About Jean Barlow

Jean Barlow is a highly qualified and experienced teacher, consultant and trainer and has provided professional development training to schools and Local Authorities throughout the UK. She has also delivered training to colleagues in Australia, New Zealand and USA.

Jean’s passion is providing support to schools and families to promote the Emotional and Mental Health and Wellbeing of children by practical and effective strategies, which are based on Jean’s own wide experience in different educational settings. Jean’s teaching career began as a primary school teacher, before moving to the secondary sector and becoming Head of Drama.

She then worked in a CAMHS Adolescent Unit, an SEBD School and later became a Lead for Emotional Health and Wellbeing in a Local Authority Behaviour Management Team. The success of Jean’s ideas and strategies is shown in several Action Research Projects.

Training for classroom teachers

Jean has provided training for both Manchester University & Manchester Metropolitan University and was an Associate Tutor for Edge Hill University. She has written two books for classroom teachers, The Handy Quick Look Book for Circle Time published by Rochdale in 2002 and Peer Massage in the Classroom. She has written chapters for publications:

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, Editors John Visser, Harry Daniels, Ted Cole, Emerald Books.

Touch in Child Counselling and Play Therapy by Janet Courtney and Robert D. Nolan; Routledge and contributed to Don’t Touch! The educational story of panic, by Heather Piper and Ian Stronach. She has presented at many conferences, including National Pyramid, MISA, SEBDA and NASEN and workshops throughout the UK.

In 2006 and 2007 Jean was a guest speaker at the Westminster Children’s Conference.

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Skills and accreditations

She is an Emotional and Mental Health First Aider. As a consultant she has supported many schools to achieve Optimus Education’s Wellbeing Award for Schools. Jean has long been convinced that children engaged in nurturing activities and experiencing positive and respectful touch within the family and school setting is the key to promoting children’s wellbeing. After initial training and experience, Jean developed her own peer massage programme:” A Child2Child” Kind and Caring Hands Programme” which has been adopted by many schools throughout the country. In 2012 Jean’s work in schools was the subject of a short video documentary by an American teacher, Thea Blair

She is currently working with Professor Francis McGlone of the Neuroscience Dept. at Liverpool’s John Moore University researching the impact of nurturing touch on children’s health and wellbeing.

She has also supported children and families using the ‘Heart 2 Heart’ programme which is a parent and child/parent group, professionals’ facilitation programme that encourages self-esteem, emotional connection, soothing and relationship building. It has been used by counsellors, volunteers and professionals in hospices and women’s refuge settings.

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During the pandemic Jean has concentrated on support through publishing articles, documents and supporting a mental health charity. This year Jean was invited to contribute to the House of Commons All-Party Parliamentary Group report, “Wellbeing and Nurture: Physical and Emotional Security in Childhood”, which has raised concerns about the impact of the pandemic on children and provided practical guidance to schools and families to reduce feelings of isolation and insecurity.

Jean‘s work includes

  • Delivered training throughout the UK and in Australia and New Zealand

  • Associate Tutor with Edge Hill University (CPD)

  • Guest Tutor at Manchester University (Educational Inclusion) Circle Time

  • Working in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University & Coventry University Individual Projects

  • Links with Auckland University

  • Delivered presentations and workshops at conferences in, Blackpool, Bolton, Bristol, Chorley, Huddersfield, London, Newcastle, Rochdale, Roehampton, York, Surrey, Liverpool, Salford and Northumberland.

  • Westminster Briefing Children‘s Conference 2006 and 2007

  • Tedx Durham 2013

  • Writer of two Handy Quick Look Books for the Classroom: Circle Time and Peer Massage

Training

Emotional Health and well-being:

Jean is an Emotional First Aid Trainer –EFA ( Primary)
And Mental Health First Aider (Secondary)

Our Latest Work



News Item

2013 Thea Blair from Nevada City, California produced a film documentary of the practice and impact of the ‘aChild2Child‘ peer massage programme in schools in northern England

This film is on the web, peacefulhands.org

You can see the trailer or the whole film.

Jean and Thea are also working with Eva Scherer from New Zealand and with David Palmer from the USA who is the founder of Touchpro and inventor of the therapeutic chair massage to explore ways to bring the value of touch and in particular, peer massage to a wider audience.

Our Concept

How it works

The C2C Peer Massage in schools is a short daily massage routine for the hand or the back or back, head and shoulders, which helps to build up emotional resilience and ‘feel good’ factor in children. It is for all children and is done fully clothed with the child’s permission.

The programme itself comprises a series of strokes that are taught through routines and games that are delivered in pairs or groups between pupils. The programme can be introduced through the use of materials,cushions and soft toys for younger pupils or for those pupils who are more touch sensitive than most. The quality of the touch is determined by the receiver; the one who gives the massage must always take notice of the feelings of the receiving partner.

Permission to touch has always to be sought and given before each of the routines. For those children not wishing to take part, their wishes are always respected and they can simply enjoy quiet time to reflect. These children may participate in the C2C Peer Massage at any other time should they choose to do so. The ethos of the intervention is to encourage the children to develop ownership of their own bodies, offering opportunities to become empowered to accept or refuse touch, develop social skills, respond appropriately to their partner and engage in joint problem solving. It is a truly inclusive model as all the children can access the work and make a valuable contribution at their own pace.

In a world where touching is often seen as "not something that we do" or only "OK" if it is pushing, shoving and fighting, Peer Massage in the classroom provides a different window on the world of relationships through touch. It is also good fun!

The massage itself produces a physical response which promotes a natural stimulation to the immune system and promotes relaxation and a reduction in anxiety. It allows children to develop the cognition between intellectual and emotional experience and to develop clear links between thoughts, feelings and actions. The approach is therefore integral to the SEALS curriculum.

Many schools are adopting peer massage as a whole school response to the Every Child Matters agenda, Personal Social Health Education and Citizenship, for the Emotional Health and Wellbeing of children. Peer Massage also fits very well into a Rights Respecting School Award framework - for Health and Safety, Dignity and Respect, Fair Treatment. It is a practical expression of the school ethos in many schools, bringing together nurturing and respectful practices.

It is suitable for all children and helps to teach the importance of looking after ones-self and others.

Peer Massage can be done as part of a circle time or as a five minute session at the beginning of the day or of any lesson. Research has shown it also supports Working and Learning as children can, after massage, have improved concentration of up to thirty minutes.

Used as a ‘whole school’ approach, Peer Massage helps to build and enhance positive school ethos.