The S.E.C.R.E.T. School Programme
A structured, story-led programme supporting pupil confidence, resilience, relationships and literacy across the primary years.
When children lack confidence to contribute, struggle to work through challenges or disengage from literacy, the impact can reach far beyond one lesson.
The S.E.C.R.E.T. School Programme uses stories, discussion and creative challenges to give pupils practical opportunities to build Self-Belief, Encouragement, Creativity, Resilience, Empathy and Trust.
Led in school by award-winning children’s author Fiona Lowry, the programme supports pupils to express ideas, work collaboratively, approach challenges with greater confidence and engage meaningfully with literacy, while giving teachers a clear framework that can continue beyond each session.
All images used permission of parents/guardians and hosts of children in each photo. With many thanks.
How could S.E.C.R.E.T. support your school?
Every school and every class is different, but many of the challenges children experience in learning are connected.
- A pupil who is reluctant to share an idea may need greater confidence.
- A child who want to gives up when something feels difficult may need support to find their next step.
- A class struggling to work together may benefit from more opportunities to practise listening, empathy and encouragement.
The S.E.C.R.E.T. School Programme brings these areas together through one consistent framework, giving children opportunities to develop and practise skills they can use across learning, relationships, everyday school life and into the future.
Confidence & Participation
Regular, low-pressure opportunities for pupils to express ideas, contribute and recognise that their voice matters.
Relationships & Teamwork
Practical experiences in listening, encouragement, empathy, shared decision-making and collaboration.
Resilience in Learning
Helping pupils develop useful language around mistakes, problem-solving and choosing what to try next.
Literacy Engagement
Giving listening, talking, storytelling, creating, reviewing and communicating a meaningful purpose.
Creativity & Pupil Voice
Giving pupils opportunities to contribute ideas, make creative choices and help shape something together.
Six skills. One shared language.
At the heart of the programme is the S.E.C.R.E.T. Framework®, built around six areas that children can understand, remember and put into practice.
Self-Belief. Encouragement. Creativity. Resilience. Empathy. Trust.
Rather than teaching these ideas in isolation, pupils explore them through stories, discussion, creative challenges and collaboration, before putting them into practice throughout the programme.
The framework can be adapted across P1–P7, with the activities, discussion, literacy expectations and Journey Journal content changing to suit the age and stage of each participating cohort.
Supporting Health & Wellbeing, Literacy, creativity, pupil voice and personal development within Curriculum for Excellence.
A programme designed to build, practise and apply
The 12-Week S.E.C.R.E.T. Programme
The 12-week programme gives one class or cohort time to explore all six areas of the S.E.C.R.E.T. Framework®, put them into practice and see how they connect to their learning, relationships and ideas.
Across 12 weekly sessions, pupils move from exploring confidence, encouragement, creativity, resilience, empathy and trust to applying those skills as they work together to create their own original class story.
Guided through the process by a published children’s author, the finished story gives the class a shared creative outcome and a meaningful way to celebrate what they have achieved together.
Week 1 | Welcome & Connect
Meet the framework, establish the class journey and begin thinking about the skills pupils already use.
Week 2 - 7 | Explore S.E.C.R.E.T.
Explore Self-Belief, Encouragement, Creativity, Resilience, Empathy and Trust through stories, discussion and creative challenges.
Week 8 - 11 | Become the Authors
Imagine • Plan • Create • Collaborate • Review
Pupils bring their learning together as they develop an original story as a class.
Week 12 | Our Story Reveal
Celebrate • Reflect • Continue
Reveal the finished class story, recognise the journey pupils have made and consider how S.E.C.R.E.T. can continue in the classroom.
What’s included?
Every participating cohort receives
Journey Journals
An individual space for pupils to reflect, create and recognise their progress throughout the programme.
Original Class Story
A collaborative story developed by the pupils as they put the S.E.C.R.E.T. skills into practice.
A2 Class Story Poster
A finished visual celebration of the class story to display in school.
Pupil Certificates
Individual recognition of each child's participation and completion of the programme.
Teacher Resource
Simple continuation prompts, S.E.C.R.E.T. language, curriculum links and optional activities to help learning continue after the programme.
Beginning & Completion Reflection
Simple observations help Fiona and the school reflect on areas including participation, collaboration and engagement.
12 weekly sessions • 50–60 minutes • P1–P7 • Up to 30 pupils per cohort • Up to two cohorts can take part.
The programme is adapted for the age and stage of each participating cohort, with activities, discussion, literacy expectations and Journey Journal content developed appropriately across the primary years.
Looking for a different level of support?
