In his three decades teaching in Tallaght’s Sacred Heart senior national school, principal Robert O’Leary says behavioural and emotional issues, as well as problems with bullying and aggression, are becoming more prevalent among students. His school services 280 pupils and is located in a DEIS 1 band area, which has particular socio-economic difficulties. O’Leary (right) heard about the Canadian programme Roots of Empathy, and three years ago he decided to give it a go. The participating students receive 27 lessons during the programme, one third of these involve a local parent and their baby interacting with the class. Modules are developed around emotional growth and interaction between children and parents, while an instructor coaches students to observe the baby’s development and to label the baby’s feelings. The hope is that by seeing these issues in a live setting, children will learn greater awareness of their own emotions and behaviour and the impact it has on others.
“Having a baby and their mum or dad in the classroom helps teach children to manage their own behaviour and response to situations,” O’Leary says.
The children’s charity Barnardos, who are funding the rollout of the programme in Ireland, plan to train 20 Roots of Empathy instructors per year, and so far 3,000 pupils have availed of the course. Kerri Smith, Barnardos Assistant Director of Children’s Services, says the programme is a good fit with the charity’s overall aims.
Principal Robert O’Leary is keen to stress how much the support of Barnardos has meant to his school’s ability to adapt the programme. While hard evidence on the impact of the programme is difficult to assess, he believes it has resulted in a calmer teaching environment and a more positive attitude among students. “Since the recession kicked in, there has been more stress in families and a lot of families are really struggling to cope with financial and emotional difficulties,” he says. “ This is a very original outside the box way of dealing with issues which are universal and age-old.”
BRIAN O’CONNELL
