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Skip carousel Show all carousel contentWelcome to the Skills for Life programmes
We produce programmes for schools that teach children skills for life: how to cope with everyday difficulties, how to communicate with and get on with other people, and build self-awareness and emotional resilience. Our programmes are suitable for all children, and are evidence-based. They are widely used both in the UK and in over 30 countries around the world. Get in touch with us for more information about the Skills for Life programmes and how to run them in your setting.
Early Years PSED
Children aged 3-5 are supported to develop their self regulation and social development skills through stories and play based activities.
Zippy's Friends
Zippy’s Friends is story based and has 24 sessions of 45 minutes. The programme is suitable for children of all abilities. Children develop their own positive strategies to deal with problems through engaging activities: listening to stories, discussion, games, role-play and drawing.
Apple's Friends
Apple’s Friends is based around a series of stories and the programme has 24 sessions of 45 minutes. The programme is suitable for children of all abilities. Children develop their own positive strategies to deal with problems through engaging activities: listening to stories, discussion, games, role-play and drawing.
Passport
Passport is based on the same theory as Zippy’s Friends and Apple’s Friends but looks quite different. Engaging comic strip stories follow the adventures of Olya and Milo as they discover a secret world of fantastical creatures in the company of their friend, Elly the dragon.
SPARK Resilience
SPARK Resilience draws on mindfulness, positive psychology and cognitive behavioural therapy to give children skills to boost their strengths, control strong emotions and reframe habitual ways of thinking. Evaluation of the programme found it boosted resilience and helped prevent depression.
Zippy's Friends for SEND
Zippy’s Friends for Pupils with SEND was developed in collaboration with special schools with support from the National Association of Independent Schools and Non-Maintained Special Schools. The adapted activities help pupils with SEND to increase their coping and social skills.
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Our programmes are based on scientific evidence which show that they work. Zippy’s Friends has been evaluated through a number of randomised control trials (RCTs) – the ‘gold standard’ of research – in a variety of cultures
Our Programmes:
Meet all of the mental wellbeing requirements of the statutory guidance for RSE Support the mental health and wellbeing of pupils in Years 1 – 6 Work for the whole class or targeted intervention for vulnerable children -
Most programmes give
children life jackets.
Zippy’s Friends teaches
them how to swim.
-Teacher
I felt better when I found
out that other children
feel the way I do too.
- Apple’s Friends pupil
Passport makes it
safer and easier to
talk about our
feelings in class.
- Teacher