Schools have different priorities, timescales and capacity. Alongside the full 12-week programme, S.E.C.R.E.T. can also be delivered through a six-week Foundations programme or developed into an Annual School Partnership.
6-Week S.E.C.R.E.T. Foundations
A focused half-term programme introducing pupils to all six areas of the S.E.C.R.E.T. Framework®, with one area explored each week through stories, discussion and creative activities.
Best suited to: schools looking for a shorter programme or a focused half-term intervention.
Up to 2 cohorts
Journey Journal
Teacher Resource
Evaluation
Reflection / Celebration
Annual School Partnership
For schools looking to embed S.E.C.R.E.T. more widely, the Annual Partnership brings three 12-week programmes across the academic year, reaching up to six cohorts and including additional whole-school benefits.
Best suited to: schools looking for sustained provision across different stages or cohorts.
Up to 6 cohorts across the year
Journey Journal
Class story per cohort
A2 poster per cohort
Teacher Resource
Evaluation
Reflection / Celebration
Annual Bonuses
Bonuses include: whole school author assembly | signed books for the school library | priority planning | optional book ordering with an agree contribution to school funds.
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Need something different altogether?
Individual Author Workshops for P1–P7
Not every school needs a longer programme. Individual story-led workshops offer a flexible way to support a particular year group, school priority, themed week or literacy and wellbeing focus.
Led by five-times published, award-winning children’s author Fiona Lowry, each workshop uses her books as a starting point for discussion, creativity and practical activities, giving pupils the opportunity to explore themes including self-belief, friendship, teamwork, imagination and storytelling.
Workshops are an hour long (unless otherwise stated) and can be adapted to suit the age, stage of the participating pupils, and the needs of your school.
Dreaming Big Workshop | P1–P2
Inspired by Franco and the Green Light Fairy
A positive, story-led workshop encouraging younger pupils to think about their hopes and ideas, recognise their own strengths and explore what it means to believe they can have a go, even when something feels new or challenging.
Through story, movement, discussion and creative activities, pupils are encouraged to think positively about what they can do and begin exploring the connection between self-belief, effort and possibility.
Self-belief • Confidence • Positive thinking • Creative expression
Delivery: 1-hour interactive session using a visual PowerPoint presentation, story reading, group discussion and creative activities. Suitable for individual classes or larger groups in an assembly hall.
Friendship & Teamwork | P1–P4
Inspired by Mousey Mornings
A lively, story-led workshop exploring what it means to be a good friend and an effective member of a team. Through discussion and collaborative activities, pupils consider kindness, empathy, communication and how working together can help us achieve more.
Friendship • Empathy • Communication • Collaboration
Delivery: 1-hour interactive session using a visual PowerPoint presentation, story reading, group discussion and practical activities. Suitable for individual classes or larger groups in an assembly hall.
Imagination & Storytelling | P1–P4
Inspired by Pip’s Secret Door
A creative, story-led workshop inviting pupils to explore the possibilities of imagination and discover how ideas can grow into stories. Using Pip’s Secret Door as inspiration, children listen, wonder, contribute ideas and work together to develop their own creative storytelling.
Imagination • Listening & talking • Creativity • Collaborative storytelling
Delivery: 1-hour interactive session using a visual PowerPoint presentation, story reading, discussion and creative activities. Suitable for individual classes or larger groups in an assembly hall.
Book Review & Creative Writing | P4–P7
Half-Day Workshop
Using a published children’s book as a real-world starting point, pupils explore how readers respond to stories before turning their attention to their own ideas. The session combines reading, discussion, book reviewing and creative writing to encourage pupils to think more deeply about both the reader and writer experience.
Reading engagement • Responding to texts • Creative writing • Communication
Delivery: Half-day interactive classroom workshop using a visual PowerPoint presentation, author-led reading and discussion, written activities and practical creative tasks.
Becoming an Author | P7–S3
Creative Writing Workshop & Programme
A practical introduction to the creative and professional journey behind becoming an author. Drawing on Fiona’s experience as a five-times published children’s author, pupils explore where story ideas come from, how characters and plots develop, the writing and editing process and what happens between an initial idea and a published book.
Pupils are encouraged to develop their own ideas and see writing as a creative process of experimenting, developing, reviewing and improving rather than simply getting everything right the first time.
Story development • Creative writing • Editing • Author process • Confidence in writing
Delivery: Available as an extended creative-writing workshop or a longer programme, combining visual presentation, author insight, discussion and structured writing activities. Delivery can be adapted for upper-primary classes and secondary groups.
Workshops can be booked individually or combined to create a wider author visit across several classes or year groups.
