CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

1. CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Victoria Morris EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY TEAM

2. Circle of Friends Presentation is based on: Creating Circles of Friends by Colin Newton and Derek Wilson (2003) Inclusive Solutions All for Alex - a Circle of Friends by Barbara Maine and George Robinson (2001) Lucky Duck

3. AIMS • Background • Introduction • DVD • Getting Started • Circles in Relationships • The Circle in Action • DVD • Adaptations/Considerations • Questions and Answers

4. What is your experience of Circle of Friends? • What do you know about Circle of Friends? • What are your expectations from this morning?

5. Context – The Inclusion Agenda • The LA promotes inclusion. • Children have the right to a mainstream education. • Pupils with difficulties develop a wider range of competencies in the key areas of cognitive, academic, language and social development when their education takes place in a mainstream setting. • All pupils benefit from an ‘inclusive’ school. • Long term benefits to the individual.

6. Inclusion “In an intact group the pool of shared understandings is like a shared bank account of the group wealth… Since it is spiritual or psychological wealth, it does not diminish by being spent. Rather the more lavishly it is circulated, the greater inner wealth and security each single member seems to have.” Ted Hughes – Winter Pollen 1994

7. What is Circle of Friends? • A group approach to enhancing the inclusion of any young person with a problem. • The problem could be disability, personal crisis, challenging behaviour. • Taps into peer group support by eliciting empathy amongst peers and setting up a structured ‘circle of friends’. • It was originally designed to help children with special needs be included in mainstream schools. • It has also been applied to children with emotional & behavioural problems to help them become accepted by their peers.

8. What Circle of Friends is NOT • Not Circle Time. • Not Role play. • Not Group Therapy. • Not individual work with a child.

9. Addressing Social, Emotional and Behaviour Needs • Ways of changing inappropriate behaviour: • Appropriate curriculum/differentiation. • Positive Discipline – whole class. • Social Skills Training – individual/group. • Circle of Friends – group approach.

10. BACKGROUND • The process rests upon the belief that peer support and friendship are important to a person’s happiness. • It gives ALL those involved a practical lesson in empathy. • The peer group benefits in learning that they can help people and have an effect on other people’s lives. • It gives the message that important things are not always done by adults.

11. Circle of Friends The approach works by mobilising a young person’s peers to provide support and engage in problem solving with the person in difficulty.

12. What Does It Require? • A facilitator – an adult (A key teacher, LSA, TA or professional). • A group of 6 – 8 volunteer children from the child’s class. • A weekly meeting for 30-45 minutes for around 6 weeks.

13. Permissions & Consents • Permission of child’s parent(s). • Permission from the child. • Permission from parents of the volunteers. • Permission from school.

14. Training Example Pupil N • N is in Year 6. • He has recently received a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome. • He is described as a loner in school, and prefers to read books than interact with his peers. • He doesn’t like it when others (teachers and pupils) disagree with him. • He is argumentative and this can often cause him difficulties with his peers and teachers. • His peers tend to avoid him at playtimes and during group work because he is argumentative. • He feels that he is ‘picked on’ and feels lonely and his mum is concerned that he is beginning to not want to come to school.

15. Initial Meeting with the Focus Child’s Class • Lasts about an hour. • Led by someone not familiar to the class – this reinforces the message that it is important and heightens interest. • Focus child is not present. • Class teacher/Form teacher/Head of Year/EP is present and takes an active part (can record the discussion). • Following the introductions (seeking help from the class) set out aims – to discuss the behaviour of the focus child and think of ways that the class can help him or her. • Stress that it is unusual to talk about someone behind their back but that the child is aware of this. • Stress confidentiality.

16. Meeting with focus pupil and parents • Discuss difficulties and whether pupil would like help with this. • Explain the Circle of Friends approach and obtain informed consent from the pupil and parents. • Plan the whole class session with the focus pupil – ensure informed consent about what will be discussed at the meeting.

17. A Picture of the Focus Child • Share any agreed information about the child. • Ask for information about the child. • Ask for positives first. • Ask for things they find difficult about the child. • Write everything down – use flipchart or paper stuck to wall.

18. Activity • Tell me about N… • What are his good points? • Do you think he finds anything hard? • Does he do anything that you find hard?

19. Relationship Circles Discuss the role of friendships using the relationships diagram Possible Methods to Use • Pupils can fill in own diagrams • One pupil can be invited to front to depict their circle on the board or on a flipchart • Pupils are simply asked to imagine and think about the circles of people in their lives • Volunteer arranges pupils around them in concentric circles to represent people in their lives

20. Those paid to help Casual friends Close friends Family ME

21. Circles in Relationships Circle One THE CIRCLE OF INTIMACY Those people who are our ‘anchors’ – the people closest to us; we could not imagine life without them

22. Circles in Relationships Circle Two THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDSHIP Those people who are our ‘allies’ – friends or close relatives who don’t quite make it into Circle One

23. Circles in Relationships Circle Three THE CIRCLE OF PARTICIPATION Made up of our ‘associates’ – the circle with the largest number of people in it • People we see regularly at school, clubs, church etc. • People who ‘come and go’ • Some people will go on to be members of circles one and two • The ‘seed bed’ for future close relationships • The members of Circle Three provide the participants for a ‘Circle of Friends’

24. Circles in Relationships Circle Four THE CIRCLE OF EXCHANGE • People who are ‘paid’ to be in our lives • They maintain ‘professional distance’ • Unlikely to become close friends or allies • Will have their own ‘agenda’ in relation to the focus person which may not be the agenda chosen by the focus person

25. Circles of Support • Are for life • Build our self-esteem • Shape our self-image • Will change over time • Are necessary to support us through life

26. Elicit Empathy CRUCIAL STEP • Get group to imagine how they would feel & what it would be like if they had no close or casual friends. • Record their ideas. • How would they behave if felt this way? • Note resemblance between these ideas and child’s negative behaviours mentioned earlier!

