgiumBulgariaCzech RepublicDenmarkEngland and WalesFranceIcelandIrelandLithuaniaNetherlandsNorwayPolandRussiaSlovakia

Mauritius ReunionRodrigues

China - MainlandChina - Hong KongIndiaJordanKuwaitSingapore

EUROPE

ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST

INDIANOCEAN

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA - CHINA4

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

Zippy’s Friends started in Mauritius in

2009 The Department of Psychology and Counselling of Institut Cardinal Jean Margeot faced the challenge of convincing the Catholic Schools’ Directors of the importance of promoting children’s mental health at an early age. We have an extremely competitive public education system in Mauritius, with an emphasis on academic achievement and success, and it was the first time that a school-based mental health programme was introduced in the three islands

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 AFRICA - MAURITIUS, RODRIGUES & REUNION

AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN

In 2009, Zippy’s Friends was implemented in

ten Catholic primary schools (1,045 children and 34 teachers participated) with the financial

support of private firm partners. Since

then, the programme has spread to many other schools (public, private and kindergartens) in Mauritius, Rodrigues and Reunion

Zippy’s Friends started in Reunion Island in October 2013, with five private primary Catholic schools, 11 teachers and 365 children. Our first training workshop was very challenging, as it was the first time that teachers had experienced a such a workshop In the French education system, all issues pertaining to mental health issues and emotional well-being should be dealt with outside school Soon teachers were very enthusiastic; they

found the programme very interesting and were eager to share their experiences with colleagues. Last year, nine schools participated in the programme, 18 teachers and 1,320 children

Training of teachers is crucial – teachers report a rise of 80% in their motivation level at the end of the workshop – and they are supported by counsellors who co-facilitate Zippy’s Friends sessions These are key factors in ensuring the quality of delivery of Zippy’s Friends

After eight years of advocacy with the Ministry of Education, a pilot of Zippy’s Friends will start in eight government primary schools in 2016. We hope that it will be endorsed as a national school-based programme in the years to come

“Two twins were in separate classes, and one of the twins participated in Zippy�s Friends. He talked to his teacher about the fact that their parents were divorced. When the other twin heard that, he asked his brother, �Why did you talk about it to your teacher and to the class? You should not have.� His brother replied : �It made me feel better to be able to talk about it, I wanted to share this difficult experience with them.�� - Teacher

Mauritius, Rodrigues & Reunion PARTNER: Institut Cardinal Jean Margéot,

Département Psycho-Sociologie et Counselling

COORDINATOR: Emilie Duval

EMAIL: emilieduval@icjm-mu com

LAUNCHED: Mauritius RodriguesReunion

200920112014

SCHOOLS THIS YEAR: 87CHILDREN THIS YEAR: 4,679CHILDREN SINCE LAUNCH: 27,359

5

www.icjm-mu.com

It’s a real pleasure to be writing the introduction to this booklet, the second in the series.

We have seen many changes and developments since our first Around the World booklet was

produced for our International Workshop in 2012. For a start, we can no longer call it Zippy’s Friends

Around the World as we have now officially launched our follow-up programme, Apple’s Friends,

which is now following Zippy in expanding to classrooms across the globe.

In 2014, we were very proud to mark a significant milestone - the enrolment of the millionth child

in Zippy’s Friends - and we are now moving steadily towards our two millionth!

None of this could be achieved without all of our wonderful, dedicated partners around the

world. Sadly, a few of them have been unable to continue in the last couple of years, due to lack of

funding or governmental support. But we have welcomed to our Partnership several new partners,

particularly in central Europe and the Middle East. As we increase the diversity of our partners, it

shows us more than ever how worthwhile and universal our mission is - promoting good mental

health for children, for life.

Caroline Egar

Programme Director

March 2016

Partners around the world

6 ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - CHINA APPLE’S FRIENDS Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

On October 20, 2015, the Apple’s

Friends project was officially introduced, and launched its first phase of training in Beijing. 40 teachers from Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, Wuxi and researchers from National Institute of Education Sciences participated in the project As key educators of the project, each individual was fully committed to it, and the content of the training had a huge impact on their teaching philosophy and pedagogy. From

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - CHINA ZIPPY'S FRIENDS

ASIA & THE MIDDLE EASTASIA & THE MIDDLE EASTChina - Zippy’s Friends

November 7 to early December of 2015, the researchers of NIES travelled to different provinces around China and engaged in the second phase of training, where 191 teachers joined the training course

Currently, the operation and implementation of the Apple’s Friends Project is going smoothly. Schools and teachers are being creative in practice. We established Apple’s Classroom, we created Apple’s songs, and all the teachers have enjoyed getting involved. Teachers have said that they were amazed and joyful when they saw children sharing their personal

experiences and stories with others Numerous parents also participated by making Apple’s dolls and puppets with their children, and have said that their children improved a lot by taking the classes Children are expecting and looking forward to Apple’s Friends classes, because it is the happiest day of

the week for them In order to promote

more interactions between different schools in the project, we created an online Apple’s Friends Network as well

“My son Xingxing was a premature infant. Everyone in our family loves him so much, we are obedient and compliant to all his requests and demands, but this made him a self-centred boy. If one thing doesn’t fit his requests, he will get angry. He doesn’t get along with his peers in class, and he doesn’t listen to us either. However Xingxing really likes Apple Friends and always talks about Apple at home. Therefore, when he gets angry, as long as we mention the principles of Apple, he will calm down and think, no longer crying and screaming.” - Mother

China - Apple’s Friends

they will implement the programme with their counterparts in Beijing and Tianjin in the following three years. The programme in Xi’an will benefit more than 400 teachers and thousands of children as well as their parents

Zippy’s Friends in Beijing, Tianjin and Xi’an

Zippy’s Friends was initiated in Beijing

in autumn, 2008. In the following three years, 140 kindergartens implemented the programme which benefited more than 500 teachers and nearly 10,000 children as well as their parents Besides the above 140 kindergartens in Beijing, 100 kindergartens in Tianjin began to take part in the second phase of the programme in autumn 2011 and more than 420 teachers as well as thousands of children benefited from Zippy’s Friends

In October 2015, the third phase of Zippy’s Friends was launched in Xi’an (the city in the centre of China which was its first capital, and famous for the ‘Terracotta Warriors’). 100 kindergartens in Xi’an will join the programme gradually, in three groups, and

PARTNER: National Institute of Education Sciences

COORDINATOR: Professor Gao Xia

EMAIL: [email protected]

