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Merton primary schools receive boost
Published on January 18, 2010
Mitcham based children’s charity Jigsaw4u has started providing a home school links service for all primary schools in the borough of Merton.
Claire Campbell (pictured above) is one of the Child and Family Support Workers, from Jigsaw4u who helps to provide this service in schools in Mitcham, where schools have 'bought in' extra time. She says "The service helps children who are behaving disruptively at school. It may be calling out, bullying or they may be withdrawn in class. They may find it hard to make friends or have issues at home such as parental separation. For example, one little girl bullied others following her parents' separation."
The aim of Jigsaw4u is to support children, young people and their families who have experienced grief, loss and trauma. Claire's work includes one to one sessions with children. "We look at why they feel angry – often the anger is hiding other emotions," she says. "I teach children social skills – learning how to make friends, how to have a conversation, listening. I've introduced an anger management group for children at schools." There's also a parents 'drop in' at the schools where parents can make an appointment with Claire for advice about how to deal with their child’s behaviour.
Another aspect of Claire's work is preparing 11 year old children for secondary school. "I cover topics like how to cope with changes, moving on, how to make friends, what happens at secondary school, how to put on a tie and how to be safe on the street as they may travel by bus."
Case Study
When Claire Campbell from Jigsaw4u met Ricky, a 10 year old boy, he had been described by his mother as an angry boy. She thought this was because he didn’t see his father. The school was concerned about his constant disruption in class. Ricky has been excluded twice and was sent out of class on a daily basis.
Claire and Ricky worked on his anger and aggression, exploring what made him feel so angry inside. "We explored how his body felt as the anger grew and at which point, he was able to stop before it exploded out in a physical way," says Claire. "Ricky was able to identify triggers and methods to help him calm down. He saw what feelings he was covering up with the 'mask' of anger, mainly disappointment with his father."
Within five weeks of working with Claire, Ricky had made enough progress to be nominated for the school's "Star of the Week" for good behaviour. Ricky still has a long way to go as he continues to need to explore his feelings around his father. He says that having someone outside the family who understands, listens and is there for him helps.