What Schools Say
Feedback from pupils, teachers and schools
The best insight into a school visit comes from the people taking part. Feedback from previous workshops has highlighted pupil engagement, meaningful classroom discussion and strong connections with existing learning in Health & Wellbeing.
As the S.E.C.R.E.T. School Programme develops, beginning and completion reflections will also help participating schools consider changes in areas such as participation, collaboration and engagement over the course of the programme.
'The feedback has been phenomenal. The children (and staff) loved the sessions. It was such an inspirational way to start the term.'
(East Craigs Primary School)
'In P2/3/4 we have recently been learning about friendship, kindness, empathy and how to overcome social difficulties. I feel the story linked perfectly with CfE First Level Health and Wellbeing Outcomes. The themes of friendship really opened up a great conversation and the children were able to recognise and comment on examples of their learning.'
(Teacher, Coalton of Balgonie Primary School)
'The whole workshop was valuable. We have previously discussed growth mindset in class but his session definitely helped to reinforce that anything is possible and helped the children think about dreaming big.'
(Markinch Primary School)
'I liked how they became closer friends by learning how to share.'
Pupil, age 7
'We feel like we can relate to the characters because we like to be helpful.'
P2/3/4 pupils, Coalton of Balgonie Primary School
Building evidence over time
The S.E.C.R.E.T. School Programme has been designed to go further than a one-off experience. Simple beginning and completion observations provide an opportunity to reflect on pupil participation, collaboration and engagement across the programme, while Journey Journals allow pupils to recognise and reflect on their own learning.
This is not formal assessment. It is a practical way for Fiona and the participating school to consider the journey pupils have made and identify opportunities for the learning to continue.
Imagination is the superpower that makes everything possible.
Teacher Resources
Practical resources to continue the learning in your classroom
The S.E.C.R.E.T. Classroom Collection offers practical, ready-to-use resources for teachers who want to continue exploring confidence, resilience, creativity, empathy and emotional awareness with their pupils.
From printable activities and creative challenges to the full Confidence & Wellbeing Journal, resources are designed to be simple to introduce into everyday classroom learning, with opportunities for reflection, discussion and creative expression.
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Confidence & Wellbeing Journal for the Classroom
A guided classroom resource supporting self-belief, emotional awareness and everyday resilience.
Through child-friendly prompts, positive affirmations and creative activities, pupils are encouraged to recognise their strengths, explore their emotions and develop practical ways to approach challenges.
'This is a wonderful resource that educators will find really useful. It’s clear you’ve put a lot of thought and care into it. Your resource is going to be invaluable for a) helping kids first become aware of what’s happening in their life and how they feel about it, and then b) supporting them to figure out how they can help themselves (and identify and ask others for help) when they find things tough or tricky. That is SO important.'
(HJ. Retired Teacher)
'The format which is simple and clear.
Child friendly, very clear and easy to use for teachers.'
(J.C. Teacher)
Books for Schools
Stories to read, share and return to
Fiona's children's books explore themes including self-belief, resilience, friendship, teamwork, imagination and kindness through stories created to engage young readers.
Books can be purchased for school libraries, classroom collections or class sets, with titles suitable for different ages and stages across the primary years.
The collection includes Fiona's award-winning picture books, Franco and the Green Light Fairy, Felix's Favourite Day and Mousey Mornings, alongside her first early chapter book, Pip's Secret Door, for readers aged 5–8.
Pip's Secret Door also includes activities and space for a child's name, making it equally suited to being a child's own copy, while remaining suitable for classroom or school-library reading.
The Little Hearts, Big Feelings Kit
Created for an individual child rather than shared library use, Little Hearts offers a gentle space for reflection, feelings and self-expression.
It can be purchased by schools for individual pupils where a more personal resource may be appropriate.
How Can I Support Your School?
If you have a question, a particular school priority or would like to discuss which programme or workshop might best suit your pupils, please use the form below to get in touch.
Every child deserves the chance to discover what they are capable of.
The S.E.C.R.E.T. School Impact Programme
Connecting businesses with opportunities to support children and schools in their communities
Alongside my directly commissioned school programmes and workshops, the S.E.C.R.E.T. School Impact Programme gives businesses and organisations the opportunity to fund meaningful learning experiences for children in their local communities.
Through sponsorship and community partnerships, funded opportunities may occasionally become available for schools where additional support can make a difference.
Schools do not need to apply for funding to enquire about a programme or workshop.
If sponsored opportunities become available, suitable schools can be identified and contacted based on the location, age groups and priorities of the funded project.