How can Compassion Matters fit into my school’s timetable?

The majority of schools use Compassion Matters (CM) as part of their weekly PSHE, RE or personal development lessons. Used every week, the project offers two terms worth of materials covering topics of compassion, courage, wisdom and happiness. Other schools have used CM fortnightly or more intensively over a focus week.

What age group is Compassion Matters appropriate for?

Compassion Matters was developed with students between the ages of 9-11 years old and was designed to be used with students in late KS2 or early KS3 (9-14-year-olds). We are currently working to develop new learning resources for younger children.

Do teachers need any training to deliver CM?

Course materials have been designed in partnership with teachers and educational publishers to ensure they are child-centred, interactive and accessible for teachers and children. Our learning resources are intended to be used ‘out of the box’ and include guidance on how to deploy our lesson plans and other resources. The course is designed to be an exploratory journey for both teachers and students, so no previous experience of teaching ethics or social-emotional learning is required before beginning.

We have recently launched our ‘Introduction to Compassion Education’ film to support teachers using our resource. We can also offer an hour-long introductory session for teachers or senior leaders in schools which is often a helpful first step to starting the project. To discuss scheduling this session please email us at [email protected].

How does CM meet Ofsted/Department for Education guidelines and frameworks?

CM supports relationship and health education guidance from the Department for Education, including the categories of families, adults and people who care for me, caring friendships, respectful relationships, being safe and mental health. Further details can be found here.

CM also supports schools to meet the new Ofsted inspect framework (September 2019) specifically in the personal development, behaviours and attitudes. Further details can found here.

Is there any cost involved?

We are delighted to continue to provide our learning resources to schools but ask schools to consider making a charitable donation to our organisation to allow us to continue to develop new resources and reach more schools. A donation can be made via our Givey fundraising page.