New Skills for Life programme
From September 2019, our new Skills for Life programme, Passport will be available to UK schools. The programme is aimed at children aged 9-11 so is ideal for years 5 or 6.
Passport has the same focus on coping skills and social skills as Zippy’s Friends and Apple’s Friends. It was developed in Canada by a team led by Professor Brian Mishara at the University of Quebec. Professor Mishara was one of the academics involved in the original Zippy’s Friends pilot and his department at the university, runs the Zippy’s Friends project in Canada.
The programme was thoroughly evaluated in a large randomised control trial in Canada, and was found to improve coping abilities, emotional awareness and academic behaviour. Read the summary here.
Our partners in Norway and Brazil have also trialled Passport and found it a big hit with teachers and students alike.
While the theory behind the programme is similar to that of Apple and Zippy, it has a very different look, with activities designed for older primary pupils.
Passport follows two children, Milo and Olya, as they visit a fantasyland and meet a dragon called Elly and his friends, including giants, unicorns and talking trees. The story is told through weekly cartoon strips, and children develop and practise their skills through discussion and games, including an interactive board game, The Dragon’s Path.
Teachers who have already trained to teach Zippy or Apple can order materials for the new programme after completing a short, online training designed to familiarise themselves with the new programme.
A set of materials, including the lesson plans, activity sheets and children’s material for a class of 30 will cost £325 plus p&p.
Training will be available from our Licensed Trainers from autumn 2019.