LAUNCHED: 2015SCHOOLS THIS YEAR: 42CHILDREN THIS YEAR: 7802CHILDREN SINCE LAUNCH: 7802

PARTNER: National Institute of Education Sciences

COORDINATOR: Professor Lui Zhan Lan

EMAIL: liuzhanlan55790@sina com

LAUNCHED: 2008SCHOOLS THIS YEAR: 820CHILDREN THIS YEAR: 28,700CHILDREN SINCE LAUNCH: 122,563

“Zippy’s Friends has made me change a lot. I don’t use my family as punching bag and garbage bin any more, and the family relationships are more harmonious and warmer on the basis of mutual respect.” - Teacher

in mainland China is funded by HSBC China National Institute of Education Sciences is in charge of implementation of the programme and China Social Welfare Foundation is responsible for supervision of the programme.

www.english.nies.net.cn

7

www.english.nies.net.cn

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA - CHINA8 9ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - CHINA - HONG KONG Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

From 2004 to 2015, the Hongkong Bank

Foundation (HKBF) supported The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) to launch and run Zippy’s Friends in Hong Kong. It has been launched in 679 schools (529 kindergartens and 150 primary schools) to promote children’s social and emotional development in Hong Kong. A total of 2,041 teachers have been trained and more than 90,000 five to seven

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - INDIA

ASIA & THE MIDDLE EASTASIA & THE MIDDLE EASTIndia

year-old children have been helped The

programme has reached nearly 60% of all kindergartens in Hong Kong. Starting from 2012,

we have been using the Government’s

Matching Grant to provide Zippy’s Friends Teacher Training for HKIEd B.Ed (Hons) students, who have taken the elective course (Childhood Stress and Coping). Students then implement Zippy’s Friends at school within two years of the training.

Apart from training kindergarten teachers or social workers to be qualified Zippy’s Friends teachers, we also provided the Zippy’s Friends at Home (ZFH) programme for parents in 2011-2014. ZFH aims to reinforce what the children learned

in Zippy’s Friends at school It consists of a series of three parents’ workshops; the contents include an introduction to the fundamental concepts of the programme, optimistic thinking skills, and sharing and discussion on helping children to cope with daily problems and develop social skills Altogether 200 teachers and 3,304 parents from 179 schools joined our parents’ workshops The programme has been a great success.

A longitudinal study on stress and coping at school in 216 Hong Kong children, conducted by the Zippy’s Friends Coordinator - Dr. Wong

Mun, Amanda – has shown that Primary One children had used Zippy’s coping strategies learnt in preschools to cope with problems during the transition from preschool to school (Wong, 2015a,b).

“The Parents’ Workshops are very informative and useful. They help parents understand more about their children’s emotions and thought. It provides a relaxing and interactive atmosphere for parents to share. The home activities improve the parent-child relationship.” - Coordinator

China - Hong Kong

We are currently in the process of reintroducing the programme in five primary schools which are part of our other programmes, commencing in class 1. We follow the split modules method (module 1 for class 1, modules 2&3 for class 2, modules 4&5 for class 3 and module 6 for class

4) for introducing Zippy’s Friends, as the teachers will have less workload and all children in the school will be introduced to the programme.

We are also in the process of networking with social organisations, e.g. Rotary Club, to introduce Zippy’s Friends in the schools they are actively involved in This strategy works

well for sustaining the programme in the schools. We are also approaching private schools to start Zippy, and three have shown interest in starting next academic year

Zippy’s Friends teachers in Goa are very committed and connected to the programme. They see the positive changes in

themselves, which helps them deal with issues related to students easily, and children enjoy it. Though parents and teachers recognise it as a very good programme, attention is still focused on academic performance The schools which have understood the benefit of the programme are doing real well. They are constantly improving it by involving parents, having pre and post meetings with parents, and seeking feedback on the child’s behaviour at home

“My child taught me how to handle my anger. He had learnt it in Zippy’s class – it works!” - Parent

In the last two years, Sangath has

implemented Zippy’s Friends as a part of larger programme on WHO Health Promotion in Schools in 14 rural schools in Goa. It was introduced to children aged 10-11, to enhance their emotional wellbeing and language. The programme was delivered by the school counsellor and it showed positive change in students’ behaviour in playground and classroom. The Zippy rules were famous among the students!

PARTNER: Hong Kong Institute for Education

COORDINATOR: Dr. Amanda Wong



PARTNER: Sangath

COORDINATOR: Prachi Khandeparkar


LAUNCHED: 2004SCHOOLS THIS YEAR: 6CHILDREN THIS YEAR: 892CHILDREN SINCE LAUNCH: 14,228

www.sangath.com

www.ied.edu.hk

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA - CHINA10

Kuwait is the second Middle Eastern

country, after Jordan, where Zippy’s Friends (Labeeb’s Friends) is implemented The National Society for Protection of Children (NSFPC) in Kuwait signed the agreement with Partnership for Children in October 2015, with the belief that education at its best is concerned with the whole child, and learning to recognize and manage our emotions is a fundamental life skill for a child’s development

We started implementing the programme in two kindergartens, where ten teachers were trained to deliver the Labeeb's Friends to 28 children Labeeb’s Friends is the first and only programme

supporting mental health for children in the early years of schooling, and we are very ambitious to spread the programme in elementary schools in the public and private sectors One of Labeeb’s Friends’ positive activities is storytelling, which is always a fun experience for children, enhancing their listening skills and imagination.

We delivered two sessions for parents in the two kindergartens. They were very interested in the concepts which the programme introduces for the children, and they asked for more and further sessions and training on mental health concepts and social emotional skills for parenting, which we

are looking to be our next goal.

Teachers implementing the programme in its early stages express their enthusiasm for teaching their children about their feelings and how to deal with them, and they expect themselves to learn with their kids

new skills and strategies for improving social and emotional skills.

“I loved the golden rule so much, it enhances critical thinking in my children’s little minds.� - Teacher

PARTNER: National Society for Protection of Children

COORDINATOR: Dr Ahlam Mohamed Falah al Ajami

EMAIL: ahlamq8km@hotmail com


11ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - JORDAN Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

Labeeb’s Friends is the Arabic version

of Zippy’s Friends programme.

In 2014 Zippy’s Friends programme was translated into Arabic and implemented in two schools in Jordan for the first time in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Labeeb’s Friends introduces mental health promotion concepts and skills to the Arab World. We consider this to be our duty to raise teachers’ and parents’ awareness

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - KUWAIT

ASIA & THE MIDDLE EASTASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST

about concepts and skills of emotional and social learning.

Labeeb’s Friends was firstly implemented in two small elementary schools in the school year 2014-2015 The feedback we got from teachers, principals, teachers, and children themselves motivated us to introduce the programme to other schools In the school year 2015-2016 two of the biggest schools have implemented Labeeb's Friends, and we are looking forward

to having more schools implementing the programme.

