SELF in Education
Imagine if has worked in partnership with educational organisations across the country, embedding Assets for Success into everyday routines to make SELF development accessible and sustainable.
Previously, we have taken an organisation-wide approach, including pupils, teachers, teaching support assistants, parents and the senior leadership team in the collaborative effort. We have also worked with small groups of children in order to focus on specific targets, and small groups of staff, coaching them to become Asset Guides.
To give you an idea of how Assets works in Education, here are some examples of our partnerships…
“This programme has done so much for N and she comes home every week raving about what they have been doing. I have seen N’s confidence soar this year and she is always linking the ideas they have come up with in imagine if to what she has been doing at home. I cannot thank the staff and the programme enough and these are now skills N will carry with her as she grows up.
Imagine if has given N the confidence to think outside of the box which has helped her self-esteem, which has in turn made her more willing to access education, look forward to school and even make friends.
I do hope that this course can be carried on in the future as I would love my year 4 child to benefit from such a positive experience.”
- parent of primary school pupil.
Roman Fields Provision
Roman Fields Provision is a school of extraordinary value that cannot be overstated. We hope they agree with us when we say that we’re both heading in the same direction – up that spiral by putting well-being and SELF at the forefront of education, engaging in genuine collaboration and tapping into young people’s potential.
The majority of the young people at Roman Fields have an Autism diagnosis as their primary need; others SEMH and a small minority have a combination of both.
We have worked as the Enterprise Advisor at Roman Fields for over 4 years; providing mentoring, learning support and strategic advice. Recently we worked with a small group of young people aged 14 to 16. We integrated Assets for Success into their Film Studies over a period of two months, for one afternoon every week.
We introduced Assets by considering what qualities employers may look for in prospective employees. The group were encouraged to share their own understanding of Assets and to notice them within their classmates, developing a common language within the group and increasing awareness of other perspectives.
The study objective was to create a film. The group wrote, shot and edited a film that just happened to be about a young persons’ upward spiral as a result of noticing their Assets. And thus the upwards spiral was born!
We were extremely proud of the group; they managed and learnt from conflict, grew in confidence and developed strong bonds with one another. We were able to track their Asset development using our 4G rating scale. The students demonstrated an increased ability to articulate their strengths; they realised the wealth of Assets they have that are desired by employers. We hope to be able to share their film with you soon!
Exeter University
We introduced Assets for Success to 400 law students at Exeter University in a series of workshops and seminars. We used an interactive coaching style to help the students notice, develop and articulate their Assets for Success.
We discovered that their strengths lay in Assets like independence, resilience and problem solving, which are key to success when studying law. The Asset overwhelmingly identified by students and tutors as requiring work was collaboration – an Asset not practised much in studies, but of great importance in a legal career.
Through guided conversation, students were better able to form collaborative units, taking time to listen to, and really consider, other’s contributions. The units made use of each other’s strengths and students were able to articulate the value of diversity in a team. The teamwork led to the successful co-creation of bespoke Asset Recipe Cards for use by other cohorts of students.
Students were able to consider the Assets they worked on from different perspectives, enabling them to understand the role they play in general well-being and ways in which they can benefit from Asset development in different contexts.
The Student Employability and Academic Success Services Support Department at Exeter University integrated the Asset for Success tool into internal processes so students across the University could develop an understanding of Assets, helping them reach their potential and manage their well-being.
“The Assets that you taught gave me a fantastic insight into how to approach future interviews and understand what skills actually mean… now I understand how they interact with each other and how everyone has these Assets; it’s just about how to harness and progress the Assets that are perhaps dormant.” – student of Exeter University Law School.
Longmeadow Primary School
At Longmeadow Primary School in Hertfordshire, we collaborated with Year 6 children, teachers, the senior leadership team, teaching support assistants and parents to embed Assets for Success.
We ran workshops to prepare Year 6 pupils for SATS and the transition to secondary school. Assets was adapted to place particular focus on resilience – to help pupils manage increased stress and encourage perseverance; and confidence – to help them feel comfortable with their strengths and weaknesses and able to navigate daunting changes.
We encouraged pupils to become aware of their skills, their roles in different relationships and the impact their behaviour has on situations and people. Our focus is always on the positives and how to progress, helping them to feel good about themselves and their learning ability.
Workshops were creative to ensure engagement, supporting the pupils and staff on a spiral of discovery. The simple codified behaviours increased their understanding of Assets, enabling continued development beyond the workshops.
“They help us and give us fun things to accomplish – they make us feel proud”
“When I mess up I will correct it (resilience), when I want to do something I’ll try to do it by myself before asking for help (independence) and when I can’t decide what to do, I mix them together (flexibility).”
“I have something to offer!”
- pupils at Longmeadow Primary School.
