PATHSEdUK

Buddy Station at Leaps and Bounds Nursery, Renfrewshire 🌿💛

Supporting the development of self-awareness and emotional literacy in an outdoor setting is something we talk about regularly during our visits to schools and early years settings.

The wonderful Buddy Station at Leaps and Bounds Nursery is a fantastic example of this in action. By creating a dedicated space where children can seek out a friend or communicate how they are feeling, the Buddy Station helps nurture emotional understanding, empathy, confidence and positive relationships.

Such great example of how outdoor environments can be used to promote children’s wellbeing and social-emotional development. 🌱

✨Ok and not ok choices!✨

Some of our preschool settings in Richmond have been loving talking about ok and not ok choices and have been using stories, photos and special glasses to help children identify ok and not ok choices and when they might need to do “turtle” to help calm down 🐢✨

They’ve also been focusing on sharing and caring, looking out for each other and creating friendship walk footsteps while enjoying friendship walks, games and activities together… and of course lots of songs! 💖

We love supporting children to be kind to one another and build positive friendships.

What have you done this week to help support making ok and not ok choices? 💭

❤️ ❣️End of an era ❣️❤️

After 16 incredible years leading the team, Mairead will be handing over the baton to Elaine, who will continue her leadership journey as Service Manager.

Mairead’s passion, dedication and commitment to supporting children, schools and communities through PATHS has left a lasting impact across multiple regions. Her leadership has helped enhance the mental health and wellbeing of countless children and young people, and her legacy will continue through the ongoing success of the programme.

Reflecting on her time with PATHS, Mairead shared:

“Leading PATHS has truly been the highlight of my career. Over the past 16 years, the programme has become such a special part of both my professional and family life, with all four of my children experiencing PATHS in their own schools. Twiggle and friends became just as familiar in our home as our own family stories and routines.

What has made this journey so meaningful are the incredible relationships and friendships formed along the way — with schools, colleagues, coaches, and communities across the regions who placed their trust in us to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people through PATHS.

I have also deeply valued the special partnership built over the years with the programme developers and owners, whose shared passion and commitment helped shape and strengthen this work.

I leave with immense gratitude and pride in everything that has been achieved together, and I know the programme is in very safe hands with Elaine as she takes on this next chapter of leadership. Elaine’s passion, experience and commitment to children and schools will ensure the continued success and impact of PATHS for many years to come, and I look forward to watching the programme continue to grow and thrive.”

Our Service Manager Elaine was also asked to write a few words on the next steps for PATHS:

“Following in Mairead’s footsteps after 16 years of dedicated leadership is a real honour. PATHS is far more than a programme - it’s a community built on relationships, compassion and a shared commitment to helping children thrive.

I’m excited to begin this new chapter alongside a fantastic team and the incredible schools we work with, all deeply committed to delivering high-quality social and emotional learning. I look forward to learning, growing and continuing this important work together.”

We’re all excited to continue to grow PATHS over the next 16 years! 🐢 💚

⭐️ SETTING SPOTLIGHT ⭐️

The Y6 children at Newton-le-Willows Primary School in St Helens did a great job presenting the work they had done as part of PATHS Unit 4 on 'Respect'.

This included learning they had done on 'Respecting Differences throughout the World' when they had researched music, food and clothes from different cultures.

Some children chose to research different cultures that were part of their own heritage, and some chose cultures they were interested in.

Coach Gemma thoroughly enjoyed the presentations and was very proud of the hard work and the 'RESPECT' they showed.

🌺 Child of the Day 🌼 - that smile says it all.

Feeling seen, valued, and celebrated helps children glow with confidence. Moments like this aren’t just special - they’re powerful.

Research in social and emotional learning shows that positive recognition builds self-esteem, strengthens relationships, and supports wellbeing.

When children hear kind words about themselves, they begin to believe them - and that’s where real growth begins.

Thanks to Saints and Scholars IPS for sharing this lovely picture of P1 pupil Aída and her lovely compliments!

🧚‍♀️ Job Fairy 🧚‍♀️

We’re growing our team and looking for passionate, motivated qualified teachers with experience in Early Years to join us as PATHS Programme Coordinators.

📍 St Helens (Full Time)

📍 Pembrokeshire (Part Time)

If you’re committed to supporting children’s social and emotional development, enjoy working collaboratively with schools, and want to make a meaningful impact at scale, we’d love to hear from you.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a dynamic team delivering the PATHS Programme, supporting educators, and helping shape positive outcomes for children.

📩 Get in touch to find out more or apply today.

ST HELENS
https://jobs.barnardos.org.uk/jobs/vacancy/programme-co-ordinator-schools-22700/23650/description/

PEMBROKESHIRE
https://jobs.barnardos.org.uk/jobs/vacancy/programme-co-ordinator-schools-22735/23685/description/

⭐️ REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT ⭐️

This week we’re highlighting some of our amazing settings in St Helens.

In St Peter’s and St Paul’s Catholic Primary School - Year 2 pupils have been learning about the feeling of 'embarrassed' by creating examples of when they felt embarrassed using playdough. One child felt embarrassed when they had been sick on a plane and people were watching, and made a fantastic impression of this with their playdough. 😞 😳

Meanwhile, pre-school children at Little Einstein's have been sharing compliments, learning about feelings and understanding how we can show kindness. Check out their amazing room display 🐢🙂💚

🌟 Setting Spotlight 🌟

We’re delighted to shine a spotlight on the wonderful work happening at Shortlees Primary 💜

The pupils have been learning the Turtle Technique, a self-control strategy which helps them to reflect on what has happened, recognise their feelings and control their behaviour.

This lovely video highlights the dedication shown by both pupils and staff in creating a nurturing environment where children are encouraged to recognise and communicate their feelings, develop self-management strategies and engage in problem solving when dealing with challenges. 💗💭🐢

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWCr3P2CM4_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

PATHS Learn how to Turtle with P1🐢 #ShortleesDoesPATHS

🌟 Setting Spotlight🌟

We’re so excited to share a lovely update from our Model Setting, Dargavel ELCC in Renfrewshire… they’ve just created a brand new dedicated area for PATHS! 💛✨

While PATHS messages and displays have always been part of the nursery, the team realised they had never had a true home for the characters, floorbook, and all the wonderful resources that support children’s social and emotional learning.

Well… that’s now changed! 🙌

The children are already enjoying exploring the space and we have one big question for you…

👀 Can you spot Twiggle’s new home?! 🐢💚

A huge well done to the Dargavel ELCC team for continuing to nurture meaningful, child-led learning environments. We love seeing PATHS come to life in such thoughtful and inspiring ways.