Kids love Labeeb’s Friends sessions, and they participate effectively during them. Teachers’ feedback focuses on kids becoming more aware and expressive about their feelings. Labeeb’s Friends programme’s influence

goes beyond SE skills to support positive classroom environment, and develop academic skills

The majority of teachers implementing Labeeb’s Friends say that it has positive effects on them as teachers and mothers

“I attended a class where a student was shouting and crying while trying to express her feelings, where another student in the class said : ‘You mustn’t shout, you have to talk in a clear voice if you’re nervous, so we can understand and help you like we learned in Labeeb.’” - Coordinator

JordanPARTNER: Taghyeer

COORDINATOR: Amani Attili



www.welovechange.org

Kuwait

12

The Zippy’s Friends programme in

Singapore encourages children to learn how to find their own solutions and expand on their range of coping strategies through stories, role playing, and drawing, working with puppets and playing games. It is a useful group programme for the local preschool students before they make their transition to primary schools Children requiring additional support to build their coping and social skills to deal with any challenges they face have also benefitted from this programme.

The Health Promotion Board has recognised the Zippy’s Friends programme as an effective tool in driving the psycho-emotional intervention across the preschools in Singapore. This year, 2,670 students have benefitted from

Singapore

the programme and the figures continue to increase As part of the Ministry’s emphasis on covering social-emotional learning in pre-schoolers, the objectives of Zippy’s Friends complement the five key domains of the local social-emotional learning framework. Moreover, Zippy’s Friends is an evidence-based programme that is suitable for local schools as it has been conducted successfully in other Asian countries such as India and China

Through Zippy’s Friends, the creativity of the educators has also been enhanced as they actively think of incorporating the activities in their lessons. Generally, educators

“The children have shown improvement in handling conflicts with friends and their emotions and needs. The materials given to children were easy to manipulate. Overall, the programme is enriching because it helps children to regulate their feelings.” - Teacher

PARTNER: Health Promotion Board

COORDINATOR: Ayessha Farveen



feel that pre-schoolers are learning through the hands-on experiences, such as dramatization, drawing pictures and brainstorming, which promote their ability to cope and express themselves positively, as well as preparing them for their transit to primary school settings.

www.hpb.gov.sg

In the Belgian Zippy’s Friends programme,

most teachers have implemented the programme successfully, planning early in the year, starting sessions in September, and giving information to parents.

When running the programme, teachers had some difficulties with giving neutral responses to children’s suggestions, management of emotional reactions and with the theme of the death. For teachers, the principal causes of the difficulties are: the immaturity and limited skills of first grade students in speaking, vocabulary, and understanding instructions (which improve during the school year); managing time and some activities (such as role play); emotionally charged situations. To overcome these, they refer on students

expressing difficult family situations, deepen certain concepts in other lessons (e.g. by teaching more vocabulary), and consult colleagues.

The most popular elements of the programme are: the stories, as they reflect the realities experienced by children; the programme methodology; the effects of the programme on students and professional practice. Teachers like the fun activities which support learning, and the visit to the cemetery The least popular activities are: communication activities; role play; repetition.

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - BELGIUM

Belgium

ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST - SINGAPORE Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST

their professional practice: seeing students differently (better understanding, more comprehensive approach), given them a tool - the programme rules - which can be used in other areas of school life, such as conflict management, children showing disrespect, and bullying; and made a significant change in their teaching, with greater attention to children’s expression, an awareness of their experience, and better interpersonal knowledge.

Teachers also reported positive changes in relationships with colleagues, such as: more discussion of children and their needs, and increased cooperation with colleagues.

Teachers believe that the programme affects them personally, and has helped them develop new skills such as stress management and interpersonal communication. They use these in family life, and with colleagues and students They also believe it has enhanced

“Just talking about feelings is real progress for a shy little girl.” - Parent

PARTNER: Educa Santé

COORDINATOR: Professor Martine Bantuelle



EUROPE

13

www.educasante.org

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 ASIA - CHINA14 EUROPE - BULGARIA Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

Animus Association Foundation launched

the pilot programme Zippy’s Friends in Bulgaria through a project Zippy’s Friends – The Future Citizens of Bulgaria, in partnership with the Norwegian organization Voksne for Barn. During the 2014/2015 academic year in Bulgaria there were 24 trained teachers and school specialists to work with Zippy’s Friends and it was introduced in 14 class sections. Nearly 300 children were given the opportunity to be included in the programme and to develop their skills and capacity to identify, understand and express emotions, and to improve their skills to cope with various problematic situations.

Zippy’s Friends provides an open space for reflection and discussion among teachers on one of the biggest issues in the Bulgarian education

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - CZECH REPUBLIC

EUROPEEUROPECzech Republic

system – namely the fact that it is focused on academic achievements, and ignores the acquisition of social skills such as effective communication, conflict resolution, creating and maintaining healthy relationships. In Bulgaria there is no established past history of programmes promoting mental health that do not provide fixed messages and recommendations, but rather encourage children to seek out the answers, to learn how to control their own world and to participate in the process of improving the class atmosphere So the teachers were happy to discover a change in the involvement of the children The teachers had the chance to step out of the traditional roles and to enable the children to seek out ways to cope with difficult situations and to communicate without stress

“Given the specific multiethnic environment in which the training was conducted, I am happy to say that at the end of the school year the children were definitely more open to sharing, more tolerant, more attentive to each other, to a certain point they managed to self-correct their behaviour.�- Teacher

Bulgaria

with our project, during July and August we worked on translation, publishing and printing and at the end of August we trained 26 teachers from nine schools, who are working with 532 pupils this school year All of them are supported by regular meetings with our trainers. During the spring we plan to train another 21 teachers, who are already registered and cooperating with our evaluation study as a control group. There is a randomized controlled evaluation study underway in collaboration with the Charles University of Prague. So far we have had very good reactions from the teachers - just some of them don‘t have sufficient time for the programme.

The mental health idea, as presented by

Partnership for Children, Zippy‘s Friends and Apple‘s Friends, fits perfectly with the Czech reform of psychiatric care and system of universal primary prevention of high risk behaviour in schools In our country we lack ways to work with small children in this field. With the results of the evaluation we plan to gain wider political support for Zippy‘s Friends and mental health promotion.

We are now supported by a grant from Norway For the next period we are looking for other financial resources – we would like to work with Apple’s Friends as well

PARTNER: E-Clinic

COORDINATOR: Markéta Čermáková

EMAIL: marketa cermakova@prevence-praha cz


PARTNER: Animus Association

COORDINATOR: Anna Milanova



In the Czech Republic we have started to work

with Zippy‘s Friends a short time ago – 2015/16 is our first school year with Zippy. The Czech partner is the E-clinic (an institution for promotion, prevention and treatment of psychiatric and comorbid deseases) and it has two partners – the Prague Centre for Primary Prevention, and the Norwegian NGO, Voksne for Barn

In our first year we translated all the texts – the translation was finished in a record-breaking time, so we were one of the first partners to have the newest version of Zippy‘s Friends! The Czech name is „Zipyho kamarádi“, Leela is „Lenka“, Tig is „Tonda“ and Zippy is „Zipy“.

