‘Tiny Teachers’ help tackle bullying in Cardiff schools

Babies are to be employed as 'tiny teachers' in classrooms in Cardiff as part of a pioneering Action for Children programme to reduce levels of bullying and aggression in schools.

Roots of Empathy - 'empathy' being the ability to identify and understand another's feelings - encourages children to interact in a nurturing manner by bringing a real baby and its parent into the classroom over the course of a school year. Observing the attentive, loving interaction between the parent and child teaches pupils to better understand their own feelings and the feelings of others.

The primary focus of the programme is to reduce problem behaviour, including fighting and bullying.

Brigitte Gater, operational director of children's services at Action for Children in Wales, explains how it works:

"Roots of Empathy teaches school children to understand their own feelings and the feelings of others by using a baby as the 'tiny teacher'. This raises levels of empathy amongst classmates, resulting in more respectful relationships and a dramatic reduction in levels of aggression among school children.

We are proud to introduce Roots of Empathy in Wales and would like to thank The Big Lottery Fund for its support. Action for Children has a proven track record for developing innovative approaches which help to significantly improve outcomes for vulnerable children, families and young people.

At Action for Children, we are committed to promoting the benefits of early intervention and Roots of Empathy is an excellent example of this. By increasing levels of 'emotional literacy' in children at a young age we can lay the foundation for safe and caring classrooms and, in the long-term, safe and caring societies."

Roots of Empathy is endorsed by the Dalai Lama. Independent evaluations of the programme carried out in Canada - where it originated and has been active for the longest period of time - revealed a significant increase in peer acceptance in 74% of children and a decrease in social aggression in 39% of children .

Action for Children is introducing the programme to primary schools in Cardiff following investment from the The Big Lottery Fund's Realising Ambition programme. Over the next three years 2,000 Welsh children will take part.

Baby volunteers have been recruited to take part in the innovative programme. Along with their parents, the 'tiny teachers' will each take part in nine visits to a classroom over the course of the next year. The sessions will be led by Action for Children staff, trained in the methods of Roots of Empathy.

Roots of Empathy was developed by internationally-recognised social entrepreneur, educator, author, child advocate and parenting expert, Mary Gordon, in 1996.  Over 450,000 children have taken part in the programme worldwide, including Canada, the USA, New Zealand, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The programme was piloted in Scotland last year by Action for Children - the first time it was delivered anywhere in Britain - where it has now spread to 100 classes in 15 local authorities.