Zippy's Friends

About the Program

Zippy's Friends is an innovative school-based mental health promotion program that aims to improve the social and coping skills of children age 6-7. Coping strategies are how people react to stressful and difficult situations in everyday life. The program is based upon the belief that if children can increase their effective coping strategies from an early age, they will be less likely to develop serious problems later in life. This approach was developed by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman. They demonstrated that the negative consequences of stressful events can be avoided by using appropriate coping strategies.

What is It?

Zippy's Friends is promoted by Partnership for Children in England, an international non-profit organization that promotes children's mental health. This mental health promotion tool was designed to help children deal with everyday challenges.

The project started in the late 1990s:

An international team of consultants analyzed contemporary research on the subject.
They proposed a program for young children, emphasizing coping strategies.
Based on the recommendations of the group of experts, authors, illustrators, and specialists in the field of psychology and education created the different components of the program we offer today.

The program has been translated into several languages , and more than 2 million children from 30 countries worldwide have taken part. For more information, visit the website of Partnership for Children, which supports the development of the program and dissimination of the program around the world.

Implementation

Zippy's Friends, is a school based program delivered by specially trained teachers. To find out how to become a Zippy trainer, click here. The program consists of 6 modules divided into 24 sessions of 45 minutes each and can be delivered weekly or biweekly. Six stories highlight everyday challenges children face, such as emotional awareness, communication, relationship challenges, resolving conflicts, and dealing with loss and change. In addition, children engage in drawing, discussions and role-playing.

The purpose of these activities is to help children explore and understand their feelings and behaviours. The program doesn't tell the students what to do. It doesn't tell them, "this solution is good or bad." Instead, it encourages them to do their own exploration and think for themselves.

Two articles published in the magazine Vivre le primaire testify to the efficacy of the program in Quebec classrooms. Click on these links:

International Footprint

To date, more than 2 million children worldwide have benefited from the program. Zippy's Friends is currently delivered in more than 30 countries, including Denmark, Lithuania, India, England, Poland, Brazil, Norway, Hong Kong and Iceland. Recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as by many national governments. In order to know the countries in which the Zippy's Friends program is established, please visit the site of Partnership for Children.

Québec
The Center for Research and Intervention on Suicide, Ethical issues and End-of-Life Practices (CRISE), at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), is responsible for implementing and evaluating Zippy's Friends in Canada. Since the fall of 2004, several school boards in Canada have adopted the program. Among these regions are the Laurentians, Montérégis area, greater Montreal area, Outaouais area, Niagara, Surrey, Quebec and Windsor.

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2004-2005 in Quebec
284 instructors and teachers participated.
158 schools used the program
6741 students experienced the Zippy's Friends program.

Modules

	Feelings Improve children's ability to recognize different feelings and identify coping strategies.
	Communication Improve children's ability to communicate their feelings.
	Establishing and ending relationships Improve children's skills in making friends and dealing with rejection and loneliness.
	Resolving Conflicts Increase children's conflict resolution skills.
	Change and loss Improve children's skills in coping with change and loss.
	Adaptation Increase children's abilities to use a variety of coping strategies in different situations.

Zippy in Quebec: It's relevance

Directly develops six of the nine cross-curricular competencies of the Quebec School Education Program:

Solve problems
Exercise critical judgment
Cooperate
Implant creative thinking
Structure identity
Communication skills

Targets several of the key factors of youth development and levels of intervention identified by the Healthy Schools approach:

Key Factors:

Social competence
Self-esteem
Supportive school, family and community environments

Levels:

Youth
School
Family

United Kingdom - 2018

Type of study: Randomized controlled trial, validated scales.
Date of realization: 2016-17
By: Queen's University Belfast, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation
Number of children: 3904

Important benefits:
• Improved self-regulated learning (reported by teacher)

• Very positive evaluation of the process by the teachers

Read the report: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/zippys-friends

CZECH REPUBLIC - 2016 Type of study: Randomized controlled trial, own questionnaire (not validated)
Date of realization: 2015-16
By: Consortium of Prague Scholars
Number of children: 807

Important benefits:

• self-regulation
• cooperation with peers
• special advantages for children with SEND

Article published: Not yet available

Read the report:
https://www.partnershipforchildren.org.uk/uploads/Files/evaluation/Evaluation_Report_ZippiesFriends_Czech_Republic.pdf

NETHERLANDS - 2016 Type of study: cluster randomized controlled trial, validated scales
Date of realization: 2012-14
By: The Trimbos Institute
Number of children: 1,177

