Raising Children Together

All Schools Are Welcome Here

Strengthening Relationships & Regulation to Support Learning 

Quick Info

Useful Resources for Schools

How I Smashed a Plate

An interactive, therapeutic story for children to learn emotional literacy, ways to respond to feelings and neuroscience through a fictional character. All mapped across PSHE curriculum

Info For Parents and Caregivers

Here is useful information for parents and caregivers who wish to know more.

What is Attachment

Attachment strategies drive how we behave. Knowing and shaping strategies are key to supporting students

Why Neuroscience Matters

Evidence-based research on how the brain functions can support best practice.

How I Smashed a Plate

An interactive therapeutic eBook with a spiral PSHE scheme of work for year 3 and year 4 AND SEND adaptations

Regulation and Ready to Learn

A resource for quick, regular regulation activities 

Signpost Parents to a Parenting Ideas

Articles and Videos Using Evidence-Based Research

Key Messages

Imagine being raised by at least 30 adults. Parents, teachers, learning mentors, teaching assistants, headteacher, governors, extended family, and the club coach all with their worldviews, values and priorities. All motivated to help shape your development. Well, that happened and here you are, raising and developing other children 😁.  So let’s get on with it. 

A student will learn even better when school and parent/caregiver work together. Raising Children Together highlights evidence-based research that can be used consistently in school and at home. It is important parenting strategies are chosen to meet the needs of a family and so,  Raising Children Together’s information and resources are designed for families to make informed decisions.

How I Smashed a Plate is an interactive, therapeutic resource. It’s an interactive story and comes with a 12-lesson spiral scheme of work for year 3 and year 4. Each lesson also considers adaptations to be inclusive. Additionally, there is a training course to help colleagues utilise the key themes even better.

 

I started as a theatre practitioner, creating stories with children and young people and I loved their creativity, resilience, and tenacity. So much so, I  created and managed a charity for 13 years to continue with the work. I have also worked in a Local Authority for 21 years. Over that time, I have worked in Healthy Schools, education settings, early help, and now in workforce development. The combination of professional experiences has helped me develop my first interactive eBook (that looks awesome on an interactive smartboard). It’s a character-based story, focusing on PSHE themes.

PSHE Curriculum

PSHE is a monumental opportunity to raise children and young people to really listen to themselves – “What do I need to ensure I have healthy mental health?” PSHE has the potential to develop lifelong skills that people will rely on and build on as they progress throughout their lives. If we look within, did we have positive PSHE experiences in school to help shape how we deal with health and social events? PSHE is crucial, allowing students to learn protective factors and buffers to life experiences. Raising Children Together will delve into PSHE themes and will pinpoint where appropriate to the PSHE Curriculum (and if in Leeds, pinpoint to the MindMate curriculum too).

Ted Talk on Interactions

Message from the author

” Primarily, schools offer at least 32.5 hours a week of learning opportunities, encouraging boundless potential for students to develop. I believe parents and caregivers carefully choose the school they want their children to attend because schools are helping to raise their children. Children and young people’s values, self-esteem, confidence, and worldviews develop from the people and environments they are surrounded by. And so, schools are an enormous gift, a place of creativity, acceptance, and nurture. Raising Children Together’s recourses, such as How I Smashed a Plate, is one way schools can develop their students’ boundless potential.”

Michelle Cunningham

Raising Children Together Creator

Raising Children Together Key Areas

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Testimonials

What Colleagues and Students are Saying

After asking Yr4 students what they have learned, they said

“It’s ok to make mistakes.”

“I learnt what to do when you are angry”

After asking Yr3 students how the story could be better, they said

“Make River smash more plates and cover the whole kitchen in ketchup.”

“Save a dog or a cat. It can be better for the boy who is sad.”

“After asking a primary school teacher, they said

“One student never sits still for more than 20 minutes. I can’t believe he engaged for over 2hours.”