ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how the school created a buddy system between Reception and Year 4, with the older children acting as coaches for the Reception children. Pupils within each class were paired with another child who they met with at least once a week for an explicit teaching session on emotional literacy and regulation. A series of lessons explored the understanding of emotions, including sadness, happiness, excitement and anger. Stories and videos were used as a hook to encourage deep and challenging conversations. Pupils were explicitly taught a range of strategies that they could use when needing to self-regulate. Informal visits by Year 4 pupils to Reception pupils during playtimes also took place, to further build relationships. The chapter describes the positive impact of the project on both classes, using both qualitative data (reports from teachers and parents) and quantitative data (improvements in involvement and wellbeing on the Leuven Scales).
