Article 29 of the UNCRC says that a child or young person\u2019s education should help their mind, body and talents be the best they can. It should also build their respect for other people and the world around them. In particular, they should learn to respect:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Education should prepare children and young people for a responsible life in a free society. It should teach them how to live in an understanding and tolerant way that is non-violent and that respects the environment. (1)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowyourself.me is an excellent expression of article 29 \u2013 UNCRC. With equality and respect for the views of others inherent in the process it embodies freedom of thought; and the expression of those thoughts. In addition, there is no better way to learn about a countries\u2019 identity, language and values than through its traditional myths, legends and folk tales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GIRFEC model has eight wellbeing indicators, also known as “SHANARRI”, that knowyourself.me complements well. The relevant elements of knowyourself are shown as green text on the diagram below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Curriculum for Excellence : responsibility of all practitioners (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CfE expects to see Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and Numeracy to be developed in as many school activities as possible – the KYS process excels at this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLearning through health and wellbeing promotes confidence, independent thinking and positive attitudes and dispositions. Because of this, it is the responsibility of every teacher to contribute to learning and development in this area.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The responsibilities of all include each practitioner\u2019s role in establishing open, positive, supportive relationships across the school community, where children and young people will feel that they are listened to, and where they feel secure in their ability to discuss sensitive aspects of their lives; in promoting a climate in which children and young people feel safe and secure; in modelling behaviour which promotes health and wellbeing and encouraging it in others; through using learning and teaching methodologies which promote effective learning; and by being sensitive and responsive to the wellbeing of each child and young person.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything about the KYS process encourages an open positive and supportive community. It employs the traditional storytelling setting of a circle of people. In the case of KYS we sit around a metaphorical fire and, as such each person holds a position of equality in the circle. The storyteller emphasises that it is the story that is the special \u201cguest\u201d rather than the storyteller, and that the purpose of the process is to explore the story for the benefit of all participants, including the storyteller. Powerful traditional tales delivered properly will captivate the audience and create an environment of effective listening. It is important to recognise how the words \u201conce upon a time\u201d transport our selves to a place a safety and security! The phrase opens a portal to the realm of the story where we have explored our hopes and fears for countless generations<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the community philosophy stage the process excels at providing an environment where the children are listened to and can discuss all aspects of their lives. Following the sharing of a traditional story each child is invited to offer a question for discussion on the community of enquiry session. Participants are able to use elements of the story that resonate in their own lives as a proxy for peer-to-peer learning and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One example of a benchmark that can be achieved through traditional storytelling is \u201cI <\/em>am <\/em>learning <\/em>skills <\/em>and <\/em>strategies which <\/em>will <\/em>support <\/em>me <\/em>in <\/em>challenging <\/em>times, <\/em>particularly <\/em>in <\/em>relation <\/em>to <\/em>change <\/em>and <\/em>loss.\u201d <\/em>One of the very popular tales told by Duncan Williamson is Death in a Nut. It is a \u201cjack tale\u201d and involves Jack stopping death from taking his mother, but in doing so he stops everything from dying and chaos ensues. It is a great example of how we use stories to navigate life events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some cases it is a subtle way for the group to steer one of their own to reflect on their own actions. (e.g. One group was facing significant disruption from one pupil. Although this pupil listened attentively to the story \u2013 world tale \u2013 \u201cChilde Roland\u201d he persisted in being problematic throughout the rest of the process. When the group had a blind vote about what question they wanted to explore together they choose \u201cwhy did the child not do as they were told in the first place?<\/em>\u201d the group then dissected the motivations and implications of the disrupter\u2019s behaviour by analysing the actions of the character. It was cathartic and empowering for the group members and a not combative way for them to feedback to the unruly pupil).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, each participant has an equal amount of \u201ctalking sticks\u201d which is a physical representation of an equal share of talking time. Each stick is a child\u2019s right to speak and be listened to. (e.g. When I started delivering sessions to a teenage book group at a library I was informed of a particular participant never contributed her thoughts or ideas into book group discussions. The librarian was delighted to see her contribute quietly during the first session and at each subsequent session.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLanguage and literacy are of personal, social and economic importance. Our ability to use language lies at the centre of the development and expression of our emotions, our thinking, our learning and our sense of personal identity. Language is itself a key aspect of our culture. Through language, children and young people can gain access to the literary heritage of humanity and develop their appreciation of the richness and breadth of Scotland\u2019s literary heritage. Children and young people encounter, enjoy and learn from the diversity of language used in their homes, their communities, by the media and by their peers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything about KYS complements the literacy requirements of the CfE \u2013 it is overflowing with examples of how we, as a group, develop our literacy skills in the realms of \u201cEnjoyment and choice\u201d; \u201cTools for listening and talking\u201d and \u201cUnderstanding, analysing and evaluating\u201d \u2013 the very essence of knowyourself.me is to experience a piece of Scotland literary heritage and then explore it as a group of creative, collaborative and critical thinkers. What is crucially important is that the process is fully inclusive as it uses the spoken word to convey the text so that all learners can experience it equally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numeracy across <\/strong>learning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The KYS process complements the CfE requirement to \u201cdevelop essential numeracy skills which will allow me to participate fully in society\u201d in two areas of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Firstly – the collection and distribution of \u201cfirewood for a metaphorical fire\u201d \u2013 the participants are asked to spend some time collecting a handful of windfall wood to act as kindling for a fire – once this is collected the group are asked to share it out equally – with minimal interventions from the storyteller the group work out the size of the group and number of windfall kindling sticks and share it \u2013 this may be achieved through mental maths division or disbursement to each member one at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tables below show the current E\u2019s and O\u2019s that are met with the consistent delivery of knowyourself.me. The basic bones of the knowyourself process are explained as:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knowyourself (KYS) process is delivered in a group circle (GC). Then we go outside to search for windfall wood to act as talking sticks (STS) and the pupils then distribute the talking sticks (DTS) evenly among the group. Sessions then involve the sharing of Scottish stories (S-Scot); local stories (S-Local) and stories prompted by the pupils (S-Pupil). The community philosophy element starts with the pupils offering a question for discussion (OQ). They then democratically choose a question (CQ) to start the community philosophy sessions (P4C).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC)<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/knowyourself.me\/files\/2025\/09\/image.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHealth and wellbeing across learning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Literacy across <\/strong>learning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Secondly – The group are asked to identify a key question for discussion. Each participant is asked to offer a question and the group then selects which one is used to initiate the community philosophy session. The process can be done in a variety of ways and it\u2019s helpful to get the group to decide which way they want to process the results. They sometimes opt for a blind vote; tally marks; post it note bar graphs or whatever. Whichever way is employed the young people are processing their own data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n