In the beginning of May 2015 we started

“I think it´s an amazing tool – just to remember techniques, rules, follow up questions… In the begining I used to use it all the time, nowadays not so frequently, but there is much less conflict in our class.” - Teacher

15

www.animusassociation.org

www.ecinstitut.cz

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EUROPE

PARTNER: 11 local authorities & 3 groups of schools

CONTACT: Lizzie Poulton



Zippy’s Friends is currently running in

state schools in thirteen areas of England and in a private school in Wales. Since we signed a licence with our first UK partner in 2003, Zippy’s Friends has been taken on by other local governments, sometimes through the area’s educational psychologists, health teams or teaching alliances. In one region, Kent, a group of schools running Zippy’s Friends impressed the regional Community Health NHS Trust, which subsequently took on the licence for the whole region, and has spread the programme to many more schools

Growth in the UK can be slow, because the schools have many

different programmes offered to them, and there is a lot of competition in personal, social and health education (PSHE). In particular, a government programme, Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) was offered free to schools some years ago, which affected the demand for Zippy’s Friends However, many schools which previously used SEAL have come back to Zippy’s Friends, finding it more user-friendly for teachers and young children, and enjoying

the story-based sessions In September 2016, a

large scale RCT evaluation of Zippy’s Friends in England will begin, and the programme is expected to launch in five more regions: Croydon, Dudley, East Cheshire, Lincolnshire, and the city of Nottingham. The study is funded by a respected independent grant-making charity, the Education Endowment Foundation, started by the Department for Education, which is dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement, ensuring that children from all backgrounds can fulfil their potential.

Partnership for Children adapted Zippy’s Friends resources for children with special needs, for pupils aged 5 to 15, and a small-scale evaluation by the

University of Birmingham in 2015 found significant improvements in communication, cooperation, assertion, responsibility and self-awareness It found that pupils enjoyed the sessions, and that teachers were impressed with how comprehensive the programme was. We hope that a further, larger-scale study may follow

England & Wales

EUROPE - DENMARK Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

We first encountered Zippy’s Friends at

the ECPP conference in Amsterdam in 2014, but as we continued our talks it became apparent that this programme would sit very well with the publications we already had in our portfolio.

We quickly learned that Zippy’s Friends was previously represented in Denmark and actually originated here where some of the first Zippy-classes began working with the programme. So the idea for us to reinvigorate it and distribute it to children here again, along with some of our initial talks

EUROPE

with school teachers and principals, drove our motivation through the roof

The debate about mental wellness in kindergartens and schools has intensified in Denmark these recent years

One of the voices in this debate is about the intervention opportunity in the pre-school years James Heckmann, Nobel Prize winner and Chairman for the Tryg Children’s Research Institute in Denmark, has recommended these interventions, as research shows that the return on these investments

actually is better than return investments in the stock markets It’s evident that pre-school interventions have a better chance of neutralising social differences later in life.

Monitoring this debate alongside with our talks with Partnership for Children just made us even more eager to represent Zippy’s Friends in Denmark and in the summer 2015 we signed the agreement and are now close to concluding the translation and editing.

One team of pedagogues working with children in Special Education were trained in the SEN programme in February and in mid March we have our first training with a private

school that approached us themselves after finding our website and reading about Zippy.

We look forward to updating you on our progress and hear how you touch children in your country with this unique programme.

“Before the training course, I was worried about Zippy’s Friends as a programme. But the training is great, now I feel confident and enthusiastic about it. And I am an experienced teacher!� - Teacher

DenmarkPARTNER: Glæde og Børn

COORDINATOR: Louise Tidmand


LAUNCHED: 1999SCHOOLS THIS YEAR: -CHILDREN THIS YEAR: -CHILDREN SINCE LAUNCH: 6,560+

“We use the Zippy rules to solve real problems, especially at playtime. The training was so valuable, it put the programme and its aims into perspective and gave me the confidence to deliver it properly.� - Teacher

17

www.glaedeogborn.dk

www.partnershipforchildren.org.uk

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - ENGLAND & WALES

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“I wish that Zippy classes had kept going. It would be really good if you could have more stories with a different animal, after Zippy dies.” - Girl

Zippy‘s Friends has been a part of school

mental health promotion in Iceland for a full decade. The programme was translated and pilot tested in 2005 with the official publication of the Icelandic version in the fall of 2006 Since then the programme has been taught in over 130 primary schools, which covers about 75% of the total number of primary schools in the country. Although the precise number of schools currently offering the programme is unavailable, a large survey conducted by the Directorate of Health in 2012 showed that 40% of Icelandic primary schools were using the programme and planned to continue offering it to

their youngest pupils. The implementation

of Zippy‘s Friends in Iceland is a success story built on many contributing factors. Firstly, the team working to bring Zippy to Iceland was filled with great enthusiasm and energy which is absolutely crucial in the beginning when all ways need to be paved. Second, school mental health promotion in Iceland in general received a significant boost in 2011 when ‘Health and Well-being’ was defined as one of the six pillars of education in the National Curriculum This means that it is now just as much a part of the school‘s responsibility to promote student‘s health and well-being

as it is to teach them to read and write. Finally, the Zippy curriculum is managed by a government institution which means that, to date, we have been able to offer the material and teacher training for free, thus removing important barriers for accessing and implementing the programme.

We are grateful for having had quality resources available for school mental health promotion in Iceland and continue to be greatly invested in supporting and enhancing social and emotional learning for all students This is an essential part of our vision for a healthy and happy childhood leading to a happy and healthy community

PARTNER: Icelandic Directorate of Health

COORDINATOR: Sigrún Danielsdóttir



Iceland

EUROPE - FRANCE Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

La Fédération Départementale

des Foyers Ruraux de Charente Maritime, a people’s education association, advocates for the development of rural areas As an educational partner, it works to reduce social and environmental inequalities. This is why it is launching this educational programme, Zippy’s Friends, aimed at holistically improving the well-being of young children in rural areas This launch comes after several findings.

The Regional Health Observatory (ORS) found that this rural area should have priority with regards to people’s health and social profile.

This area is one of those at risk of significant academic failure,

because economic, family and cultural links are increasingly fragile.

Moreover, the implementation of curriculum reform in France is showing up large disparities between urban and rural environments

But this reform seeks above all to emphasise that educational interventions are no longer limited to school. Therefore, there is interest in increasing cooperation between the family, the school, local authorities and people’s education associations.

The Federation has taken the initiative in launching the programme of training and implementation of Zippy’s Friends, and has been supported financially by the state:

the Regional Health Agency of Poitou Charentes, the Directorate of Social Cohesion, the Department of Charente Maritime, the Family Allowances Fund of Charente Maritime and the local Municipalities of the Vals de Saintonge.

