SHOCK

Self-esteem. Health. Opportunity. Confidence. Knowledge.

Targeted wellbeing and confidence support, delivered in your school. At no cost to the school.

Where SHOCK came from

SHOCK was designed and delivered in Lambeth and Lewisham primary schools from 2012 to 2019 - at Hitherfield, Immanuel and St Andrew’s, Dunraven, St John Baptist and Torridon Junior, among others.

It stopped in 2020 when schools closed. By the time they reopened, the budgets that paid for pastoral support had gone.

We are bringing it back, funded through corporate partnerships rather than school budgets, so that it costs the school nothing.

“From participating in SHOCK I noticed that 52% of my class’s attitude to learning had improved, 60% of their behaviour had improved, 96% of them seemed more confident with higher self esteem, 68% of them seemed more engaged in the classroom, 76% of the class appeared more respectful, 80% of the children’s reading had improved, 84% of their mental maths ability had improved and 100% of their writing had improved.”

Taiwo Labinjo, Year 4 Teacher, Immanuel and St Andrew’s Primary School

🎬 Hear it from a child and his parent

Richie took part in SHOCK. In this short film he and his parent describe what changed — in his own words and theirs.

The five elements

S - Self-esteem
Helping children recognise their strengths, value their contributions and develop belief in their own abilities. Pupils identify what they are good at, hear it reflected back by their peers, and learn to say it themselves.

H - Health
Positive wellbeing, emotional awareness, healthy relationships and constructive ways of managing challenges. Sessions cover healthy eating, sleep, activity and what to do when things feel overwhelming.

O - Opportunity
Trying new things, collaborating, making decisions and experiencing success beyond conventional classroom tasks. Including motivational speakers from backgrounds the children recognise.

C - Confidence
Resilience, perseverance and the willingness to take part, speak up and keep going when something is difficult. The difference between “I can’t” and “I can’t yet”.

K - Knowledge
Self-awareness, social understanding, problem solving and practical skills children can apply to learning and everyday life.

What the programme covers

Twelve weekly sessions of ninety minutes, for up to twelve pupils the school identifies.

Each session combines classroom work with outdoor team building. Every outdoor activity carries curriculum content the children are not told about — mental maths, reading comprehension, following written instruction, measuring, sequencing and planning. They experience it as a game.

The twelve sessions: welcome and ground rules · working as a team · knowing your strengths · confidence and aspiration · opportunity, with a guest speaker · taking stock · working it out · how we feel · keeping going · taking the lead · the SHOCK Challenge · celebration and next steps.

Shaped around you. The school names its priority — behaviour, resilience, attendance, transition — and we adjust the session aims to match.

🎬 SHOCK in action

SHOCK delivered at Hitherfield Primary School, 2017.

What schools said

“Lionel was able to teach children how to respect themselves and their peers as well as understand fair play within sports. He organised motivational speakers to come and inspire our pupils so that they could see what could be achieved in life if you adhered to the SHOCK principles. Our children enjoyed the programme and grew as individuals. They are already using and applying these skills as they consider secondary school. I would recommend this programme to other schools without reservation.”

Luigi Leccacorvi, Acting Headteacher, St John Baptist Primary School

“Lionel ran his SHOCK programme for 14 Year 5 and 6 boys. The boys had been chosen by the school due to low level behaviour issues and attitude to learning. Lionel put a reward system in place which motivated the boys and led into an extremely good celebration assembly. There was extremely good communication with the school throughout. Lionel was very committed to the project and the children benefitted from attending.”

Liz Coston, Deputy Head, and Bridget Baptist, Learning Mentor, Torridon Junior School

“I witnessed a couple of children with low confidence begin to come out of themselves, and children who were short tempered become respectful of their peers and adults. They became more aware of healthy eating, lifestyles and taking responsibility for their own decisions and actions.”

Lucy Flood, Inclusion Team, Hitherfield Primary School

“A fantastic programme that focuses on developing children’s physical fitness and health awareness whilst addressing important skills such as cooperation, teamwork and a range of other PSHE themes. Highly recommended for classes, after school clubs or as a targeted intervention.”

Sola Ingram, Acting Deputy Headteacher, Immanuel and St Andrew’s Primary School

What we need from the school

• A room and a weekly slot for one term, and outdoor space if you have it

• Up to twelve pupils you identify as benefiting most

• A named link person we can contact

• Support with the parental consent process

• Safeguarding information sharing, your DSL to ours

• Baseline and endline attendance and behaviour data, if you are willing to share it

Your staff are not required in the sessions.

What we provide

Delivery at no cost. DBS-checked staff and a Designated Safeguarding Lead in post. Full policy suite and public liability insurance. A parent information session before the programme starts. Pre and post measures of confidence, self-belief and wellbeing. A written cohort report you can use in your inclusion and personal development evidence.

Interested?

We are seeking corporate funding now. What makes those conversations work is being able to tell a funder that named Lambeth schools are willing to host.

Lionel Best, Director of Operations
lionel.best@bigcic.org · 020 8676 3480 / 07957 208930