Role models – peer support for worry
With deadlines and exams this time of year can create additional worry for learners. Our Role Models peer-led mentoring project works with a team of students currently studying or recently completed a higher education course in Sussex. They were asked to consider topics relevant to young people thinking about ‘what do we wish we’d known about that when we were younger.' In our Worry series, the Role Models team were asked to consider why they worry, what they worry about, the impact of worry on their lives and the strategies that help them live with their worries.
There is a teacher resource with lesson plan, a workbook for learners and a video. Each article in the booklet offers a personal perspective from one of the team on ‘worry’ based on their own experiences. They also offer tips and suggest tasks and practical exercises young people can try when feeling overwhelmed with worry. By offering a number of different approaches to the issues we hope learners will recognise a voice with which they can connect. The resources are designed to be used either in a classroom setting or by a learner working alone (in school / college or at home).
For learners working in school / colleges there are teacher-led lesson activities which explore the booklet and themes that arrive in the articles. You might choose to use each theme as a lesson plan or select individual activities depending on time and suitability for your class. The different approaches discussed in each article can be used as a way of stimulating discussion and debate. Alternatively, students can work through the booklet individually or in small groups. They might be asked to reach each article and then select a few different tasks to complete in school or at home, depending on the time and resources available.
For students working at home the tasks can be completed without teacher support and only need basic equipment. Some more creative talks might require additional materials, but all have been designed to be accessible. The basic requirements of each task and the minimum time needed to completed the tasks are clearly labelled. The ideas suggested can be explored in more details and explained or used as a starting point for your learners to respond in their own way.
The video introduces the team behind the booklet and thoughts and tips around dealing with worry. By ‘meeting’ the young people behind the articles we hope your learners can get to know the team and connect to the ideas and advice they offer.
Find out about the complete range of Role Models resources here at this link.