Schools

*Free online sessions now available for educating students at home! Please click here to book an online workshop & for more information*

 

Click here to download a schools brochure for 2020-21.

 

Sessions for secondary schools Years 9-13, compatible with RS, Citizenship, History, Geography and more.

Activities

Solutions not Sides (SNS) primarily engages students at the opinion-forming stage (14-18 years of age), ensuring that the students engage with the subject of conflict within the safe space of a structured educational environment.

This is carried out through an innovative programme of training and workshops with young people in secondary schools that are led by our experienced and highly trained facilitators, which include: 

  • Online and classroom-based educational sessions for Year 9 to Year 13
  • Peer-to-peer programme to connect your students with their peers in Israel-Palestine and engage in a collaborative project
  • A Student Leadership Programme for students once they reach sixth form age
  • Training sessions for their teachers and community leaders 

The educational sessions for Year 10 to Year 13 are the central activity of the programme and include activities on general conflict under-standing, critical-thinking skills and conflict resolution with the application of these principles to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Students learn the difference between positions and interests and how they can apply this understanding to explore meaningful solutions. The session also gives some background from both sides’ points of view as to the issues at the heart of the conflict, both past and present, and features real-life experiences and aspirations of people who are living through it, told in person by Israeli and Palestinian speakers from the region. Time is given for Q&A so that students have the unique opportunity to learn more from these people who are living in the region and are involved in working for conflict resolution. The skills and experiences gained through participation in the sessions are transferable to other conflict situations, both in personal and geo-political contexts.

If your school has already done an SNS session, you can give your students the opportunity to develop a project or presentation on a topic with specialist resources developed by SNS. There are seven topics to choose from where older students can work individually or in groups, in lesson or at home, to enrich their understanding of the more complex aspects of the Israel-Palestine conflict. This programme is fully supervised by SNS DBS-checked staff. Click here to see when we will be in your area, or contact the programme director to find out more details here.

Click here for more information on how the sessions are relevant for curriculums in England & Wales. Click here for Scotland, here for the IB Diploma and here for applicability to the Ofsted Framework.

School sessions format

  • Maximum number of students: 30
  • Part 1: Preparatory sessions: A menu of options for teachers to prepare students is available using homework materials and lesson plans provided by Solutions Not Sides and Parallel Histories, ranging from 1 hour to several lessons *compulsory
  • Part 2: Live classroom session with Israeli and Palestinian speakers, facilitated by an SNS staff member; 1 hour *compulsory
  • Part 3: Solutions project (can be done as homework with a follow-up, SNS-led online session with the same Israeli and Palestinian speakers; or as an extension to the live session); between 30 minutes and 1 hour *optional
  • Part 4: Student projects are an exciting way for students to develop their understanding around one of the following topics- Refugees, Religion, Nationalism, Negotiations, Activism in the UK, Emotions and Conflict, and Media and Critical Thinking. Students are provided with resources to be able to create a class project on their topic; 1 hour *optional

Curriculum & skills

Solutions Not Sides sessions are uniquely designed to fulfil the transferable skills requirements of Pearson and other exam boards. 

Every aspect of our sessions ensures that students develop in the following areas:

Cognitive skills:

  • Problem solving
  • Systems thinking
  • Critical thinking
  • ICT literacy

Interpersonal skills:

  • Communication
  • Relationship-building
  • Collaborative problem solving

Intrapersonal skills:

  • Adaptability
  • Self-management and self-development

Click here for more information on how the sessions are relevant for curriculums in England & Wales, here for Scotland, here for the IB Diploma and here for how they can apply to the Ofsted Framework.

Please click here to see tours dates and book a workshop.

Students

If SNS has not yet visited your school, please speak to one of your teachers and direct them towards this page. If you have already participated in an SNS session, we hope you enjoyed it – this is the place where you can find out more about follow up opportunities:

 

SNS' Student Leadership Programme

Will you be aged 16-19 by February 2021? If yes, then you are eligible to apply for our annual Student Leadership programme! Head over to our SLP page to learn more & apply.

The Forum of Discussion of Israel and Palestine

FODIP’s remit is to host and facilitate sensitively inter faith dialogue on the Israeli Palestinian conflict, within and between Jews, Christians, Muslims and others in the UK, and to promote co-operation through dialogue.

Seeds of Peace Summer Camp opportunity in the USA

Seeds of Peace equips exceptional youth and educators with the skills and relationships they need to accelerate social, economic, and political changes essential for peace.

If you are over 18 years of age, other opportunities are available to you:

Internship

Volunteering

Blogging