Caroline Egar and Amélie Saulnier led two days of teacher training for 25 people: teachers,

youth workers, psychologists and school nurses

Classes began in January 2016, in

‘after-school time’ in five small rural communities, and in school time in two school groups in one small town

At the end of the 24 sessions, an evaluation will take place of the same programme taught in two different educational settings.

“Conflicts in the class are managed better; children’s listening skills are increasing.” - Educator

FrancePARTNER: La Fédération Départmentale des Foyers Ruraux de Charente Maritime

COORDINATOR: Bruno Marolleau



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EUROPEEUROPE

www.foyersrurauxcharentemaritime.fr

www.landlaeknir.is

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - ICELAND

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EUROPE

PARTNER: Vaiko Labui

COORDINATOR: Aurelija Okunauskiené

EMAIL: aurelija ok@vaikolabui lt


The success of Zippy’s Friends in Lithuania

can be viewed from different perspectives. Statistics and facts speak for themselves The programme runs in about 55 per cent of all pre-school and primary institutions, in all ten counties of Lithuania, in three languages: Lithuanian, Polish and Russian. But so often, parents ask us whether a kindergarten runs Zippy’s Friends before registering their child there, because this programme adds value for the child

In the same way, how about a teacher who has been teaching Zippy’s Friends for 16 years in a row? Stuck in a routine? However, when the teacher, her eyes all lit up, tells you how the programme has changed her; that she has been applying Zippy’s Friends principles to three-year-olds so that when they are six, they are already “zipped” – friendly,

brave, honest, empathic; that the programme has helped her communicate with parents – for such a teacher, the programme is not routine, because every new group of children is unique And thus every time she eagerly waits for a new beginning.

And what would you think of the many people and 13 educational institutions who have been supporting the programme for over ten years, giving their efforts and time for free? And not just for “fun meetings” at a Zippy’s Friends feast or conference in the capital, but for mundane tasks – organising seminars, distributing and collecting programme handouts, checking and arranging the teaching material and so on

55 per cent of schools, 15,000 children per year, 16 years of activity – these are the bare statistics. However,

there are people behind these figures. People who care about children and society in Lithuania; who see and know that Zippy’s Friends is helping children to become better, more sensitive to other people, filled with trust, self-confidence and joy, and thus simply happier

PARTNER: Health Service Executive

COORDINATOR: Joan Ita Murphy

EMAIL: Joanita murphy@hse ie


EUROPE - IRELAND Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

out on a biannual basis. Currently, for the academic year 2015-2016, approximately 60% of schools trained to deliver Zippy’s Friends are implementing the programme in their school. An examination of the sustainability of the Zippy’s Friends emotional wellbeing programme was carried out by the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2014. The findings provided valuable insight into improvements in children’s social and emotional wellbeing as well as identifying factors facilitating programme sustainability

of 2015 approximately 1,500 teachers across the country had received training on Zippy’s Friends in Ireland This represents a significant investment in teacher training. Teachers are trained to deliver Zippy’s Friends through a one-day training delivered by health promotion officers, and this training is approved for substitution cover by the Department of Education and Skills

Monitoring of implementation of the programme is carried

The Zippy’s Friends emotional and

wellbeing programme had a gradual introduction into Ireland, with some areas (mainly the west) commencing training in 2008. Gradually, over time, the training gained momentum and a small number of health promotion officers across the regions were trained to train the trainers (17). Over the years, training was offered to primary school teachers on an annual basis, and at the end

LithuaniaIrelandEUROPE

21Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - LITHUANIA

www.hse.ie

www.vaikolabui.lt

“The students really liked the story and can identify with the characters in it. The story is very modern and practical. Zippy Friends really supports students to think about real issues that they are facing or will face in the future. The lesson activities for students with special needs are very useful and interesting for the students.” - Teacher

“I’m doing my best to listen to and to actually hear another person.” - Teacher

22

EUROPEEUROPE

PARTNER: Voksne for Barn

COORDINATOR: Hilde Randgaard



Since Zippy´s Friends was launched in

Norwegian schools in 2004, the programme has grown to be an intervention that connects health and education. There is a focus on mental health promotion and well-being in the educational field because of research-based knowledge and political initiative. The Norwegian Educational Act no. 9a states that students are supposed to experience a psychosocial environment that promotes well-being, health and learning. Zippy´s Friends is proven to contribute to this, when schools are aiming to improve well-being and social environment in the classroom, as well as improving coping and academic achievements (Holen, 2012).

As part of implementing Zippy´s Friends in primary schools, new reinforcing materials have been developed, and the

programme is now running in the first four years of primary schools

When municipalities and schools wish to implement Zippy´s Friends, they sign an agreement with Adults for Children (Voksne for Barn) to work with the programme for a minimum of four years During these years, a team consisting of members from the different services in the municipality is responsible for implementing Zippy´s Friends with support from Adults for Children This will include training and counselling of teachers, and different arrangements for improving sustainability.

Zippy´s Friends has provided a good basis for trying to connect the aims, cultures and competences from several

systems. The participants have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The educational and psychological counselling service and school health service are responsible for supporting the teachers while running the programme. This has been a valuable experience in many schools and municipalities. The

training, counselling and inspiration gatherings for teachers and trainers have been important for the sustainability of the programme. Students’ participation and social support have a central part in the programme and outside the classroom Methods for communication are what teachers, parents, students and other participants in the programme often emphasise as helpful and important This is mainly why schools would like to include all the teachers from 1st to 7th grade, and assistants from after-school activities, into the “Zippy way” of working together.

“My daughter says: Zippy helps us find solutions to problems. For example, when someone is excluded, or someone is upset. Zippy teaches us many different ways to solve it.� - Parent

EUROPE - NETHERLANDS Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

The results from these child self-report measures indicate a significant improvement in children’s emotional recognition skills and adaptive coping skills. In addition parents also reported an improvement in children’s social emotional skills, in particular, enhanced motivation and reduced externalising behaviour problems, including hyperactivity and aggressive behaviour. The positive evidence of the Trimbos study should be helpful in giving Zippy’s Friends a stronger position. And since June 2015 nine regional

process, Zippy’s Friends and nine other anti-bullying programmes will be part of a large scale randomised controlled trial involving at least 250 schools starting in August 2016. The main question is: ‘What helps against bullying?’. We hope that outcomes from this Dutch anti-bullying evaluation will support the findings from the study conducted in Norway (Holen et al 2012b) which showed improved social climate in the classroom and reduced bullying.

In the Netherlands Zippy’s Friends and

Apple’s Friends have to compete with many other school-based programmes. In 2012, the Dutch Trimbos Institute started a major study of the effectiveness of Zippy’s Friends and Apple’s Friends involving 1,177 children (aged 6 – 8 years) spread over 29 schools. In this evaluation an extra effort was made to have qualitative relevant data from children The children were interviewed individually by trained students twice: before they started the Zippy-lessons and after two years

“During the last 25 years I have tried many different programmes for social emotional learning. I never saw any major improvements. But with Zippy’s Friends I can see the difference: it really works for the children!” - Teacher

PARTNER: Stichting Kids en Emotionele Competenties

COORDINATOR: Marion Panis

EMAIL: marion panis@planet nl


NorwayNetherlands

23Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - NORWAY

www.zippysvrienden.nl

www.vfb.no

partners are putting a lot of effort in recruiting new Zippy-schools.

