The Missdorothy.com learning
programme is an innovative approach to learning about personal behaviour
and safety for seven to eleven-year-olds. It is designed to tackle behavioural
issues including bullying, crime and disorder, social inclusion, racism
and good citizenship.
The programme is unique - delivering learning through the medium of
a web site cartoon character – Miss Dorothy Com or Dot Com to her friends
and family.
The Missdorothy.com Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to
increasing children's understanding of feeling safe and promoting behaviours
that contribute to a safe environment. The charity’s mission statement
is:
“To advance the education
of people under the age of 16 and to relieve sickness, disability, poverty,
cruelty and hardship."
The learning programme was
recently endorsed by the Prime Minister and is designed as a cross-curricular
teaching resource to deliver structured lessons within PSHE, Citizenship,
ICT, English lessons and literacy hour. Schools are clearly aware that
Section 175 of the Education Act requires them to take on greater statutory
responsibility for teaching PSHE from April 2003.
Missdorothy.com has established
a new national education brand to raise awareness of child safety and
basic learning standards. The learning programme integrates three main
elements to develop sustained interest in learning, increased school
attendance and reduction in bullying:
- Web site interaction
with Dot as the messenger to engage children
- A cross-curricular individual
learning pack with graphic, illustrated lessons
- A thrilling drama production
reinforcing key messages on child safety
The missdorothy.com pilot
has been completed across the UK and will be rolled out to all schools
in Britain over the next two years. Teachers report its great success
in stimulating a new enthusiasm for learning. The project is being measured
academically and shows clear improvement in literacy, numeracy and co-ordination
skills; lower levels of truancy; improved social behaviour; reduction
in bullying; greater attention during lessons; and, importantly, an
increase in the self-esteem of pupils.
WHAT IS INNOVATIVE
IN THE MISS DOT LEARNING PROGRAMME?
- missdorothy.com is dedicated
to the prevention of child abuse.
- missdorothy.com has proved
children take messages on board if they relate to the messenger.
- missdorothy.com has developed
a totally safe web site for Key Stage 2 children - www.missdorothy.com,
with its daily diary, news service, adventure and safe e-mail service
offering support. All this is linked to a unique, high-quality workbook
for each child.
- The pack has completed
successful pilots in Essex, Durham and Liverpool involving 3,000 children
and is now being rolled out in LEAs across the country.
- Results from the pilot
schools include raising awareness of safety issues among young children;
raising the confidence and self-esteem of individuals; reduction
in bullying; a drop in absenteeism; an increase in interest in lessons
and improvements in literacy, numeracy and coordination skills. The
programme also builds trust between teacher and pupil and vulnerable
children have found new confidence to ask for help.
- At the end of the five-to-ten
weeks of lessons based on the pupil’s workbook, children are treated
to a spectacular drama reinforcing key messages about how to be safe
and performed by the National Youth Theatre.
- The key is learning-by-fun
using the cartoon character 'Dot Com' as the messenger to engage children.
Youngsters are taught how to identify the signs of risks to their
safety and the actual risks themselves.
HOW DOES THE LEARNING
PROGRAMME WORK?
- The packs are aimed at
Key Stage 2 children.
- The lessons in the pack
use the web site child character, Dot Com (hence Missdorothy.com)
as the messenger to engage the child.
- The lessons connect to
the web site learning games and activities where children can converse
with Dot and her friends.
- The pack is a high quality
product with strong graphic illustrations.
- It is valued as the personal
possession of the individual child – enhancing self-esteem.
- The style is 'learning-by-fun'
and teachers report that this greatly increases attentiveness and
provides the most retentive results.
- The programme can cover
five to 10 weeks of lessons to suit teachers and enables the child
to identify the signs and risks to its safety.
WHO IS MISSDOROTHY.COM?
The Missdorothy.com Charitable
Foundation is dedicated to the protection of children and the prevention
of child abuse. The charity achieves this by raising the self-esteem
of children and helping them understand they have a right to be safe.
Missdorothy.com Publishing,
which supports the charity, has developed a unique learning programme
for schools that features a cartoon character called ‘Dot Com’ to her
friends. Dot was created to facilitate a learning-by-fun approach through
internet technology, classroom activity and drama.
Dot has her own totally safe
web site linked to a high-quality learning resource called ‘The missdorothy.com
Helping Hands Pack.' A personal exercise book is provided to each child
along with supporting materials compiled by leading educationists. Learning pack and website
work together to help children understand their feelings and tackle
behavioural issues such as bullying, crime and disorder, social inclusion,
racism and good citizenship.
The pack takes five to ten
weeks to teach and encourages children to discuss their feelings
and write or draw about their personal life. Teachers can also use Dot’s
family and friends to help children think about their family life and
to facilitate class discussion for circle time and other classes.
Once they have completed
the exercise book the children are treated to a spectacular drama, performed
by the National Youth Theatre, featuring the Dot characters and reinforcing
key messages learned from the pack. The web site is used regularly during
the programme to ensure pupils continue their relationship with Dot
after the pack is completed.
The programme is aimed at
Key stage 2 children (7-11 year olds). After the pack is completed a
book can be ordered every year to revisit the messages and also track
the development of pupils and continue to build self-esteem,
HISTORY
Dot Com was created by TV
news presenter Sharon Doughty, who was herself a child victim of domestic
violence and sexual abuse. Sharon was an only child who suffered abuse
until the age of seven. Her experience of growing up in a house where
there was constant fear left her with learning difficulties. She could
not read or tell the time in her early days at school, because children
who do not feel safe at home find it very difficult to learn. Dot is
the friend Sharon dreamed of having when she was isolated and alone.
After a career in television
Sharon became involved in consultancy on domestic violence and child
welfare issues. She has now dedicated her life to finding innovative
methods of teaching children how to be safe and of training professionals
involved in the welfare of young people.
WEBSITE
While making a documentary
on the Internet with director, Roger Mills (Director of Round the World
in Eighty Days with Michael Palin), Sharon realised there was little
advice for children on how to use the worldwide web safely. She created
the Missdorothy.com web site, a totally safe arena for young people,
featuring Dot Com as the central character. Dot Com has proved that
children take on board the message, if they identify with the messenger.
The site was launched in December 1999 and is now a safe haven for thousands
of children from more than 40 countries receiving as many as 20,000
visitors a day. Among many features, the site includes a news service
specifically adapted for children, Dot's Daily Diary and her weekly adventure to read, as well as a
safe e-mail service offering support.
Dot is also linked to Brownies
and Girlguiding UK and has her own page in Brownie magazine.
THE MISSDOROTHY.COM THEATRE PRODUCTION
The National Youth Theatre
helped devise the Missdorothy.com play in collaboration with Sharon
Doughty and it can be performed in local theatres or appropriate school
premises. It is a valuable opportunity for children to experience firsthand
a quality drama performed by young professional actors from a variety
of ethnic and social backgrounds to which all children can aspire. The play brings
to life all the web site characters in specially-designed costumes, and reinforces
the key messages introduced in the 'Helping Hands' pack.
