To embed the programme you need to support a strong pupil-led focus. Children can also play an important role in building family understandaing of empathy. We want pupils to see themselves as active participants, as leaders of an empathy movement - once they develop a deeper understanding of empathy, they often become really engaged, playing a key role in building an empathetic school culture. Identify all possible opportunities for pupils to be taking the lead.
Most of the pupil-led activities fall in Phase 4, but we suggest that right from the start you involve pupils in high-status Empathy Bookspotting. They become Empathy BookSpotters, taking a lead in finding and recommending empathy-boosting books.
This involves many familiar reading for pleasure techniques, but applying a specific empathy focus, and setting children the challenge of finding and recommending books that they feel build understanding of other people and lives. Younger children could put on their Empathy Glasses as they do their bookspotting
Kitbag resources to support the work include stickers, book review templates, selfie cards & bookmarks.
Activities could include:
