Member Article

Resilience Wellbeing Success Programme Bursts into Yorkshire Schools

What do you get when you bring together a Paralympian, a Cancer Conqueror and a Bounce-Back Mum?

This September, there will be a buzz in Yorkshire primary schools. The start of the new school term will mark the launch of the RWS – Resilience, Wellbeing, Success – programme pilot in two York primary schools and, across the Pennines, a Manchester school showing strong interest, with more following suit across the North of England.

The RWS – Resilience, Wellbeing, Success – programme was developed by experienced school speakers Frederika Roberts, Jayne Snell and Elizabeth Wright to bring their stories and expertise to schools in a format that provides longer-lasting results than a single presentation. RWS aims to help pupils develop life-long skills in improving their resilience, their overall wellbeing and their success in and outside of academic life and will see the three speakers delivering interactive talks to pupils, teachers and parents, as well as providing resources for teachers to use in lessons to further embed the inspirational messages. At Clifton with Rawcliffe School, the final phase of the programme will culminate in an exciting pupil-led project that brings all aspects of the programme together; the leadership team at the school have chosen to incorporate this into an exhibit for parents to enjoy, when they will also get the opportunity to listen to the speaker presentations.

“Clifton with Rawcliffe is a very special school. Our teaching methods and ethos are designed to equip pupils for life in the 21st century and our state-of-the art premises facilitate this”, says Headteacher Andy Herbert. “The RWS programme is a fantastic way to support this crucial stage in our pupils’ education and personal development. We are very excited and proud to be not only one of the pilot schools but also to have helped Frederika, Jayne and Elizabeth to shape the programme over the past few months.”

St Barnabas C of E Primary School in York will also be piloting the programme in September. Its Headteacher, Karen Boardman, says: “When I first spoke to the RWS founders about bringing the programme to St Barnabas, they had been working on launching in secondary schools, so it’s been a pleasure to be able to help them adapt their materials for primary schools.” She adds: “Our ethos as a school is to support children to develop their skills for life through rich and varied experiences and to become confident and independent individuals, so the RWS programme is perfect to help us achieve this.”

Frederika Roberts (Resilience) is a qualified teacher with classroom experience. Both of Frederika’s daughters were born with severe, complex and life-threatening heart conditions. Between them, they have had two cardiac arrests, three open heart surgeries and numerous other hospital stays. Frederika now brings her ‘Recipe for Happiness’ to schools and businesses. Jayne Snell (Wellbeing) has wowed school and business audiences with her ‘Parachute of Dreams’ inspirational story, as well as having been instrumental in signing up hundreds of sixth form students to the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Donor Register since receiving a life-saving transplant herself. She continues to volunteer with ‘Anthony Nolan’ and with ‘Delete Blood Cancer’. Elizabeth Wright (Success) is a Paralympic Silver Medallist who moved to the UK after achieving her dream of swimming at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics. She has been inspiring pupils of all ages since the late 1990’s and has delivered her ‘Goal Journey’ message in the UK, Canada and Switzerland, as well as her native Australia. All three women were nominated in the Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice ‘Yorkshire Women of Achievement Awards 2015’ earlier this year.

There has been much interest in the RWS programme and, at the time of going to print, its founders are in talks with a number of schools, including a primary school in Manchester, with a view to launching early this coming academic year. The RWS programme is also being developed for secondary schools and specialist vocational colleges.

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