Zippy’s Friends was selected as a potential anti-bullying programme by a Dutch committee of experts. The experts had been appointed by the Dutch Ministry of Education. 61 programmes were submitted and have been screened by the committee. Only 13 programmes – including Zippy’s Friends – have been nominated as potential anti-bullying programmes. As a sequel to this first selection

24

EUROPE

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 EUROPE - RUSSIA

In the last few years new federal standards have

focused on developing a child’s personality Zippy’s Friends meets these new challenges in Russian education. Through games and role-plays, led by trained teachers, children receive skills that they can use throughout their lives, so that they will choose helpful coping strategies in the future, rather than inappropriate ones such as taking drugs and alcohol, self-harming, even committing suicide.

NGO Sodeistvie has had the responsibility for disseminating and implementing the Zippy’s Friends programme thanks to Russian-Norwegian co-operation. We started in December 2011 with three trainers, nine pedagogues and 178 children from four schools in Karelia – a

region in the North-West of the Russian Federation. By December 2015, 28 trainers, 163 pedagogues and 5,567 children in Karelia, Murmansk, Saint Petersburg and Moscow had received Zippy’s Friends

Zippy’s Friends has been professionally and independently evaluated in the Russian Federation. The programme received many positive recommendations. Finally, Zippy’s Friends was recommended at the federal level by the Head Psychiatrist of the Russian Health Ministry

Pedagogues and parents have stressed positive results for children: the ability to resolve conflicts, better academic performance and a reduction in violent behaviour

Zippy’s Friends improves the psychological and personal competence of teachers, enabling them to understand children better and be with them in a number of situations that require adult support

To guarantee the high quality of the Zippy’s Friends programme delivery to children, NGO Sodeistvie pays special attention to supervision, which includes teachers’ annual reports and visits to sessions, consulting, study tours and conferences Teachers visited Norway, Lithuania and the Netherlands to know more about modern approaches in health promotion. NGO Sodeistive conducted scientific conferences promoting Zippy’s Friends as a family-friendly programme which may prevent child abuse More than 210 teachers

had an opportunity to share their experiences

The programme is supported by Karelian government, including the Children’s Rights Ombudsman as well as committees of education.

“It’s great that our parents decided to send us to Zippy sessions! Otherwise we would not know anything about life!” - Child

PARTNER: NGO Sodeistivie

COORDINATOR: Ilona Kosheleva



EUROPE - POLAND Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

“A new teacher came to one of the groups in the kindergarten. She stopped by the terrarium of Zippy and asked: �Who is that figure in the terrarium?� The children answered: �This is Zippy – our stick insect. He is artificial but don’t tell this to our teacher Mrs Ann, because she thinks he is alive and very often talks to him.�” - Children

patronage of the Ministry of Education, COPE organised the Conference in which Chris Bale, former Director of Partnership for Children, participated. He gave a lecture and a very interesting presentation about Zippy’s Friends around the world All the participants of the conference “Education for the future” were given a special medal and a booklet prepared for the anniversary

Workshops we exchange experiences, knowledge and we learn from one another This is a way to develop resources and take care of the quality of the programme.

Zippy’s Friends is recommended by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, as one of 13 other programmes. These recommendations are very important for self-government, which in many cases finances the implementation of the programme at schools.

Last year (2015) we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Zippy’s Friends programme in Poland Under the

The Zippy’s Friends programme in Poland

is a story of success There are several people and institutions we owe this success to Everything began with the Network of Health Promoting Schools, which is very strong in Poland. Thanks to cooperation between schools, trainers and teachers, it was possible to offer the programme all around the country More than 13,000 children participate in the Zippy’s Friends programme every year. The programme is offered by the group of trainers, who reach hundreds of teachers in hundreds of schools and kindergartens every year.

The country coordinator of Zippy’s Friends programme in Poland organizes an annual Workshop for Trainers. During those

PARTNER: COPE – Centrum Pozytywnej Edukacji

COORDINATOR: Elżbieta Nerwińska

EMAIL: info@pozytywnaedukacja pl


RussiaPolandEUROPE

25

www.pozytywnaedukacja.pl

www.sodeistvie.karelia.ru

26

this July We have started a

partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Montreal Division, to promote Zippy’s Friends and Passport in Quebec, and we are presenting next fall to the National CMHA to submit these programmes for their national support and promotion. We are also in the process of expanding our partnership with the Rotary Club, which conducts fund-raising for Zippy’s Friends in the Quebec City area, with a proposal to the Rotarian Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives to promote

Zippy’s Friends and Passport. The promotion of Passport: Skills for Life, our programme for older children, has been the focus of many activities. We will be presenting evaluation results of Passport at many national and international meetings as well as promoting Zippy’s Friends at the same time. A pilot of Passport is planned in Brazil and in Switzerland during the coming year.

This has been a busy year in Canada, with

Zippy’s Friends expanding across the country, and our new programme, Passport: Skills for Life, being promoted nationally along with Zippy’s Friends. After a successful pilot run in ten schools in French in Winnipeg, Manitoba province, teachers involved requested that Zippy’s Friends be conducted in 2015-2016 throughout their school district (the Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine). The district is working with us on a presentation of Zippy’s Friends and Passport to the Canadian School Board Association

EUROPE - SLOVAKIA Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

PARTNER: CRISE-UQAM

COORDINATOR: Lorraine Millette



PARTNER: League for Mental Health Slovakia

COORDINATOR: Sasha Brazinova



communication, empathy and problem solving. Teachers see how Zippy’s Friends helps not just the individual children, but the whole class as a group. "It is easier now to get things done in the class", they often say.

The interest of schools and teachers in the programme is growing each year, and we are still learning how to manage it the best. Until now we have run it thanks to grants from national and international donor organisations. We started the programme in two out of eight regions in

special educators, as they all feel such a well-structured and designed programme on social skills enhancement has been missing in Slovakia.

