The School of Play Curriculum
Secondary School
Week Six brings together quick-thinking challenges, physical games, and gratitude-based reflection to create a balanced and energising learning experience. Students engage in activities that sharpen their mental agility, improve their coordination, and help them respond quickly under pressure. Through fun and dynamic partner and group games, they learn to focus, calculate, react, and adapt, all while moving their bodies, working together, and staying fully engaged.
This week also strengthens emotional well-being by weaving in gratitude and positive reflection. Students explore happiness, share meaningful moments, and express appreciation for the good things in their lives. Combined with activities that build coordination, teamwork, and social connection, Week Six nurtures a positive mindset and helps students understand the value of staying active, staying grateful, and staying connected, supporting both their individual growth and the overall cohesion of the group.
Weekly Lessons
Set Go
Set Go is a fast-paced warm-up game that blends quick thinking, physical energy, and social interaction to instantly elevate the mood of any group. Players hide their hands on the cue “set,” reveal a number of fingers on “go,” and race to be the first to correctly call out the total. Whether played in pairs or in a large rotating square format, the game keeps everyone moving, laughing, and mentally switched on. Its simplicity makes it accessible, while its speed and unpredictability make it exciting for all ages, from young students to adults in professional workshops.
The activity also encourages constant connection as players switch partners, cheer each other on, and celebrate quick wins. Set Go naturally fosters good sportsmanship, confidence, and friendly competition, all while building mental agility through rapid-fire calculations. The group play option ramps up the intensity with running, movement, and continuous engagement, making it an excellent warm-up for physical sessions or energetic events. With easy variations and room for playful twists, Set Go is a reliable go-to for creating a positive, energetic, and connected atmosphere right from the start.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
Set Go supports students to:
- Promote equal opportunity, as every participant, regardless of ability, confidence, or social group, engages in the same fast-paced rounds with the same simple rules.
- Ensure an inclusive environment, as the game is accessible to all students, requiring no equipment and allowing everyone to participate at the same level.
- Reinforce fairness, with success relying on quick thinking and engagement rather than physical dominance or social hierarchy.
Building Healthy Relationships
Set Go helps students to:
- Strengthen social connections, as the game encourages students to interact with many different peers through multiple fast-paced rounds.
- Foster positive interactions, with students cheering each other on, laughing together, and embracing friendly competition.
- Build rapport, especially in the group play version, where players constantly move, meet new opponents, and support one another.
Developing Communication Skills
Set Go encourages students to:
- Use clear verbal communication, particularly during counting, calling the total, and coordinating the “set” and “go” cues.
- Practise quick interpersonal exchanges, as they rapidly switch partners, initiate rounds, and share brief interactions.
- Strengthen sportsmanship language, such as congratulating opponents, encouraging peers, and engaging respectfully in competition.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
Set Go supports students to:
- Develop emotional regulation, managing the excitement and pressure of quick-thinking competition and responding calmly to wins and losses.
- Strengthen flexibility and focus, thinking quickly, solving mental calculations, and adapting to new partners and scenarios.
- Build confidence, as students repeatedly succeed in rapid thinking tasks and engage socially in a safe, supportive setting.
- Increase energy and positivity, using movement and fun to boost mood and overall well-being.
Challenging Stereotypes
Set Go helps students to:
- Challenge assumptions about maths or quick-thinking ability, showing that everyone can improve mental agility through play.
- Break down social barriers, encouraging students to interact with peers they may not usually talk to.
- Promote inclusivity in active play, reinforcing that quick, fun games are for all genders, personalities, and ability levels.
Recognising Rights
Set Go empowers students to:
- Understand their right to participate fully, with simple rules that allow every student to be involved immediately.
- Feel safe engaging socially, knowing interactions are short, positive, and structured.
- Be treated with respect, as the game encourages good sportsmanship, fairness, and positive encouragement.
- Experience joy and connection, exercising their right to fun, movement, and belonging in a group setting.
The Happiness Alphabet
The Happiness Alphabet is a beautifully simple gratitude activity that encourages participants to reflect on the positive aspects of their lives, one letter at a time. By choosing something meaningful for each letter, from people to places, moments, or memories, students tap into creativity, emotional awareness, and mindfulness. This gentle structure helps them identify the everyday joys they may otherwise overlook, building a habit of appreciation that supports emotional well-being. Whether done individually or in a group, the alphabet format keeps the activity engaging, playful, and filled with discovery.
