Children's Services Categories

Based on the latest Brain research 'A Quiet Place ®' is a Holistic Action Learning programme running in partnership with schools, children's homes and other organisations. Its main objective is the development of Emotional Intelligence. The programme integrates holistically within a system to support children, families, staff as well as the individual child or young person.

It is designed to address the needs of children in danger of exclusion from school and to prevent the development of socially unacceptable behaviour or later mental health problems.

It aims to provide on-going support and training for school staff and families within the context of the local community.

Why was it set up?

The increasing number of exclusions from primary schools highlights the need for effective, non-stigmatising early interventions, preferably within a mainstream setting. Such intervention minimises out-of-class time, ensuring that each child obtains the greatest possible benefit from the national curriculum provision.

Who staffs it?

A Quiet™ place: All staff are fully qualified

Quiet Place E.Q: Phase 2 trains staff who are already employed by the school in a rigorous action learning programme to facilitate a scripted Emotional Intelligence curriculum. Their training year is supervised and implemented by A Quiet Place ® Ltd

Volunteers or trainees are sometimes used to support the parents or staff.

Staff Development: There is an on-going programme of training, support and supervision for all therapists.

Holistic and integrative

Well being A child who is feeling good about themselves is both eager to learn and more likely to be successful in achieving their potential

Elements of Emotional Intelligence

Managing Behaviour • Self-Esteem • Confidence and awareness • Successful communications and relationships

Bio Feedback programmes are used as part of the protocol. They are most useful to help regulate emotions by monitoring heart rate variability and the relaxation response.

This is normally an unconscious response, direct feedback brings the unconscious into the control of the conscious mind.

Improving Perception • performance • Memory • Cognitive function • Health&Well Being

Bio Feedback programmes include:

Heartmath
Journey to the wild devine

Journey to the wild devine

How does it work?

A Healing Environment: A specifically designed room provides a place of calm and peace, a delightful, rich multi-sensory environment immediately engaging the child in the possibilities of change.

Garden Quiet Place: A specifically designed building for those schools who have no room.

Individual children: An evidence based programme with targeted outcomes based on a theme with data gathered from parent, teacher and child is implemented over a period of 6 weeks. This is then evaluated with those concerned.

The child comes out of class 3 times a week:
Session 1: Psycho-therapeutic intervention (45mins)
Session 2: Bodywork - head, hands or feet (30mins)
Session 3: Managing physiology; HeartMath, breathing and exercise. (30mins)

A number of strategies such as art, music, drama, relaxation, visualisation, massage and storytelling are used.

The whole school go through in small groups on a rolling programme for relation and a story.

Referral: Initially the teacher will refer, after the programme has been established the parents and children themselves will refer. Concerns are for introvert or extrovert behaviours with no more than a third of children referred for 'acting out' behaviour.

Effective and efficient

The effectiveness of the programme is internally monitored and externally evaluated by A Quiet Place ® Ltd.

On a fully running programme the following services are available:

Between 60 and 70 children and families on the individual programme
Relaxation for all children in school
Small group work on specific issues
Breathing space (circle time AQP style)
Class peer massage
Peer mentoring
Reflective parenting programme
Weekly relaxation for staff / parents
Individual massage for staff stress / parents
Training for staff in class relaxation techniques

Additional services

Additional Protocol: for those who need extra time.
Peer Mentoring: encourages participation in process.
Family Support: Reflective parenting course encourages emotional intelligence in parents.
Creative arts programme: Support the development of emotional and spiritual intelligence.
Theta Family Groups: Support children who need longer term more intensive intervention than is on offer from A Quiet Place ® short term programmes to access education.

Confidentiality

All work is confidential except where a child protection issue is disclosed in which case the organisation procedures immediately come into place.

Quality Assurances

License: to deliver the programme and use the 'name' is offered to schools, and other establishments is granted only through A Quiet Place ® Ltd. Partnership: is key to our success both with the organisation who are developing 'A Quiet Place ®'. As well as with:

The children
Families
Staff
School

In practice: This means that there is a management partnership whereby 'A Quiet Place ®' manages the professional therapeutic work of the programme and the organisation employs and manages the in-house therapists or facilitators.

Action learning programme: The effectiveness of the interventions are monitored and evaluated both internally and externally. Built in to the rigorous and participative documentation programme is feedback from all involved. This in turn informs gentle and organic changes as well as the development of 'gap' programmes, thus leading to greater efficiency.

Regular supervision of 'A Quiet Place ®' staff as well as on-going training for the whole of the school is essential to the programme embedding into the organisation.

Monitoring and Evaluation; the documentation process provides:

Respectful benchmarking with participating children
Targeted outcomes with parents and teachers
Feedback to inform action learning process
Data to inform sustainable development
End of year report for governors

Training

Ongoing training provides focused support for therapists or facilitators as well as inset for school staff to roll out the ethos of 'A Quiet Place ®' across the school.

Every Child Matters

Being Healthy: enjoying good physical and mental health, living a healthy lifestyle
Staying Safe: being protected from harm and neglect
Enjoying and Achieving: getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood
Making a Contribution: Being involved with the community and society and not engaging in anti social or offending behaviour
Economic Well Being: Not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential.

'A Quiet Place ®' outcomes contributes to all aspects of ECM. Well being of the mind and body underpins perception of success in life by giving individuals the opportunity to make better choices whatever they may be...