After a lot of planning with Stockport Academy, we helped with organising and delivering activities for Stockport Academy's drop down day for their Year 9 pupils. With support from the Violence Reduction Unit in Stockport, PIE organised for the different organisations in the VRU Alliance to deliver sessions for the drop down day. The organisations who delivered sessions on the day were Talk, Listen, Change, Make a Difference, and Stockport County Community Trust.
The pupils got the chance to complete activities and find out more about these organisations who are local to them and do great work with young people. We asked each organisation to tell us about the day:
PIE
We delivered our This Matters session each period for different Year 9 groups all on the topic of 'Gratitude Matters'! For this session we went through what does gratitude mean, the impact of showing gratitude and how to practice gratitude daily. The Year 9 pupils then reflected on how they have developed mentally, emotionally, and overall development during their time at school and their time in Year 9 so far. They then went on to think about the people that have helped and supported them to develop, to consider who they may be grateful to.
After looking at the emotional and physical benefits of practicing gratitude, we then discussed ways of practicing gratitude such as keeping a gratitude journal, giving someone a gift or always trying to find the positive. For the second half of the session, the pupils got the chance to practice gratitude by making a gift for the person/people they are grateful to. They made postcards with kind messages, keyrings, magnets and bookmarks to give to someone special to them.
Stockport County Community Trust
It was great to be a part of the drop-down day at Stockport Academy. The sessions delivered by Stockport County Community Trust included a girls-only session, BE You, which empowers girls to build positive mental health, self-confidence, and lasting self-esteem. Inclusion Officer Katie Myott delivered the session. The secondary session involved a project where students collaborated to design an initiative that would create a lasting impact on their community.
Make A Difference
It was a pleasure working with the Year 9 young women. The session focused on core belief systems and how they shape our perceptions of the world. We explored how these beliefs can either hold us back from achieving our goals or propel us toward success and the fulfilment of our deepest desires. Additionally, we delved into the importance of emotional well-being and how our emotional state can influence outcomes. We provided practical tools for the young women to use regularly, empowering them to regulate their nervous system and strengthen resilience
TLC
The TLC team really enjoyed being a part of the drop-down day at Stockport Academy. Our sessions focused on Conscious Allyship and what are unhealthy and healthy relationships. The young people really joined in with acting out challenging relationship scenarios and then as a group exploring the thoughts and feelings of the ‘actors’ to develop an understanding of how thoughts and feelings impact on behaviours. Helping young people understand the complicated nature of relationships helps them check their behaviour and recognise the harm they might create as a partner or as a friend to someone in an unhealthy relationship. The young people were really engaged and shared some really insightful comments. They were all a credit to the school.
Stockport Academy
I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you for your time and support during our Year 9 Future Me Day today. Your carefully planned and engaging sessions provided invaluable support to our pupils in their personal development, helping to shape their character.
The pupils really enjoyed the sessions, and we’ve received some wonderful feedback from our staff as well. We truly appreciate the effort you put into your delivery, and we hope that you would be willing to come back and support us again in the future.
Thank you once again for being a part of such an important day for our students.
It was a great day at Stockport Academy practicing the attitude for gratitude! We are looking forward to being involved in upcoming Future Me Days for Year 7 and 8 in the coming weeks as well!
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