Children with special needs respond positively to Zippy’s Friends for Pupils with SEND
Results from a randomised controlled feasibility trial of Zippy’s Friends for Pupils with SEND have now been published and feedback from teachers, parents/carers and the children themselves was positive.
The study demonstrated that a large-scale randomized controlled trial of Zippy’s Friends for Pupils with SEND is feasible with adjustments and the programme shows promise in improving emotional literacy and mental health among children with learning disabilities, addressing a critical gap in support for this population.
The trial involving 53 children aged 8 – 11 from eight special schools, was funded by The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and conducted by researchers at the University of Birmingham. Five of the selected special schools taught Zippy’s Friends for Pupils with SEND in at least one class over a school year. They were compared to three schools that used standard teaching programmes only. Teachers, parents and children completed questionnaires to measure changes in children’s emotional literacy (the ability to understand, express and manage your own feelings and be aware of other people’s emotional needs), mental health and behaviour during this time and were also interviewed about their experiences of taking part in the programme and/or the research.
Parents interviewed provided positive feedback on the programme:
"…instead of having complete meltdowns about an unexplained feeling that he has about any situation…[he] seemed to be more open to discussion about it…so where we used to get lots of tears when he came home from school, because he would at school keep it all to himself and then come home and say, ‘this happened’ or ‘I told them this and no one listened’ or ‘I felt like this and I don’t understand’, do you know what I mean? But I feel like he must be discussing it more within school and feels more comfortable at discussing himself." - Parent
"I tell you what I like about the Zippy programme, is that you can put all these children into counselling and talks, but that is so direct about feelings, and it also provokes feelings that probably aren’t really there… but with the Zippy programme it’s done in a way that is fun and it’s about someone else, you know what I mean, and so it is almost like in a sense – it provokes them to talk and for them to be okay about these – not to be locked in their own heads, do you know what I mean? To be open and honest … it’s so important for these children because I'm very big on what happens now has a massive effect on you when you're a grown up." - Parent
Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Birmingham, Biza Stenfert Kroese, said it was encouraging to see how pupils and teachers took to the programme.
“We are pleased that, despite severe COVID-19 related restrictions, we were able to complete the research. This was in large part thanks to the excellent advice and support we received from our PPI (patient and public involvement) partners, nasen and BILD, which allowed us to adapt our research methodology to the exceptional circumstances in which teaching staff, pupils and parents/carers found themselves. The commitment from the schools, teachers, children and parent/carers was really impressive, especially given these very difficult circumstances.
We are also delighted that we were able to ask children with learning disabilities to tell us themselves about their mental health by means of an adapted questionnaire. This has not been done before in this type of research.” - Biza Stenfert Kroese: University of Birmingham
Main findings:
- Zippy’s Friends for SEND addresses issues that are important for children with a learning disability
- It is a low-cost intervention that can be adapted and delivered flexibly to meet the needs of pupils
- Teachers appreciated the comprehensive resources that, unlike other programmes, do not require any further adaptation for children with a learning disability
Improvements in children’s:
- coping skills and wellbeing
- empathy
- listening skills
- conflict-resolution skills
"The resources are absolutely brilliant, they are very clear and there is a kind of good range of different activities which suit my class, and it’s kind of – I suppose the core things are about the Zippy’s rules and the golden rules, and they are very understandable and very kind of relatable for the children so it’s kind of I've memorised them now, and the actual content is very appropriate… it fits in very nicely with other things that we do in the school like Zones of Regulation and emotion coaching, it just dovetails and it’s just brilliant, and the stories as well, they are very kind of engaging and the characters that the children can relate to and the situations that are happening." - Teacher