Important benefits:
Improvement in:
• recognition of emotions
• adaptive coping skills
•motivation

Reduction of:
• hyperactivity
•aggressive behaviour

No significant findings in teacher reports

Article published: Not yet available

Read a summary of the report:
https://www.partnershipforchildren.org.uk/uploads/Files/evaluation/Trimbos%20Evaluation.pdf

NORWAY - 2012

Type of study: Randomized controlled trial, validated scales
Date of realization: 2007-08
By: Center for Mental Health for Children and Young People, Eastern and Southern Norway
Number of children: 1,483

Important benefits:
Improvements in:
•Coping skills
• Class climate
•Academic skills

Reduction of:
•Intimidation
• Impact of mental health issues

Articles published:
Solveig Holen, Trine Waaktaar, Arne Lervåg & Mette Ystgaard. The effectiveness of a universal school curriculum on coping and mental health: a randomized, controlled study by Friends of Zippy. Educational Psychology: epub ahead of print. DOI:10.1080/01443410.2012.686152When conducted: 2007-08

IRLAND - 2010 Type of study: Randomized controlled trial, validated scales
Date of realization: 2008-09
By: Center for Health Promotion Research, National University of Ireland at GalwayClarke, A.

Significant benefits
Improvements in:
• Emotional Literacy
•Coping skills
• Classroom relationships

Reduction of:
• Hyperactivity

Program Evaluation in Quebec

Professor Brian Mishara, from the Université du Québec à Montreal, and the director of CRISE, in collaboration with Sarah Dufour, a professor at the University of Montreal, assessed the program's effects on Quebec children. Their study verified whether the expected results from previous research are observed in Quebec students. Furthermore, using a quasi-experimental design, they wanted to observe changes that had only been documented qualitatively in their earlier evaluations (e.g. climate in the class).

Two-thirds of the teachers have perceived changes in the children they associate with the program, Zippy's friends. For example, a teacher noticed that "some children can better talk about what they feel. They are better at admitting feelings like jealousy and anger. They manage to verbalize and express themselves better than before. » P.17. In general, teachers noticed greater student participation in class, a change in children's verbal exchanges and better communication in conflict resolution (Dufour, S., 2005).

Impacts observed in children.

The program was equally effective for boys and girls. Keeping in mind that these children are functioning within the normal range, there was a modest effect on increasing the coping strategies targeted by the program.

Participation in Friends of Zippy was also associated with greater cooperation and autonomy and less internalized behaviours. (Dufour, Denoncourt, and Mishara, 2011)

Click here to see the results from the study conducted in Quebec.

"I have a student who never participates in class except now when it's time for Passport: Skills for life"

Primary Teacher

“Children are not afraid of judgment from others. They participate freely in the program".

2nd Grade Teacher

“A climate of trust was established in the group. The children were respectful of each other in and out of class".

5th Grade Teacher

"The easy to use turnkey aspect of the programme is exceptional and makes it easy to deliver."

School Director

"I learned that you don't have to be a star or someone else to be unique, you are unique just the way you are. I learned that we are all different. »

Child, Primary School

"I really enjoyed doing this program. I now have a lot of strategies in mind. Thank you for everything!".

Child, Secondary School

"I found it very fun. My son would have liked it to be longer. It was really fun to do the activities as a family since we don't talk about these things as a family enough. Thanks very much!".

Parent

"It's very appropriate timing, especially since there's the transition into secondary school which is an important change. Discussing the changes and the grieving process is essential! Well done!"

Parent

Monkeviciené, O., Mishara, B.L., & Dufour, S. (2006). Effects of the Zippy's Friends programme on children's coping abilities during the transition from kindergarten to elementary school. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(1), 53-60.
Mishara, B.L., & Ystgaard, M. (2006). Effectiveness of a mental health promotion program to improve coping skills in young children: Zippy's Friends. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(1), 110-123.
Bale, C., & Mishara, B.L. (2004). Developing an international mental health promotion programme for young children. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 6(2), 12-16.
Wong, M. (2008). Helping young children to develop adaptive coping strategies. Journal of Basic Education, 17(1), 119-144.

To get a copy of these references email:

crise.documentation@uqam.ca.

We Can All Do Something

Big or small, your donation makes it possible to provide Zippy programs and train teachers and school professionals so that they can delivered the program accross Canadian primary schools. Your generosity is inspiring and contributes to boosting our children’s social and emotional well-being!

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