“Thanks to funding received from Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund CIC we were recently able to deliver a successful Resilience Programme to 26 children at Cwmnedd Primary school.
- Over a period of five days, we set the children challenging tasks working as part of a team.
- Our ‘Good Morning’ task encouraged them to master a hand shake routine and greet each other in a progressive and fun way each morning. By day five, they were totally at ease with each other. As this is also a physical task, it energised them each morning for the day ahead.
- Our week was structured around the 4 Cs of Control, Commitment, Challenge and Confidence. Each day was dedicated to one of these topics, with tasks specially designed to challenge them.
- On the day dedicated to Commitment, we split them into teams where they had to communicate with each other and work through the day building a section of a structure. This is our ‘Team Machine’ and is the only one of its kind in the world. At the end of the day, they realised that the section each team was building connected with all the other sections to form a ‘machine’. They were delighted when we set it in motion, ending with a cannon of confetti being released. This demonstrated the effectiveness of teamwork and commitment to completing tasks.
- We challenged the children by taking them for an outdoor activity day, spent gorge walking and climbing. We pushed them out of their comfort zones and tested the skills they had gathered through the week. It was interesting to see them encourage and support each other and conquering their own fears. The sense of achievement for them was enormous.
‘Initially, pupils were anxious about what the programme involved, however as the week progressed the children have definitely approached challenges a lot better. The Chimp Paradox concept will definitely help them and is a great model for children, we can include it in our everyday classroom practise. I think the outdoor activity and team machine day were what they enjoyed the most. Moving to secondary school will be an anxious time for them and they have picked up skills this week which will help them. The week has been fantastic, thank you.’ – Chris Horrell, Year 6 Teacher, Cwmnedd Primary School
Thank you so much from all the team at Call of the Wild Development Trust for your support. Our aim was to leave the children with lasting memories, healthier mental and physical wellbeing, essential life skills and good habits to prepare them for the next stage of their lives and you have helped us to achieve this!”