Busy Bees Provision
At Springfield, we have recognised an increased need to support many of our learners in order for them to develop the necessary skills to be able to understand and manage ‘big emotions’ and to learn strategies to help overcome them. Our Busy Bees provision was launched at the start of September 2022 to help meet these needs.
We offer our children a safe place and a small group setting in which they can begin to
- Understand the difference between varying emotions and how they make them feel.
- Enabling pupils to have the necessary vocabulary and coping strategies to be able to express and manage their feelings.
- Developing a growth mind-set and the value of a positive mental attitude.
- Learn to take risks in an environment which is accepting and encouraging of their effort. All progress is recognised and celebrated.
- Experience the thrill of achievement using art and craft activities alongside turn taking and understanding rules in games.
- Working together in team challenge activities.
- Grow new friendships from other classes and year groups.
Each child has a personalised, targeted action plan developed using Thrive Online, the planning tool staff can access as part of the Thrive programme, which supports our pastoral work at Springfield. These plans help us to develop a curriculum that best supports each child in meeting their individual targets in a fun and practical way and provide measurable accounts of personal growth and progress. Numbers in Busy Bees are limited, and places are invitation-only.
What does a typical day in Busy Bees look like?
The children attend two afternoons a week. We start the day with an emotional register and conversations to resolve any problems. Every day we think of something positive or something the child is thankful for to add to our gratitude jars. We learn about a different emotion each week. We will have an emotional well-being activity to discuss and complete together. We will complete a self-esteem activity, and an art or craft activity each day. Often, we will have discussions around scenarios the children are likely to encounter, this helps them to prepare and rehearse pre-learnt solutions and responses, ready for putting into action should the need arise. Group challenge tasks are included on a weekly basis. We end the day with a calming story and return to the class in time to leave with their peers.
Children still partake in whole class trips, workshops and sports and can enjoy these valuable enrichments with their peers.
