6 Month Programme

Online check-in meetings with EmpathyLab

School reviews plans with EmpathyLab and ensures everyone is familiar with the resources

School introduces the programme to the school community and starts to integrate a new empathy-focused book practice across the school



1: Introduce empathy concepts and programme to children and parents through launch assemblies/class sessions

2: Explain the programme and rationale to parent and Governors, through school newsletters, parents’ meeting, an Empathy Café

3: Ensure a wide range of books are available to classes

4: Deep empathy-focused reading activities begin in the classroom teaching: This should include:

• Book talking to encourage children to reflect on characters
• Teachers’ role modelling discussion about empathetic characters
• Creative activities to help children see through the eyes of characters - use Empathy storykits and Empathy glasses to help children to see through the eyes of the characters in the story
• Building children’s vocabulary for feeling words
• Classes start to identify characters who demonstrate empathy in stories
• Reading aloud         

Assembly plans

Character based activity ideas

Empathy Café ideas