Practice makes perfect

In  "Stand Up and Act Out", students regularly practice their Upstander skills, recreating a range of scenarios through drama and play, taking on a range of different roles and using the language of Upstanders. Before long, what at first may seem contrived (or even a little challenging) in the classroom, becomes second nature, even outside of it.

The benefits of practice are clear. To enable students to stand up for each other with ease, they need to practice regularly, even though they may feel that the task has already been conquered. It takes time to be an effective Upstander. That’s why students repeat one of the same two practices every lesson and why students use and revisit the same Stand Up language year after year. 

That's also why they play the same game more than once and why we encourage schools to continue to play the games throughout the school year. Our original drama SEL games have been specifically written to encourage children to recognize and celebrate their differences, and develop both physical and social and emotional skills whilst being lots of fun!  

It's also why a whole school approach is so important -  confidence develops more rapidly when the skills students practice during lessons are mirrored by their peers outside the classroom.

When it comes to being an effective (and confident) Upstander, practice does indeed, make perfect!