During 2011 Steve Russell of the Lincolnshire’s School Improvement Service organised a TAPACY scheme in three schools, which then came together for an Award Ceremony for 94 students. There was much positive feedback when teachers, pupils and grandparents were interviewed afterwards. Several comments related to how the children were better able to express and cope with feelings; an example was “TA really lets our feelings out. It really helps us understand each other and our teacher – and to celebrate difference”. There were also instances of better relationships where previously there had been conflict; one group of girls described how, prior to doing TAPACY, there used to be 2 distinct groups in the classroom – those who sat in the middle of the classroom and tended to chat a lot and get very little work done – and those on the outer circle who generally got their heads down. During TAPACY this started to change – and now, having completed it, there is no such distinction. What was particularly powerful here was that this description came from the very students who had been part of the inner circle. Very importantly, they also spoke of how, post-TAPACY, students were working with one another in groups that, prior to the project, they simply refused to work with.” One highly significant quote is of a grandmother’s comment to a teacher: “I can’t believe the change – he’s growing up. He will now listen far more to what his mum tells him to do –and will usually do it without the strops (rebellious behaviour) he used to throw.”
Here are some the great examples of the work of the students.