The Zippy’s Friends programme is also much apreciated by parents of participating children. Teachers often tell us parents keep aproaching them and asking about Zippy, commenting on how they see their child getting better at

Slovakia, and now we run it in six. However, we still need to have a sound plan for programme sustainability Our plans are big – we would like to see the Zippy’s Friends programme in all schools across the country, and have it endorsed by the Ministries of Education and Health. We believe Zippy’s Friends is beneficial for the whole society

The programme Zippy’s Friends has

been implemented in the Slovak Republic since September 2013 It is run by the League for Mental Health Slovakia, a major mental health promoting NGO in the country. The programme has met with great interest from teachers of kindergardens and elementary schools, as well as school psychologists and

“One mum came and asked me, �What are you doing with the children at school, what do you teach them these days? My daughter uses brand new words now and very mature expressions; a few days ago I frowned or something, and my daughter asked me, �Mum, what emotion are you depicting now?�”- Teacher

“Zippy’s Friends helps me with my class management. I no longer have to intervene with small issues since we completed the flower of reconciliation activity.” - Teacher

CanadaSlovakiaEUROPE NORTH AMERICA

www.dusevnezdravie.sk

www.zippy.uqam.ca

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 NORTH AMERICA - CANADA 27

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 NORTH AMERICA - USA28 29

NORTH AMERICA

PARTNER: Montclair State University

COORDINATOR: Dr. Gerry Costa



Zippy’s Friends was brought to the

United States by Gerard Costa, who was working at Youth Consultation Services (YCS) Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health, when River Edge residents Andrea and Herb Ouida introduced him to the programme in 2007. The Ouidas, whose Todd Ouida Foundation honors their late son and helps families and children with anxiety and other mental health issues, wanted to bring the curriculum to New Jersey. "I was sold," said Costa, who is now the director of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health at Montclair State University, which handles training and implementation of Zippy's Friends “I thought it was wonderful, because it seemed to really address the inner life of children It addressed the ability for children, at [age] 5, 6, 7 to really learn how to identify and communicate their feelings. It helped them develop strategies for problem solving that had to do with not hurting themselves or not hurting others, to bring perspective. And it wasn't a recipe for what to do and how to do it It wasn't instructive; it was more teaching how to think about how to do it ”

While the programme has increased to 12 districts in Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties, Costa has struggled to get the kind of momentum he would like because of school budget issues and a lack of priority placed on mental health programmes. While grants as well as funding support from the Ouida Foundation are helping, Costa would still like to reach more districts and children That requires not only the money, but a school administration that believes in the programme's value.

NORTH AMERICA - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

PARTNER: The School Leadership Center of Trinidad and Tobago

COORDINATOR: Elizabeth Crouch

EMAIL: Lizcherylc@hotmail com


The School Leadership Center, a small not-

for-profit organization, is responsible for bringing the Zippy’s Friends programme to Trinidad and Tobago. To date, first year teachers and principals from 96 schools in Trinidad and two from Tobago have been trained, that is, 22% of the primary schools in the twin island republic

A website has been established to encourage the teachers to communicate online with their monitors and the other Zippy teachers. We have begun to celebrate the achievements of our teachers with a Zippy “Teacher of the Year” Award

We have also designed our own Parenting programme, aimed at meeting the needs of the parents of the students involved in the programme.

The students, especially those in high risk communities who are exposed to the programme, are learning to build better, long lasting relationships.

At a parent meeting, a parent said, “This Zippy programme has changed the lives of all members of my family – my daughter who is in the Zippy class, her brother

who is in Standard 3, and us as parents There has been so much positive improvement in our home, all because of this programme.”

A teacher said, “Our children come from some of the most depressed areas, and I am pleased to say, compared to previous groups of children that were not exposed to Zippy Friends, there is a marked difference in

how the present group of Zippy children are able to cope with their emotions, speak out and solve problems ”

In 2015, the School Leadership Center, on the invitation of Partnership for Children, supported a neighbouring Caribbean Island, St. Maarten, which was embarking on a start up of the Zippy’s Friends programme. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration!

“I had to stop the lesson towards the end with the feedback because the recess bell rang, but my kids didn’t want to stop. They wanted to continue going on. I had to practically �drive� them out of the classroom. Overall, it was a very good experience.” - Teacher

USATrinidad & Tobago

“When we first heard about it, we thought it was a little iffy because the bug passes away. We thought that would be too much for them, but it's actually helped more than anything.” - Teacher

NORTH AMERICA

www.mybuddytodd.orgwww.montclair.edu

30

LATIN AMERICALATIN AMERICA

LATIN AMERICA - ARGENTINA Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

schools or in teacher training programmes. Focusing on training and monitoring of teachers, the programme becomes extremely effective, since accompanying and supporting teachers creates the proper conditions for the teachers themselves to accompany and support the children and their families

But not only adults value the programme, children love it too They look forward to hearing more about Zippy, and if for some reason the sessions are postponed,

they complain and ask when the next session is going to be. The results are visible at break time too; once the children start participating in the programme, they are more able to sort their own problems,

they are more empathic with others and play the role of mediators when conflicts arise, facilitating good solutions.

For all these wonderful reasons, SER+ is very proud to implement Zippy's Friends in Argentina, and to be part of the global network of organisations led by Partnership for Children, working

for the emotional health of children around the world through such beautiful programmes as

Zippy's Friends, and most recently Apple’s Friends.

“I started Zippy’s Friends believing that it would be the solution to my problems with the �terrible students� in the class. Today, I see that I needed to go through this change myself, together with the students. We all acquired skills and now I know that I could not have a better group in my hands! Zippy’s Friends helped me unveil the treasures I had in my class.”- Teacher

ASEC is the fruit of a passion – a passion

for the vision of having children acquire, early in life, internal resources that will enable them to lead a fulfilling life; a life that will be dear to them, as they can feel good about themselves and be open to the opportunities that will arise, not fearing challenges and taking pleasure in improving other people’s lives That vision has come true since the beginning of our Zippy’s Friends pilot, in 2004

Running in Brazil for over ten years now, Zippy’s Friends has already benefited more than 250,000 children attending public and private schools, and charity organizations in 45 different cities, with the work of over 7,000 trained educators

In 2008, another two programmes were added to Zippy’s Friends Apple’s Friends, developed upon the request of the municipality of Sorocaba, had its pilot implemented

with the participation of 51 teachers and 1,718 children. Participant educators were asked to evaluate the training programme developed by ASEC so as to contribute to enhancing the material. In 2010, the programme was subjected to an independent evaluation and the results demonstrated its efficacy, encouraging Partnership for Children to make it available for other countries

Zippy’s Friends at Home evolved from a

Argentina BrazilPARTNER: Associação pela Saúde Emocional de Crianças

COORDINATOR: Tania Paris



The Zippy's Friends programme arrived in

Argentina in 2010. Since then it has benefited more than 4,500 children between five and nine years old attending kindergartens, primary schools, and community organizations in the cities of Buenos Aires, La Matanza, Avellaneda, Chacabuco and Pilar

Zippy's Friends represents, for Argentinean educational institutions, an innovative programme to promote emotional health, an area that is not usually included in

“I cannot express the joy I feel for today's workshop, although not all parents could come, I feel the good vibe of such a successful time we shared! Today once again I go with a smile in my heart. Thanks for this great programme!” - Head Teacher

