Back to School COVID-19 Wellbeing Program
For young children, the recent pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have created feelings of anxiety. The resource kit developed for schools by The Wadi Tribe will give teachers and parents a toolkit to help children understand what’s going on and give them skills to tackle the different emotions that living through the pandemic has evoked.
Wellbeing for children going back to school.
Saniya Chughtai, CEO of The Wadi Tribe announces a global program for schools
“The Back to School COVID-19 Wellbeing Program is a landmark product release for TWT. This program encases the best practices of Social Emotional Learning and delivers a coherent series of modules which help our children reintegrate back into their schools. Many children will have experienced stress during the last few months and delayed reactions to long periods of isolation from their friends and wider family. Simply returning to school and re-engaging in their traditional subjects simply won’t work if the children are not emotionally at ease. The Wellbeing program allows the children to tell their story through character association, games and activities.
The program leverages the principles of the Harvard social and emotional learning skill sets and the CASEL competencies. It is delivered in a fun and engaging way through The Wadi Tribe characters.
The outcome is a settled and calm environment where children feel safe and unstressed. TWT characters guide the children in making sense of what is happening across our planet and inculcate a sense of hope and confidence – in essence it creates the ideal environment for the teachers to teach and the children to learn. We are very proud of what TWT has created.”
Jasmit Kang, Head of Primary School at Capital School, Dubai
“When our students return for their first term they will have had nearly six months away from the school which is a very long time. They will have had a myriad of varied experiences during the pandemic, both positive and negative. We want to create a welcoming environment where they will have space to express their feelings and to be heard. To this end we have partnered with The Wadi Tribe to deliver our Back to School COVID-19 Wellbeing Program to ease their emotional transition back to school.
This program has components for the students to help them prepare before they return to school and components to ease the reintegration into school life and to understand what is new or has changed. Social and emotional learning will need to be a vital part of the curriculum at this time and so this is a new and exciting step forward for our school. I am really looking forward to seeing the children return to a physical environment with their friends and teachers after a lengthy period of mostly digital interaction and to resume a level of normality. School is a wonderful place for learning but more importantly a happy and safe environment where children interact socially, this is what I have missed the most.”
TWT Launches Global Student Wellbeing Program with Capital School, Dubai
Capital School Leads the Way in UAE by Adopting TWT ‘Back to School COVID-19 Wellbeing Program’ for their Students and Teachers
Capital School is Dubai’s most affordable, traditional British School. The school prides itself on the depth and breadth of our curriculum and the excellence of their teaching staff. Their students are encouraged to achieve academic excellence, as well as develop leadership skills and teamwork in a supportive and stimulating environment. In addition to impressive academics, students enjoy outstanding facilities including two Swimming Pools, Playing Fields and Courts, 8 Science Labs, Music Academy and a large Auditorium.
Program options
There are two programs currently available for school aimed at age groups 3-5 yrs old, Elementary level and 5-7 yrs old Lower Primary Level.
This program is suitable for childrens from age 3 to 7 yrs old and for schools anywhere in the world who teach through the medium of english. The program includes a module for children before they return to school, and the other modules are completed under teacher supervision on return to school. The program is buttressed by a teacher guide and supporting materials.
Plus there is a program for parents so that they can practice with their kids before they start school!
What is Social and Emotional learning and its importance?
Social and emotional skills are critical to the workforce of the future. The kinds of skills that SEL addresses, such as problem-solving and collaboration, are increasingly necessary for the labour market. According to one estimate, 65% of children entering grade school will ultimately work in jobs that don’t exist today, putting creativity, initiative and adaptability at a premium. Another study shows that jobs are increasingly social-skills-intensive. SEL will prepare today’s students for this evolving workplace, with consequent benefits for individuals, businesses, the economy and society. SEL confers academic success as well. A meta-analysis of 213 studies showed that students who received SEL instruction had achievement scores that averaged 11 percentile points higher than those who did not. And SEL potentially leads to long-term benefits such as higher rates of employment and educational attainment.
These valuable social and emotional skills can be developed at any point in a child’s life, although it can be highly effective to introduce SEL early and embed it in the core curriculum throughout a child’s schooling. Research suggests that early childhood is a critical period for attaining important skills – and also that augmenting such early learning at later ages is necessary, complementary and effective. Social and emotional skills can be taught in classrooms or at home but SEL is most potent if developed in both settings.
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