Understanding Motional Programs and the component parts of Safety, Advice and Activities.
Motional Programs are designed to support 1:1, small group and whole class interventions that target the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health needs at a specific point in time. Before you can create a Program, a Snapshot or Groupshot needs to have been completed to give you a whole-brain picture of where the child or group is in terms of their wellbeing and readiness to learn.
Motional Programs are split into the 3 areas of Safety, Advice and Activities, which combine to provide a comprehensive and targeted approach to supporting the child or group. The suggestions within each Program are bespoke, based on the scores gathered through the Snapshot or Groupshot.
Safety
When starting a program, it is important to prioritise safety. The first step should be to establish measures that ensure the safety of both yourself and the children or group you are working with. These measures are divided into three categories: Essential Safety Considerations, Safety in Relationships, and Safety in the Environment.
Advice
The Advice section in a Motional Program is aimed at the adult(s) and offers suggestions on ways of relating to, regulating and reflecting with the child or group you're working with. They all contribute to the key relationship-building approach that will help support and focus the impact your Program has.
Motional Programs tie in with well-developed models of practice such as PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy), but are not limited to any specific approach. The Advice suggestions offered are tailored based on the scores from the Snapshot or Groupshot, to help you build a Program that targets the identified area(s) of need. You can choose to focus on some or all of these strategies by selecting those that you want to include in your Program.
Activities
The Activities suggested for your Program are based on the identified areas of need from your Snapshot or Groupshot results. Activities are limited to a maximum of 3 as repetition is key in building neural pathways in the brain. The Activities are an important part of a Motional Program but should be used alongside the Advice strategies, as it's those key relationship-building approaches that are going to offer the most support and focus the impact the Program has on the child or group.
The activities are a starting point and are not set in stone. They can and should be adapted, differentiated and developed to suit the child or group you are working with.
When to create a Program
Programs should be created soon after the Snapshot or Groupshot was completed to make sure they're targeted to the identified needs at that point in time. How often you create a Program depends on many things, including resources available, how frequently you'll be meeting with that child or group and how quickly needs are changing. You can create as many Programs from the same Snapshot or Groupshot as you'd like, and can choose different Advice and Activities to work on. Don't forget that repetition is important though! If it's been a while since the Snapshot or Groupshot was completed, or you feel things have changed, you'll probably want to start with creating a new Snapshot or Groupshot to make sure that the Program is focussed on the needs of the child or group at that point in time.
Don’t forget, you are not obligated to add Activities to a Program. You can utilise the Advice alongside existing activities and/or everyday classroom practice.