The Highway Heros program is an evidence based school initiative that aims to teach students at Campbell Primary School the importance of resilience and problem solving as tools to aid their social and emotional learning.
Our social and emotional learning program, Highway Heroes, is a whole school approach that operates on the premise that students are all travelling along different social, emotional and learning pathways in life ie “The Highway’. Through the program students acquire and learn ‘Highway Tools’ to successfully deal with the ‘Bumps and Hazards’ they encounter along ‘The Highway”.
Four key modules are taught to students in a two year cycle including;
- Sticking Up 4 Me
- Connecting 4 Friendships
- Tricks 4 Getting Things Done
- Strategies 4 Managing Me
Highway Heroes aims to develop;
- Proactive Skills – forming friendships, gaining inclusion, thought/mood management
- Reactive Skills – dealing with play refusals, friendship difficulties, teasing and bullying
It also deals with ways to support their learning behaviours such as organising their time, persisting through tough work and staying motivated and focused during lessons.
A Highway Hero child – is a child who;
- Socially – knows how to be friendly, makes friends, resolves friendship issues, knows when and how to stick up for themselves.
- Emotionally – understands their feeling and the impact on thinking and behaviour; calms down quickly, asks for help when in overwhelm and learns to ‘de-catastrophise’ patterns of thinking and emoting.
- Supports their learning behaviours through planning and organising their time and resources, persists through tough and boring work requirements, becomes and stays motivated, identifies and avoids distractions.
All of these skills learnt are applicable for the home, school, in the community and the workplace.
Social and Emotional Learning
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process of;
- Acquiring the skills to recognise and manage emotions
- Develop caring and concern for others
- Establish positive relationships
- Make responsible decisions and handle challenging situations effectively
Social and emotional learning is a continuous process of skill development, both through maturation and explicit instruction which begins at birth and continues through out the lifetime. By commencing this learning early through explicit teaching of selected skills, children have the opportunity to lay down healthy habits of emotional self management and social engagement.
These skills will impact on every area of their life including increase academic achievement and greater awareness and understanding of relationships. Highway Heroes is a comprehensive, age appropriate and active teaching and learning program for introducing and consolidating social, emotional and learning skills.
Each module taught encompasses skills and techniques that move beyond the traditional approach of helping a child to monitor and modify their internal responses to adversities.
Social and emotional well being is the foundation to creating happiness, success and for developing resilience to adjust to, and overcome life’s adversities – the ‘BUMPS’ and ‘HAZARDS’ along the Highway.