Girls Group

"If you can be anything, be kind" - taken from a post on Instagram.

I love this statement and what it stands for.  I think that kindness is underrated and the impact it has on the individual and who they come into contact with is never focussed on enough.  Part of being a female in 2018 is trying to balance and juggle so many different things; from work, to house work, to relationships, studying, hobbies, families, the list goes on and on.  Sometimes I feel we run the risk of forgetting what being a kind or nice person can be or feel like.  I'm trying to focus on my kindness.......to myself and others.  I like it when people are kind to me so why not reciprocate?

At the moment I'm supporting a fantastic group of girls, aged 11-18, with SEND, as part of a weekly Girls Group.  I absolutely love hearing their thoughts about themselves, their lives and the world we live in.  And I feel part of my role is to encourage them and inspire them to become polite, kind, strong, empowered young women.

For the next academic year I'm hoping to work on their self-advocacy skills as well as introducing them to inspirational women and enabling them to hear their stories.

The session is one hour long and we meet weekly.  If follows the same pattern each week:

• Welcome and get a drink
• 'How are you feeling?'
• Topic for discussion - different each week and undertaken as a group
• Break with a snack and another drink if wanted
• Activity - 1:1 focus such as nail painting, bracelet making, colouring etc.

A few photos are below.......

I use different ways to encourage the girls to think about their day, how they feeling, strengths and challenges.  The M&M Feeling Game is a definite favourite!

Each week the topic to discuss is on the cork board.  At the end of the session, the speech bubble is pinned to the large board of future use.

Some of the girls like to have a sensory object in their hand to support them in the group and in their interactions with others.  

The light speech bubble is a new addition to the Girls Group resources but I really like.  It enables the girls to access information in a variety of ways.  And snacks are a key part of Girls Group.....we have recently tried olives too.

I try to use as many different resources and visual aids as possible to support the discussions and engage everyone.