Training materials

This is Me! Helping Children to Express Themselves and
Adults to Listen

Hannah Roberts, Pavilion Publishing, £80 plus £8 p&p,
contact: 01273 623222 or www.pavpub.com

This excellent resource claims to help children “explore their
world and build confidence”, writes regional training and
development manager Caroline Morris. It does all that and more,
covering an immense range of issues, using easy-to-read and easily
understood materials. Topics covered include the child’s life, the
home life, and touch and our bodies. There are clear instructions
on each activity, enabling the reader to be fully prepared for the
content. Activities such as a “My happiness page” encourage
communication between adult and child. Included are review sheets
for adults to use, facilitating an evaluation of progress. The
information in each section is considered and helpful.

Open Arts

Linda Boyles for the Pennine Care NHS Trust, Pavilion
Publishing, £65 plus £6.50 p&p, contact: 01273 623222
or www.pavpub.com

This is an excellent and comprehensive resource to enhance
activities for adults with mental health problems within resource
centres or support groups through the development of an arts
project, write workforce development officers, Louise Coleman and
Karen Redpath. Providing a step-by-step guide, the pack covers
everything from formulating ideas to recruiting staff, budgeting
and final project evaluation. We felt small areas would benefit
from additional development, including the recruitment section,
which assumes a knowledge of legislation and best practice. Also,
we found the sample overheads wordy and unimaginative. However,
these slight drawbacks do not detract from the quality of the pack
overall, and we thought it should also be published on CD-Rom.