27. Ways to Help • List ideas for how we can help the child. • List what is unhelpful (hurtful) for the child. • Seek volunteers – names on paper, collect later & select. • Inform if not selected can still play part by helping child. • Good idea to select cross-section, friends & antagonists.

28. Training Example Training Example

29. Tea Break

30. DVD

31. Activity Session plan for focus Pupil

32. The Circle of Friends in Action • First Meeting • Subsequent Meetings • Final Meeting • Celebration?

33. Warm-up activities In groups off 4 choose one of the warm-up activities in Appendix B and follow the instructions

34. Initial Circle Meeting • Introduce yourself/facilitator. • Warm up activities. • Remind group of aims, ground rules, confidentiality. • Get to know members and ask why they volunteered. • Talk about child’s positive points. • You read the difficulties part.

35. Initial Circle Meeting • Talk about what child needs to focus on. • Brainstorm ideas to help the child/introduce problem-solving. • Agree which strategies can be employed and the role of members in this. • Agree name for group/Circle. • Summarise meeting & agree follow-up/ending.

36. Future Meetings • Weekly, 30 - 40 minutes. • Generates supportive ideas & tactics to help the child. • Review good things about past week. • Discuss difficulties and seek solutions. • Use activities to reinforce aims. • Ending – agreement or possible natural boundary e.g. Half term or end of term.

37. Rounds/Problem solving forum • What has gone well this week? • What helped? • Have their been any difficulties? • Scaffold problem solving framework

38. Other Activities… • Cold Fuzzies and Warm Pricklies • Relaxation strategies • Friends Quiz • Problem Page • Role Play • Good and bad qualities • That’s a close one/ Up close and personal

39. Follow up and Review • Evaluate progress of meetings each week • At the end of intervention decide on the way forward for the group: • Continue? • Change members? • Close the group?

40. Talk with Child & End point • Discuss with child how things are. • Feed back to group child’s view, or child could do this. • Discuss celebration of their work & certificate presentation. • Presentation ceremony.

41. DVD and Discussion • Did anything surprise you about the pupils’ comments? • What did Jason gain from the circle? • What did the other pupil’s gain from the circle? • What did the teacher’s/school gain?

42. Using Circle of Friends • How do you think you would use the approach to support the pupils you work with? • How could the approach be adapted?

43. Outcomes for the Focus Child • Improved friendships. • Improved behaviour. • Improved social skills. • Improved self-esteem. • Feelings of being accepted.

44. Outcomes for Children • Development of empathy. • Improved personal problem solving skills. • Development of listening skills. • A better sense of identifying & expressing feelings. • More able to see links between behaviour & feelings. • An awareness of how an individual can change.

45. Outcomes for Staff • Feelings of support. • Encouragement of emphasis on positives. • Increases in self esteem. • Can tie in with PSHE work. • Spin offs in other areas e.g. parents.

46. Adaptations of Circle of Friends • Type 1 – as per today’s model • Type 2 – focus child never singled out • Type 3 – several circles set up from whole class, no focus child (most suitable for younger children)

47. It Does Work! • Barratt P. et al Circle of Friends.A peer based approach to supporting children with autistic spectrum disorders in school. • Frederickson, N & Turner, J (2001) Utilising the Classroom Peer Group to Address Children’s Social Needs. An Evaluation of the ‘Circles of Friends’ Intervention Approach. • Case Studies (DVD)

48. Getting Started:ESSENTIAL STEPS • Establish the support of the school and the acceptance on the parents and child for the approach. • Gain commitment from the Headteacher/Senior Manager and that of the individual who will be carrying out the weekly circle. • Work with the whole class/tutor group to define the ‘problem’, evoke empathy, enlist their help and affirm their role in helping things move forward. • Share the focus of the above session with the focus pupil. • Meet with the circle and the child together to reiterate the above and discuss ways forward. • Hold meetings at regular intervals to continue and strengthen the circle, celebrate progress and problem solve as necessary.

49. Frequently asked Questions • 1) ‘What if at the end of the whole session, no-one shows a willingness to be part of the focus child’s circle?’ • 2) ‘I can think of at least seven children in my class who would benefit from this approach, should I run circles for each of them?’ • 3) ‘What is the best way to choose the circle members?’ • 4) ‘How long do children need to remain as members of the circle?’ • 5) ‘Can the circle meet without the focus child present?’’ • 6) What if a disclosure is made? • 7) ‘What if it all goes wrong?’

50. Resources • http://www.inclusive-solutions.com/circlesoffriends.asp • All for Alex: A Circle of Friends  by Barbara Maines, George Robinson. • Creating Circles of Friends: A Peer Support and Inclusion Workbook by  Colin Newton, Derek Wilson