PRIMARY SCHOOLS TEACHING RESOURCE
The Culture of the Heart
Learning is not just a cognitive activity, it is also deeply emotional. Our emotions affect our perception, our motivation, our attention and our memory. They profoundly influence learning. Happy children have the optimal capacity for learning, and unhappiness is a barrier. For children to be happy, their emotional needs have to be met. How our relationships work out in our communities is foundational to our physical and mental health.
The Culture of the Heart teaching resource helps develop children's emotional and relational language. It helps to develop healthy mental habits, encourages empathy and teaches emotional intelligence. The content encourages every child to personally connect with the characteristics that support healthy relationships and invests in the values that support these relationships. The resource focuses on creating healthy relational classrooms, where children can thrive in the playground and in their learning.
The content is grounded in neuroscience and well-established counselling techniques, empowering children to engage with healthy beliefs about themselves and others. It is delivered through classroom activities that integrate academic disciplines and curriculum objectives, extending each culture beyond core lessons into playtime and community interactions. It has been developed and trialled over a period of seven years and has been endorsed by teachers, counsellors, and psychologists.
“The Culture of the Heart has / is transforming the class from a group of individuals to a team who value and accept one another... Positive self- esteem is growing.
Anxiety is decreasing… Behaviour for learning has improved"
Lisa Barrett | Trannack Primary School | June 2023