When played with others, The Happiness Alphabet becomes a powerful connector, inviting participants to share meaningful reflections and learn more about what brings joy to those around them. As each person contributes their A-to-Z moments of gratitude, the group builds empathy, communication, and a stronger sense of community. The activity can be used at school, at home around the dinner table, or in any setting where positivity and connection are valued. By the end, everyone feels lighter, more grateful, and more connected, proving how powerful simple moments of reflection can be in boosting happiness and strengthening relationships.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
The Happiness Alphabet supports students to:
- Promote equal voice, as each participant contributes one reflection per letter, ensuring all students are heard and valued equally.
- Celebrate diverse experiences, highlighting that happiness looks different for everyone and that all sources of joy, big or small, are meaningful.
- Create an inclusive environment, where reflections are honoured without judgement, allowing students from all backgrounds to participate confidently.
Building Healthy Relationships
The Happiness Alphabet helps students to:
- Strengthen connections, as students share personal sources of happiness that reveal aspects of their identity, interests, and values.
- Build trust through positive communication, creating a warm, safe environment where students feel comfortable expressing joy and gratitude.
- Foster a sense of community, with collective sharing reinforcing the idea that happiness and gratitude can be shared and multiplied across the group.
Developing Communication Skills
The Happiness Alphabet encourages students to:
- Practise clear verbal expression, articulating why a particular word, person, or experience brings them happiness.
- Engage in active listening, showing interest and curiosity in the reflections shared by others.
- Develop positive conversational habits, learning to speak with warmth, gratitude, and appreciation during group discussion.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
The Happiness Alphabet supports students to:
- Increase emotional awareness, identifying the people, places, experiences, and moments that contribute to their well-being.
- Build gratitude, developing a habit of noticing and appreciating the good in their lives.
- Strengthen empathy, understanding what brings happiness to others and why those experiences are meaningful.
- Enhance mindfulness, taking intentional time to slow down, think deeply, and reflect on positive moments.
Challenging Stereotypes
The Happiness Alphabet helps students to:
- Challenge stereotypes about emotional expression, especially the idea that young people shouldn’t share feelings of joy, gratitude, or appreciation openly.
- Highlight diverse perspectives, demonstrating that happiness comes from many sources that may not fit stereotypical expectations.
- Promote emotional diversity, showing that it’s normal and healthy for different students to appreciate different things.
Recognising Rights
The Happiness Alphabet empowers students to:
- Understand their right to feel joy and gratitude, recognising that happiness is important to their well-being.
- Express themselves safely, knowing their reflections will be respected and valued.
- Feel included and acknowledged, as the structure ensures all voices are heard throughout the activity.
- Experience their right to connection, participating in a shared ritual that strengthens relationships and fosters belonging.
Get Seven Bounces
Get Seven Bounces is a fast-paced coordination challenge that combines precision, timing, and focus in a fun partner-based format. Players take turns bouncing a table tennis ball along a flat surface, gradually increasing the required number of bounces with each round. The aim is to reach exactly seven bounces without going over or under, which pushes students to stay focused, control their movements, and anticipate the ball’s trajectory. This simple structure creates a steady progression in difficulty, helping participants improve their hand-eye coordination and patience while keeping the game engaging and enjoyable.
The social element of the game adds an energetic, connection-building layer, as students rotate partners after reaching five wins, encouraging teamwork, encouragement, and positive sportsmanship. Whether played in classrooms, sports sessions, or team-building activities, the game creates a friendly atmosphere where players support one another and celebrate accurate attempts. Highly adaptable, Get Seven Bounces can be modified for younger children, made more competitive with timed rounds, or adjusted for accessibility. It’s a playful, skill-building activity that strengthens coordination, concentration, and social interaction, all wrapped in a simple yet addictive challenge.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
Get Seven Bounces supports students to:
- Ensure equal participation, as both players take turns bouncing and catching, giving each student the same opportunity to succeed.
- Promote fairness, with a shared set of rules and consistent goals for every pair, regardless of skill level.
- Create an inclusive atmosphere, where different abilities can be accommodated by modifying distance, ball type, or table height so all students can participate confidently.
Building Healthy Relationships
Get Seven Bounces helps students to:
- Strengthen peer connections, as students rotate partners throughout the game and build multiple social interactions.
- Encourage cooperative play, since success depends on both players following the sequence accurately and supporting each other.
- Develop trust and rapport, with partners relying on one another’s timing, consistency, and encouragement to progress through the challenge.
Developing Communication Skills
Get Seven Bounces encourages students to:
- Communicate clearly, discussing bounce counts, turns, and the shared goal of reaching seven bounces.
- Practise encouragement and constructive feedback, supporting their partner through difficult bounce levels or near-misses.
