The big 'I Can & I Am' bus of self-belief parked up at Hazlegrove Prep this week

The big bus of self-belief from the I Can & I Am charity arrived at Hazlegrove Prep School this term. The charity aims to inspire confidence in young people and to help them maintain good mental health.

It was founded by former teacher, James Shone, who has become well known for his inspirational talks about his journey to recovery from a large brain tumour which ultimately led to the loss of the majority of his sight. He now speaks to hundreds of schools and businesses every year talking to children, parents and staff about finding solutions to low self-belief.

Having spent nearly two months in hospital which included 27 hours of surgery, James’ life looked very different to how he had planned it. But throughout the process of re-learning to speak, to walk and to function again, he never lost his passion for finding a way to help young people believe they are of worth in today’s challenging society and the I Can & I Am charity was born.

James spoke to parents and children at Hazlegrove about the balloons of self -belief, an illustrative tool used with the children to understand how they might feel in different situations. The children learned about ways in which they could challenge themselves, develop a positive mental attitude as well as find that sometimes elusive sense of belonging. The fully converted London double-decker provided the ideal environment whereby children relaxed and chatted whilst making pizzas downstairs before sharing food and thoughts together sitting upstairs in the wellbeing workshops run by the charity’s team.

Feedback from the children has been excellent with the results from the survey done by the charity showing that the children felt better about their self-belief following their time on the bus. Their comments included: 'It opened my view on the world and made me realise that I have so much and shall appreciate it more', with others describing it as a ‘safe place’ where they felt they could ‘open up’.

Bex Burton, part of the I Can & I Am team talked about how important the follow-up is after the bus has visited a school and interacted with children and said: "A visit to a school by the I Can & I Am bus provides the ideal environment for pupils to fully engage in practical solutions to maintaining good mental health. We are regularly told by schools that many pupils have a positive shift to higher self-belief after a visit by the bus and that the workshops and cooking sessions with the I Can & I Am team give a unique opportunity to have conversations that may not normally happen at home or in school. We also value hugely when a school begins to adopt the messages of I Can & I Am by incorporating them into their PSHE programmes and school wide approach to wellbeing."

Headmaster, Ed Benbow, extended his thanks to James and his team: "Thank you to James Shone and his brilliant I Can & I Am team for three days of uplifting talks and group work. It was so inspiring to hear James speak to both parents and pupils, and to witness the immediate impact that the conversations and team exercises on the bus had on our year 7 and 8 children. Wellbeing is at the heart of our school community, and it was particularly fitting that it was The Friends of Hazlegrove who facilitated the charity’s visit. We are very much looking forward to inviting the charity back again for future year groups."