Supporting students affected by imprisonment: Pact's Schools Toolkit
Around 1 in 15 children experience the imprisonment of a parent at some point during their time at school. It can be a difficult and bewildering time for children, affecting their attendance, behaviour and concentration at school.
Pact's toolkit for schools supports teachers to:
- Gain the confidence to talk about imprisonment.
- Create a space for the whole class to talk about who might be affected by imprisonment and how.
- Ensure children who are affected know that family imprisonment is not a shameful subject and that there are people who want to listen to how they feel.
- Support other pupils to understand and empathise with the situation.
The toolkit has been created with and informed by early years practitioners and primary and secondary teachers. Resources are curriculum linked for both England and Wales and provided in Welsh.
Included in the toolkit are:
- PSHE Lesson Plans from 3 - 16yrs
- An animated short film showing the journey of a child and young person as they see their Mum go from arrest to imprisonment and release.
- Two books - to support the lessons for younger children
- School policy frameworks
- A form discussion slide for use throughout a week in form time
- A jigsaw (younger children) and boardgame (older children) to support a 121 conversation with a practitioner around the experience and impact of prison visits
- A jargon buster for teachers
- A guide and week-by-week session plan for teachers to run a young person's peer support group.
Request your free schools toolkit
From this I am able to understand my role as a teacher and what I can do to support a child with a family member in prison.
Catherine - Trainee Teacher