British Isles - Values Education for Children and Young Adults

Living Values International Train-the-Trainers Summary Report 2005

Current Status - February 2007

Living Values Education has been active in the British Isles since the inception of Living Values, which has been presented at numerous conferences and meetings, and to many heads, deputies, teachers and parents, both inside and outside the British Isles.

Living Values activity books are being used in homes, foster homes, parenting groups, childcare centres, nurseries, primary and secondary schools, colleges, training colleges, universities, education departments, outdoor education centres, young offenders institutions, prisons and by management, health and social workers. Recently there has been more interest from parenting groups, those working with the early years and those working with young adults.

Training

The Working Groups around the British Isles have held meetings, introductions and trainings in schools, nurseries and parenting groups. Educators from the British Isles have assisted at training sessions around the world. Some Working Groups meet to sustain those who have attended a Train-the-Trainers.

Weekend residential seminars are held each November, to support parents, teachers, social workers, psychologists and other professionals working with young people. They provide an opportunity to further personal growth and professional development. The topics are of current interest in the field of education.

The November 2006 seminar was Understanding Behaviour – ways to support young people and ourselves.

David Rowse (the Founder Director of The Collegiate Centre for Values Education for Life, a Lecturer at Birmingham University and Vice President of the Values Education Council of the UK) gave a philosophical approach to understanding behaviour.

John Hawkins (Headteacher of a large primary school in Didcot, Oxfordshire) took a practical approach to understanding behaviour.

Lindsey Weimers (headteacher of an Oxford primary school where a Values curriculum has been at the heart of school life since 1998) looked at understanding ourselves.

Other topics investigated over the years have been:-

2005 Parenting Matters

2004 Values 4 All

2003 Citizenship through Values

2002 Building Positive Behaviour

2001 Reflections

2000 Making A Difference (Music, Art and Drama)

1999 Raising Self-Esteem

1998 SMSC Made Easy! (spiritual, moral, social and cultural education)

International Train-the-Trainer workshops for educators from over 50 countries, together with members of LVEP's sponsoring/supporting organisations (UNESCO, UNICEF and the Brahma Kumaris) have been held near Oxford.

Train-the-Trainers (Europe) in April 2006 trained educators from 14 countries (Belgium, England, Germany, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Scotland, Somalia, Turkey, Wales). Each day included sessions on parenting skills, creative visualisation and values activities, where peer practice gave every participant the opportunity to conduct an activity.

There are now over 500 locations in the British Isles, where Living Values books are available as a resource. More than 200 educators have attended a Train-the-Trainers course.

Number of Sites Using Living Values Education

Total number of sites

As many educators are now getting the books from the publisher and from bookstores, all we can say is that there are over 500 sites that have the Living Values Education Programme activity books.

Impact

a. In schools.

A special educational needs teacher in a secondary school, who has just started to use Living Values, says, “I have started to use LVEP in my projects and individual work with the students I teach. I am noticing a more loving, supportive, calmer climate amongst the students. They appreciate discussions about love, honesty, respect etc. and it helps them to focus on their core beings rather than the false selves they get caught up in whilst being dragged along by the tides of negativity in a school environment e.g. fighting, arguing, shouting, swearing etc. These values are imperative to the holistic growth of a child and I hope to co-ordinate them throughout the school once I have had experience of using them first hand with the students. Thank you.”

A teacher at a primary school noted that there had been no miscreants standing outside the head teacher's office when a Living Values team spent 4 days demonstrating values activities in the school!

A head teacher states, "Ofsted noted that because we work on values education, our academic standards were obviously higher."

b. In prisons.

Living Values activities and creative visualisation are also being used in prisons to benefit drug rehabilitation groups and young offenders, men and women. It is helping them to deal with oppressive aspects of prison life, such as bullying, to regain their self-respect and to strengthen their values in preparation for their release.

c. In the community.

“I worked with 18 ladies in a predominantly Islamic community, age range 18 to 50, using LVEP values and art based activities. The content was Confidence building & Understanding your community with Day 1 - Peace, Day 2 - Respect. Participants were so empowered that they have gone on to apply for further courses. For some, the 'Confirmation of Attendance' certificate was the first educational recognition they had ever received.”

“Although I haven't been using LVEP overtly this year, one thing I have noticed is that, since I've been using LVEP principles in my own life, students' response is warmer and their achievement is good - they are able to find inspiration in class. Students who came to my Interior Design class considered themselves to be inartistic, but they’re all going on to take creative subjects like watercolour painting next year. So.........”