PARTNER: SER+

COORDINATOR: Gabriella Oller



31Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 LATIN AMERICA - BRAZIL

pilot with 47 parents to take on the Whole School Approach. Starting off as meetings with parents, it went on to become an Emotional Education course for parents and, due to its success, ASEC started training teachers so that they could teach the parents themselves More than 8,000 parents have already taken part

Throughout all these years, ASEC’s team has collected thrilling stories about children who used their newly acquired skills to mitigate other people’s pain, developed resilience, demonstrated healthier

social interactions, and overcame huge obstacles. And thus, those stories

keep reminding us about the importance of our role in society, to keep focussing on our Vision: “A Happy and Strong Society”.

www.sermas.org.arwww.amigosdozippy.org.brwww.asecbrasil.org.br

32 LATIN AMERICA - CHILE Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

LATIN AMERICA

PARTNER: Fundación Empresarial para el Desarrollo Educativo (FEPADE)

COORDINATOR: Ana Bardi



“One night, my mum was yelling at my dad because he did not buy something she had asked for. She was going to hit him. I said: �Calm down mum, do not yell at him, wait until you feel calmer and no longer angry, you will see that he will buy you everything you want!� When they heard this they stopped yelling and started laughing, and since that night, they no longer shout, they argue sometimes, but do not shout any more.” - Child

In El Salvador Zippy’s Friends has

strengthened social skills and mental health in children from kindergarten to second grade, six to eight years, since 2012, making changes in their attitudes, helping them to reflect and seek solutions to various situations that children face day to day in the Salvadoran reality

The self-esteem of these students has improved; previously most of these children had difficulty in expressing themselves, or socialising with others The development of each module has allowed children the internalisation and ownership of the programme rules, putting them into practice even in other disciplines

Teachers that participate in the programme declare that it has been a great support in curriculum development, complementing the student learning in a playful but meaningful way It has help to strengthen the emotional area of the development of children, being an important area in childhood and critical in their preparation for life.

Zippy’s Friends in the schools of El Salvador had the support of parents in all scheduled activities, including the making of a Zippy pet, and the important visit to the cemetery

Zippy's Friends has been run in Chile

since 2012 by CreArte, a small non-profit agency. Up until now we have benefited 1,245 children, and trained and certified 49 teachers from 34 schools in three municipalities: San José de Maipo, Recoleta and Huechuraba

As described in the National Health Programme for Children (2013), in Chile children's mental health problems have increased considerably in recent decades It is clear that half of mental disorders suffered by the adult population come from childhood, and

these problems trigger serious damage to the emotional, intellectual and social development of those who suffer from them

When children suffer damage to their self-esteem, this affects their performance and adaptation to the school system; it also alters family dynamics If we associate the prevalence of children’s mental health problems with other variables, equally problematic for the healthy development of children, such as living in poverty and psychosocial vulnerability, the picture worsens dramatically. The implementation of Zippy’s Friends has delivered tools that help children develop strategies to overcome different difficulties, especially if they live in conditions of vulnerability from a psychosocial aspect

Juan Casassus, Chilean researcher, international consultant, psychologist

and Master in Emotional Education, who attended the first Zippy’s Friends Latin American Workshop in Chile, confirms that human beings must be connected with their emotions

to make decisions from our rational side, since emotions are as important as reasoning. This may be a new heaven and a new earth, another way of understanding things and each other, and another way of living.

El SalvadorChile

“Zippy was with me when I learned to read. He's my best friend and I love him with all my heart.” - Child

PARTNER: CreArte

COORDINATOR: Constanza Baeza Fuentes



LATIN AMERICA

33Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 LATIN AMERICA - EL SALVADOR

www.crearte.clwww.fepade.org.sv

34

Panama was one of three Spanish-

speaking countries in Latin America to launch Zippy’s Friends in 2010, and was taken on by the Universidad Especializada de las Américas (UDELAS), which has many years’ experience of working in education and child development With the support of the Ministry of Education and the enthusiasm of schools and families, the programme expanded rapidly In 2013 Fundamericas, the UDELAS Trust, took over the running of the programme, aiming to bring the programme to even more children

Zippy’s Friends in Panama is a unique programme that contains all the important components for emotional wellbeing of children, and also has a ripple effect to teachers, parents, families and the community in general, which have observed

real changes in the children experiencing the programme.

In our country it has reached more than 33,795 children, 1,047 teachers, and 419 schools This is quite an achievement for a country of only 3 5 million inhabitants We have established a strong link with the Ministry of Education, which provides the right endorsement for the development of the programme and for the teacher training. Zippy’s Friends training

gives teachers points for their professional development, a significant qualification for their professional careers, by recognizing that the training they receive fully prepares them in emotional health issues, so that they can transmit the knowledge in the classroom

PARTNER: Fundación Universidad Especializada de las Américas (FUNDAMÉRICAS)

COORDINATOR: Gloria Mercedes De Gracia



“Having the opportunity to learn to manage, control and know what to do with negative feelings is important. I think I would have been a better person and I would have avoided many problems when I was young if I had had the opportunity of a programme like this.� - Father

To run Zippy’s Friends in Mexico we have

the support of the important authorities in all the chosen schools, such as supervisors and directors Much of their support consists of providing the space and time we need for the planning and logistics to train teachers and run the programme.

After training, teachers begin creating

their own Zippys, and in some cases, special songs for the sessions. They are always keen to implement the programme in their classrooms after experiencing its benefits and seeing how it is relevant to many aspects of life Zippy’s Friends is made a priority project in first and second grades.

To help teachers meet the aims of the sessions, they receive a visit of NEMI’s Operational Coordinating Officer

once per module Teachers receive recommendations and/or give suggestions on how to spread the Zippy concepts into other subject areas, to reinforce the learning process carried out in the Zippy class.

During the supervision by the Operational Coordinator, we observe the planning that the teacher has done to prepare their sessions and materials, and their creativity and enthusiasm In

addition, in order to develop the programme comprehensively, teachers involve parents by offering workshops on the themes of each module, and this has made the programme more successful and meaningful to everyone.

LATIN AMERICA - MEXICO Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

PanamaMexicoPARTNER: Fundacion Nemi

COORDINATOR: Victor Hacha

EMAIL: vhacha@nemi com mx


www.nemi.com.mx

35

“I recognise the changes that my child has experienced, he does not argue much with his little brother, he supports me with housework and now he studies independently.” - Mother

Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 LATIN AMERICA - PANAMA

LATIN AMERICALATIN AMERICA

www.udelas.ac.pa

36 NOTES Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016 Partnership for Children International Workshop 2016

NOTES

ASIA - BEIJING Partnership for Children International Workshop 201638

Partnership for Children, 26-27 Market Place, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 1JH, UK

+44 (0) 20 8974 6004

[email protected]

@PfChildren

Good mental health for children - for life

PARTNERSHIP FOR

www.partnershipforchildren.org.ukRegistered Charity number: 1089810

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