Funded by: • HSE West • HSE Population Health, Health Promotion Directorate• National Office for Suicide Prevention• Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences

An evaluation of the Zippy’s Friends emotional wellbeing programme for

primary schools in Ireland

Aleisha M. Clarke, Margaret M. Barry

Health Promotion Research Centre

Department of Health Promotion

National University of Ireland, Galway

Evaluation of Zippy’s Friends in Ireland

Aims

To determine if an international evidence based programme could be adapted and successfully implemented in the local context of disadvantaged primary schools in Ireland

To assess the impact of the programme on the pupils’ emotional and behavioural wellbeing and coping skills

To examine the process of implementation and the relationship between this process and the programme outcomes

MethodologyStudy Design: Randomised Controlled Design

Data Collection

T1: Baseline (Feb ’08)

T2: Interim I (June ’08)

T3: Interim II (Oct ’08)

T4: End of Prog (Apr ’09)

T5: 1 Year Follow Up(Apr ’10)

Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim & Galway DEIS Schools

(n= 730)

Intervention(n= 523)

Control (n=207)

Intervention Type I(n=270)

Intervention Type II(n=253)

Programme Implementation

Programme Fidelity

Intervention Type I Intervention Type II

Fully Implemented 86.4% 86.6%

Partially Implemented 7.2% 6.2%

Not implemented 6.2% 7.2%

Level of implementation: Modules 1-6

N Pre- EL Score

Post- EL Score

Interv 317 61.45 (11.36)

66.26 (11.54)

Control 109 65.53 (10.91)

65.06 (10.16)

Key Findings on Programme Effects

Emotional Literacy Checklist

Intervention Groups' Emotional Literacy Subscale Scores

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Self Awareness Self Regulation Motivation Empathy Social Skills

Subscales

Pre-Intervention

Post-Intervention

Key Findings on Programme Effects

Children’s emotional literacy• Findings from participatory workshops indicate children in intervention group

had more elaborate and wider range of vocabulary for articulating their feelings

• Observed improvements in children’s social skills, verbal communication skills and ability to articulate their feelings

Children’s coping skills• Draw and Write activity indicate an increase in the use of problem solving

coping strategies among children in the intervention group

• Children in the intervention group displayed wider repertoire of coping skills during participatory workshops

Key Findings on Programme Effects

Children’s emotional and behavioural functioning• Significant decrease in intervention group’s hyperactivity levels as

measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

Children’s relationship with each other• Better able to communicate• More likely to look our for each other • Sort out minor incidents themselves - reduced problems out in yard

Children with emotional difficulties• Positive effect on children with anger management problems• Introverted children more confident in circle

Effects of the Programme on the Teacher

Improved Awareness• How the children feel• Impact of teacher on the children’s feelings

Strategies• Strategies to work with the children and their problems

Child-Teacher Relationship• “Hour of closeness”

• Circle

• Personal Experience

• Prepared

• Training

• Consistency

Programme Implementation:

Facilitating FactorsFacilitating Factors BarriersBarriers• Time, overall busyness of

school day

• Multi-grade classes

Feedback from teachers

SPHE• Supports delivery of SPHE strands and strand units• Structured comprehensive resource

Whole School Approach• All teachers need to be made aware of programme and strategies taught• Programme could be taught at different levels throughout the school• Children in fourth class able to apply strategies to own lives

Parental Involvement • Programme needs to be reinforced at home• Feedback sheet send home with exercise on it• Adult version of Zippy’s Friends for parents

Summary of main findings

• Successful programme adaptation to Irish designated disadvantaged primary schools

• Significant positive effects on children’s emotional literacy, coping skills, hyperactivity and teachers’ relationships with the children

Previous and current international evaluations of Zippy’s Friends

• Lithuania and Denmark (Mishara & Ystgaard, 2006)

• Southampton, (Holmes & Faupel, 2003, 2004)

• Norway (Ystgaard, M.)

• Canada (Mishara, B.L.)

12 month follow up study in Ireland

• Long term effects of the programme on children’s emotional and behavioural wellbeing

• Academic achievement scores

A copy of the full report is available to download at:

http://www.nuigalway.ie/hprc