Squeezing Through

Squeeze styles

by Brian Radcliffe

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To encourage children to think about coping when things are difficult.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (Squeezing Through) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Show Slides 1 and 2.
   Ask the children if they know what the slides show.
   Listen to responses.
2. Show Slide 3.
   Explain that if we went for a walk in the Peak District of Derbyshire, we would come across these styles. They are known as Squeeze Stiles.
3. Squeeze Stiles are constructed from vertical columns of rock, usually limestone, which come up to above waist height and allow a restricted way through from one field to the next. Many of these styles are hundreds of years old. They’re made to allow people to squeeze through, but to stop animals such as sheep. For this reason, the gap between the stones is often no more than 15 centimetres. They are also a useful marker for where a footpath goes. Often a walker can look for the next Squeeze Stile to see where to pass into a new field.
4. These styles are called Squeeze Stiles because that’s exactly what someone must do to get through. They must squeeze through, often sideways. If you are wearing a huge rucksack, you might need to work out a way to get through!
   They are designed to stop sheep getting through, but this also applies to dogs. Many dogs have needed to be lifted over by their owners!

Time for reflection

We sometimes meet ‘squeeze occasions’ in our lives. Times when things are a bit difficult and we wonder how we are going to cope. Maybe something unexpected happens or something goes wrong and we don’t know what to do.

When unexpected things happen there are things that we can do to help us get through them.

Maybe we need to remember that we are all special and there are many things we can do. Sometimes we need to have encouragement from within ourselves or from other people, to remind us that we can move forward and overcome the difficulty.

Sometimes we need to take some action, such as planning our next step, doing some training to prepare us for the challenge or doing a little research or even getting a good night’s sleep to help us.

Sometimes there might be things we need to take out of our ‘rucksack’ to help us move forward. Maybe we need to ask ourselves if there are there things we are doing that aren’t helpful in life: friendships, late nights or habits?

Sometimes we need to ask advice and speak to someone.
Remind the children about people they can speak with in school if they are facing difficulties at the moment.

Squeeze stiles can’t be avoided in the Peak District, if we want to get to the most attractive locations. Likewise, we can’t avoid squeeze situations in our lives, if we want to make the most of our potential. However, once we are through the squeeze situation, we can often feel fulfilled and satisfied.

Song/music

‘It’s the Climb’ by Miley Cyrus. This can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWL5v2y_dOI