- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- Realising Ambition
- Release date:
- 14 5 2012
A groundbreaking project that brings a baby into schools as a ‘tiny teacher’ to help children learn empathy and reduce aggressive behaviour will be introduced to Wales for the first time through a multi-million-pound Big Lottery Fund (BIG) investment announced today.
The Roots of Empathy project is one of four interventions being rolled out in Wales that are proven to increase young people’s life chances and help reduce youth offending and anti-social behaviour.
They are part of a series of 25 tried and tested projects being rolled out across the UK through Big Lottery Fund’s Realising Ambition programme, which aims to replicate or scale-up approaches that have a strong track record of improving the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised young people.
The four projects being delivered in Wales will improve the prospects of around 24,000 8-14 year olds and help to reduce first time offending.
Over three years, around 2,000 young people in schools across Cardiff, Neath Port Talbot and the Vale of Glamorgan will benefit from the Roots of Empathy project, thanks to a grant of over £990,000 awarded to Action for Children. Originated in Canada in 1996, Roots of Empathy is an evidence based programme which significantly decreases children’s aggressive behaviour and increases their pro-social behaviour. It involves a unique programme of regularly bringing a volunteer mother and baby into a classroom. Through observing the baby's development, children learn to understand the baby's needs and emotions and reflect on their own feelings and those of others.
Research in Canada shows that Roots of Empathy decreased social aggression in up to 39% of students surveyed and demonstrated a 78% increase in helpful behaviour.
Brigitte Gater, Operational Director of Children’s Services at Action for Children in Wales said: “Roots of Empathy teaches school children to understand their own feelings and the feelings of others by using a baby as the ‘tiny teacher’. This raises levels of empathy amongst classmates, resulting in more respectful relationships and a dramatic reduction in levels of aggression among school children.”
“We are proud to introduce Roots of Empathy in Wales and would like to thank The Big Lottery Fund for its support. Action for Children has a proven track record for developing innovative approaches which help to significantly improve outcomes for vulnerable children, families and young people. At Action for Children, we are committed to promoting the benefits of early intervention and Roots of Empathy is an excellent example of this. By increasing levels of ‘emotional literacy’ in children at a young age we can lay the foundation for safe and caring classrooms and, in the long-term, safe and caring societies.”
Barnardo’s will use Realising Ambition funding to deliver two separate projects in Wales and other parts of the UK. One of the projects, the LifeSkills Training (Botvin) programme, will introduce a new substance abuse and violence prevention programme which has proved successful in the USA. For the first time, the project will be delivered in schools across the UK, including Wales, thanks to £1.5m in funding from BIG. Nearly 240 young people are set to benefit from the project in Wales.
The LifeSkills Training (Botvin) programme has been used extensively in the US and was recommended by Graham Allen MP in his 2011 independent review of early intervention. As part of the programme, teachers are trained to deliver intensive schools-based sessions for young people to give them the confidence and skills to successfully handle challenging situations and learn alternatives to ‘risky’ behaviour.
Backed by over 30 scientific studies, LifesSkills has been shown in the US to reduce the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by up to as much as 87% and verbal or physical aggression by up to 50%. It also has projected savings to society of £12.78 for every £1 spent on the programme.
An additional grant of over £1.5 million from BIG will enable Barnardo’s to deliver the Fast Track/ PATHS Plus project, another project originating from the USA, which again will be delivered for the first time in Wales and the UK. Between 5,000 and 6,000 school children in Wales are set to benefit from the project. Full PATHS and Friendship Group programmes will be delivered in primary schools to address social and emotional learning and resilience and skills development in children on a universal and targeted basis.
Yvonne Rodgers, Director Barnardo’s Cymru, said: “Barnardo’s Cymru is excited about the prospect of delivering LifeSkills Training (Botvin) and Fast Track/PATHS Plus to children and young people in schools and communities in Wales with the support of The Big Lottery Fund. We know that these programmes make a big difference to children’s lives and improve their life chances, which is Barnardo’s overall aim.
“Barnardo’s has past experience of adapting US based models for use in the UK and this opportunity will support those with conduct disorders and behaviour issues in schools. The work will offer positive and inspirational intervention that will lead to children remaining part of the mainstream, and enhance the connection between them and their teachers and fellow pupils.”
And with their grant of half a million pounds, The Cooperative Primary School will deliver the Success for All project, with nearly 16,500 children set to benefit in Wales. Success for All puts reading at the cornerstone of the curriculum and works with schools, parents and the wider community to do everything necessary to ensure that children succeed in school.
Outlining the importance of the project, Marilyn Jones-Hill, Director of Training at Success for All-UK, said: “It is intended that Success for All will initially work with up to five identified educational organisations in Wales over a three year period that are committed to implementing and sharing such a powerful and potentially transformational strategy.”
“Success for All is a powerful and dynamic whole school improvement strategy particularly effective in schools serving large proportions of disadvantaged pupils or where there is underachievement.”
Big Lottery Fund teamed up with young people’s specialists Catch 22 to deliver the Realising Ambition programme, who identified and compiled the 25 projects working with a specialist consortium of social and youth organisations including Young Foundation, Dartington Social Research Unit, Substance and Rathbone.
All aim to help young people avoid common paths into offending and anti-social behaviour, including increasing academic engagement, preventing substance misuse, teaching alternatives to conflict, aggression and violence, and challenging prejudice.
They will be rigorously tested and evaluated during their lifetime so that they can provide solid insight into how society can work more effectively to help young people and prevent anti-social behaviour and youth offending in future.
Highlighting the importance of the programme, John Rose, Big Lottery Fund Director for Wales, said: “All too often, young people growing up in challenging circumstances are drawn into anti-social behaviour and criminal activity almost by default; they don’t know how to do things differently and haven’t been given the support they need to make different choices.
“The projects we are announcing support for today are going to help thousands of young people across Wales to increase their aspirations and life chances and overcome problematic behaviour that might lead them to become involved in antisocial behaviour and criminal activity
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Ben Payne: 02920 678 224
Out of hours contact: 07500 951 707
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/biglotterywales
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/biglotteryfundwales
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 0735
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £100k a day in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
- The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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