Overview
Coxhoe Primary School partnered with Decider Skills Authorised Trainers, Donna Atkinson and Kerryann Stewart, to pilot a whole‑school emotional regulation approach using the Decider Life Skills. This “soft launch” focused on the incoming Year 5 cohort and was delivered at no cost to the school, giving staff the chance to explore the programme’s impact before wider rollout.
What Coxhoe Primary School Delivered
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Collaborative planning with school leadership
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Introduction of the 12 CBT & DBT‑informed Decider Life Skills
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Early implementation with Year 5 pupils
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Staff engagement to support consistent language and modelling
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A structured foundation for whole‑school adoption
Impact & Early Outcomes
The school reported strong engagement and meaningful early benefits:
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Pupils connected quickly with the skills and used them independently
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Improved emotional awareness and understanding of triggers
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Greater confidence in managing distress and making skilful choices
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Shared language across staff and pupils, supporting consistency
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Clear potential for whole‑school culture change
These outcomes reflect the wider evidence base behind the Decider Life Skills: helping children understand emotions, manage distress, reduce impulsive behaviour, build resilience, and make more skilful choices.
Why This Matters
Coxhoe Primary’s experience shows how accessible, memorable strategies can empower both pupils and staff. By starting with a single cohort, the school created a safe, structured environment to test the approach — and now has a strong foundation for expanding Decider Skills across the whole school.