- Strengthen listening skills, especially when clarifying rules, checking bounce counts, or coordinating rotations with new partners.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
Get Seven Bounces supports students to:
- Develop patience and focus, practising emotional regulation while attempting precise bounce counts.
- Build resilience, responding positively when they miss a bounce count and trying again with a calm, growth-oriented mindset.
- Increase self-awareness, noticing how their concentration, timing, and effort affect their performance.
- Empathise with others, understanding the shared challenge and supporting partners who may find certain bounce counts difficult.
Challenging Stereotypes
Get Seven Bounces helps students to:
- Challenge assumptions about coordination or physical ability, demonstrating that precision and focus, not athletic dominance, drive success.
- Break down gender and skill-based stereotypes, as students of all backgrounds can excel through practice and attention to detail.
- Promote fairness in rotating partners, reinforcing that everyone can contribute something valuable to the game.
Recognising Rights
Get Seven Bounces empowers students to:
- Experience their right to participate fully and fairly, with equal turns, equal goals, and shared responsibility.
- Feel safe to make mistakes, knowing errors are a natural part of the game and not a reason for judgment.
- Express their strengths, whether through precision, timing, focus, or supportive communication.
- Develop a sense of belonging, as partner rotation ensures every student interacts, connects, and feels valued.
Gratitude Golf
Gratitude Golf is a joyful blend of movement, teamwork, and positive reflection that turns a simple rolling game into a meaningful well-being experience. Played in pairs across 11 creative “golf holes,” students roll a tennis ball underarm toward a hoop or bucket, aiming to complete each hole in the fewest rolls possible. The physical component builds coordination, focus, and gentle fitness while keeping the game fun and accessible for all ages. Because players move together from hole to hole, the game naturally strengthens social interaction, collaboration, and shared enjoyment.
What makes Gratitude Golf truly powerful is the reflection built into every hole, where players answer gratitude questions based on their score before moving on. This simple mechanism transforms each stop into a moment of mindfulness, appreciation, and connection, encouraging meaningful conversations between partners. Whether students reflect on positive memories, people they appreciate, or strengths they’re thankful for, each question deepens the emotional experience of the game. With adaptable difficulty, room for creativity, and a beautiful mix of play and gratitude, Gratitude Golf becomes much more than movement, it becomes a memorable, heartwarming celebration of connection, kindness, and the good in life.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
Gratitude Golf supports students to:
- Promote equal participation, with both partners rolling, scoring, and reflecting at every hole, ensuring shared responsibility and equal voice.
- Create an inclusive environment, as the game focuses on effort, reflection, and gratitude rather than athletic ability or competition.
- Value diverse experiences, as each student’s gratitude reflections, shaped by their own life experiences, are equally respected and acknowledged.
Building Healthy Relationships
Gratitude Golf helps students to:
- Strengthen social bonds, as pairs share meaningful gratitude reflections throughout the game.
- Build trust and connection, supporting one another through physical play and listening deeply during reflection moments.
- Foster cooperation, working together to navigate holes, complete the course, and celebrate each other’s progress and insights.
Developing Communication Skills
Gratitude Golf encourages students to:
- Practise verbal expression, articulating their gratitude reflections clearly and thoughtfully at each hole.
- Develop active listening skills, giving their partner full attention during their reflections and responding respectfully.
- Enhance interpersonal communication, working together on technique, encouragement, and teamwork in both rolling and reflection.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
Gratitude Golf supports students to:
- Develop emotional awareness, recognising what they appreciate in their lives while exploring positive emotions and meaningful memories.
- Strengthen empathy, understanding their partner’s gratitude responses and gaining insight into their values and experiences.
- Build self-awareness, reflecting on strengths, relationships, and uplifting moments in their lives.
- Experience emotional regulation, balancing excitement, challenge, and reflection throughout the course.
Challenging Stereotypes
Gratitude Golf helps students to:
- Challenge stereotypes around physical activity, showing that games can be inclusive, calm, reflective, and still deeply engaging.
- Break assumptions about who participates well in “sport,” reinforcing that success is not defined by strength or athletic ability.
- Normalise emotional reflection, encouraging all genders to express gratitude openly without judgement or stigma.
Recognising Rights
Gratitude Golf empowers students to:
- Recognise their right to feel safe, heard, and valued, with structured reflection ensuring every student’s voice is respected.
- Experience their right to emotional well-being, as gratitude practices have been proven to support positive mental health.
- Feel a sense of belonging, connecting through shared experiences and mutual appreciation during the game.
- Understand their right to positive relationships, reinforced through cooperation, respect, and shared celebration of progress.
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