Jenny Mosley is a national and international educational consultant, author and publisher. Based in the UK, with 45 years of experience in schools. Jenny has developed her ‘Golden Model’ approach for Early Years and Primary, interweaving rafts of key ideas promoting staff and pupil wellbeing, listening systems, positive behaviour, school values and calmer lunchtimes and playtimes. With the aim of creating safe learning communities where all children and adults feel valued, respected and listened to, Jenny is in great demand for her inspiring talks and motivational workshops. Jenny’s key areas of expertise include staffrooms, classrooms, dining halls and playgrounds. All of Jenny’s systems promote wellbeing in schools. Her ‘Five Wells for Wellbeing’ were adopted by the National College for School Leadership, UK.
Jenny has taught MEds in Education at two universities and her work has been featured many times in the press and aired on the BBC. Jenny travels tirelessly to work with staff and children in schools across the UK and internationally.
More recently, Jenny has created therapeutic training resources aimed at School Recovery and continues to create online resources so that schools can access her support for positive relationships, respectful school communities, speaking and really listening to each other and, importantly, fun, games and enjoyment at school.
Sessions:
Staff wellbeing – putting our own wellbeing first so we have the energy to care for others (session to be repeated)
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi
Too many adults ignore their own wellbeing needs during term time. With a clear link between adult and child wellbeing, adult wellbeing needs to be high on school agendas.
Jenny’s passionate belief is that we each need our own Personal Care Plan to recharge our energy and joy levels. We need to be certain that we have sufficient energy to actively support others, even more - so during times of crisis and recovery. Mindfulness and fun are uplifting touchstones of her philosophy. It’s important to reach out and share our experiences in a supportive, non-judgemental forum. Jenny will be talking about the importance of leading by example. The over-used but dazzling “Be The Change You Want To See” (Gandhi) is key – we cannot tell people how to be – we need to inspire them! Jenny will introduce her highly acclaimed Five Wells for Wellbeing and to help us consider a raft of ideas to help us care for ourselves and others within our community. We need energy and empathy to be effective early years practitioners, teachers, assistants, administrators, leaders to build caring, strong, inclusive relationships with others. We need to start the process with a commitment to ourselves.
Positive Playtimes – a key to unlocking fitness, fun and friendships
Having positive, enjoyable playtimes can make the world of difference to a child. We can encourage children to help take responsibility for their playtimes and to connect more positively with each other. Jenny will explain some strategies that can be used to encourage good quality play and a range of positive behaviour strategies that we can engage in to help children show more respect to lunchtime staff and each other. The qualities of co-operation, inclusion, community and belonging can all be nurtured through play and playground activities.
When adults encourage children to learn and play traditional and new games, this can support better learning, good friendships and teamwork. Jenny will discuss how everyone can have their own interests in a busy playground and the importance of Playground Zoning. One fifth of a child’s school life is spent in the playground, if they are not happy there, then they are not happy at school.
“Those who play, rarely become brittle in the face of stress or lose the healing capacity for humour.”
Dr Stuart Brown, founder, National Institute for Play
Support wellbeing and help children enjoy lessons by making FUN a priority
When children are asked about learning, they respond in a very straightforward way – “It should be fun”. They want teachers to teach well, be firm – but the added magic is a teacher’s ability to create fun. Aristotle wrote “there is no learning without laughter coming from the classroom.” More recent research claims laughter increases feelings of wellbeing, reduces tension and stress hormones, adds joy and creates positive attitudes.
Fun means engagement plus doing and learning what has meaning and purpose. When children are having fun, they turn on their effective information processing and long-term memory storage and information is better retained.
Jenny’s presentation will also highlight her Five Skills Strategy to show how you can engage children in a range of energising games and activities to help them keep focussed, motivated and wanting to learn and take educational risks. There will be a range of exciting ideas to help pupils relax, engage or energise and have fun so you can create a classroom or setting ethos that truly is conducive to effective learning.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. Benjamin Franklin
Quality Circle Times for recovery, resilience and respectful relationships
This presentation will show how schools can set up three explicit listening systems to help develop children’s social, emotional and spiritual intelligence, support PSHE and mental health. It is important, especially in times of recovery, for children to be ‘heard’ in an empathic and caring community.
How can we motivate young people to internalise moral values so they can make good behavioural choices? With emphasis on how to help children communicate better with each other, explore problems and solutions, develop empathy, and to care about the wider community around them… Jenny will look at how regular Circle Times, in the hands of skilled facilitators, can meet these aims.
Jenny will explain how her unique Five Steps approach and the Five Ground Rules can help teachers structure safe and solution focused discussions. This presentation introduces inspirational ways to make circle times exciting and vibrant for children. The power of fun and games can help us all learn!!
In Jenny’s ‘Gold Award’ schools – they hold regular circle times for staff too!
“I do support Circle Time; used well, it is an invaluable dynamic within a vibrant Recovery Curriculum, which after all, is a vital framework in this time of great trauma for our children… we need to ignite some of the approaches we have lost… and urgently”. Barry Carpenter, Founder of the Recovery Curriculum, Headteacher.
Nurturing the wellbeing of challenging or troubled children ‘beyond’ the normal motivational strategies
‘The one who most needs us – is often the one who most repels us’ Jenny Mosley
Today’s children are vastly complex, and their needs can often shake our confidence in ourselves. It is important that dealing with these children doesn’t take huge swathes of our precious time and energy, away from the children who always uphold the values and ethos of your class. Jenny has been working in schools for over 48 years and has developed a range of strategies to help create more inclusive classrooms. In this workshop, aimed at early years and primary teachers, she will highlight some of her tried and tested strategies.
Jenny will draw upon the highly acclaimed book she wrote with Dr Zara Niwano; ‘They’re Driving Me Mad,’ LDA.