The Pyramid Club Primary School‐Based Intervention: Evaluating the Impact on Children's Social‐Emotional Health

Abstract

Background: Children with poor social-emotional health are at risk of failing to reach their potential. Method: The impact of the Pyramid Club year 3 preventive intervention on children's social-emotional health was investigated. Children were allocated to an intervention or non-problem comparison group. Results: Post-intervention both groups had improved Total Difficulty scores (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) with the Pyramid group showing a significantly stronger effect size (r ¼ .71) than the non-problem comparison group (r ¼ .44). Conclusions: The Pyramid Club intervention improves the social-emotional health of vulnerable children. The need to evaluate such interventions and to extend research are discussed. Key Practitioner Message:• Development of children's social skills and emotional competence is essential for successful social interaction • Pyramid after-school clubs are designed to develop social skills and confidence in Year 3 children identified as vulnerable • An evaluation of Pyramid clubs suggests that Pyramid children show improved social-emotional well-being in comparison to non-problem children • Future research should examine the durability of social-emotional improvements and the extent to which improvements may lead to development in other areas such as academic performance

The Pyramid Club Elementary School-Based Intervention: Testing the Circle Time Technique to Elicit Children’s Service Satisfaction

“…Children consistently reported being less scared, less shy, less nervous and more confident. This concurs with improvements previously shown in post-intervention Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ, Goodman, 1999) Total Difficulty scores and changes in SDQ sub-scale scores (Ohl et al, 2012, Ohl et al, 2008, and provides important confirmation that the changes that teacher-raters have observed in the Pyramid attendees post-intervention corresponds with the experience of the children themselves and how they feel they have personally benefited from attending.…”

“…In addition, it provides new insight into the quality and efficacy of the Pyramid intervention (Cooper, 2000;Davies, 1999;McKenna et al, 2013;Ohl et al, 2008;Ohl et al, 2012;Skinner, 1996) based on the views of the children rather than those of adults. Thematic analysis of the three Circle Time groups identified four overarching themes from the data each relating to a different perspective of measuring how the children had experienced attending Pyramid Clubs.…”

“…The Pyramid model draws upon Maslow's hierarchy of basic needs (Maslow, 1970) to identify what needs to be provided for children to be able to function and strive towards realisation of their potential (Ohl et al, 2012, Ohl et al, 2008Pyramid, 2007). Overall, children reported valuing the 'nurturing' activities such as cooking, sharing food, and playing games.…”

“…However, Pyramid evaluation research (Ohl et al, 2008, Ohl, Fox & Mitchell, 2012McKenna, Cassidy & Giles, 2013) has focused on intervention efficacy using quantitative teacher observer-ratings of children rather than on the views of the children themselves. Therefore, the aims of the current research were to examine qualitatively the children's views of the quality and efficacy of the Pyramid intervention, and to investigate the use of Circle Time as a technique to elicit these views.…”

“…Circle Time is an integral part of the Pyramid after-school intervention (see Ohl, Mitchell, Cassidy & Fox, 2008 for Pyramid details). However, Pyramid evaluation research (Ohl et al, 2008, Ohl, Fox & Mitchell, 2012McKenna, Cassidy & Giles, 2013) has focused on intervention efficacy using quantitative teacher observer-ratings of children rather than on the views of the children themselves.…”