Birmingham schools seek PATH to better behaviour
Oct 20 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Post
Thousands of pupils at 30 selected primary schools in Birmingham are to take part in a mass social experiment aimed at improving their behaviour and interactive skills.
The two-year pilot, which is based on a programme developed in the US, is to commence immediately after the October half-term break.
At the end of the two years, children at the participating schools will be compared with pupils of a separate ‘control group’ of 30 primaries to see how their overall conduct has improved.
The Birmingham pilot was launched yesterday at Starbank primary in Small Heath by Professor Mark Greenberg, who devided the Paths (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) programme.
If the project, which is the biggest trial of its kind in the country, proves successful, it will be rolled out across the rest of the city.
Prof Greenberg, who sat in on a lesson at Starbank, using soft toys as role-play models, said it was all about getting children to interact better and be more in control of their emotions.
He followed up his school visit by giving a keynote speech at a Birmingham conference to launch Paths as part of the city council’s wider Brighter Futures initiative to improve the well-being of children.
Council chiefs have estimated that early intervention costing £42 million over the next 15 years will save more than £100 million due to children and young people not getting into trouble and requiring more expensive services such as social care, probation and criminal justice when they become teenagers.
Prof Greenberg said: “The idea is to help children build good friendships and self-control and to be able to use their attention well in the classroom.
“It’s about improving their social skills, investing in them to build a healthy classroom, but it’s also about encouraging good behaviour.”
Birmingham is hoping that the pilot, which will cost £1.2 million over two years, will echo the findings around the world where PATHS has been implemented successfully, in particular the US and The Netherlands.
Scientific evaluations show that children display significantly better emotional well-being and more pro-social behaviour in schools that run the programme.
The Birmingham evaluation will be conducted by the Social Research Unit based at Dartington in Devon.
Director Michael Little said: “A whole lot of other local authorities are wanting to do what Birmingham is doing, but this city is well ahead of the rest.
“We will only roll it out across the rest of Birmingham if this pilot proves a success.
“The big issue is preventing problems before they happen.
“Now, they are only four or five, but at 15, that’s the age where they might get into trouble with the police.”
Starbank headteacher Gerry Hudson said: “This is an exciting development in Birmingham with potential to make a significant difference to the behaviour and emotional well-being of our children, not to mention their academic performance.
“Happier children make better learners.
“We know we need to base what we do on evidence of what works, and this is a perfect opportunity to do this. But we are also going to evaluate it properly to see if it works here.”
