EDUCATION bosses in Manchester are spending £25,000 sending 25 teaching staff to America - to train them in giving children lessons in happiness.

But the move - in a city which has the worst truancy rates in the country and where council bosses are looking for their fifth schools chief in just two years - has triggered severe criticism.

Nick Seaton, from the Campaign for Real Education, said: "The primary purpose of schools and teachers is to teach subjects in which they are experts, such as maths, English and science. There is considerable doubt that you can teach happiness. Schools already teach citizenship and drugs education but this is a step too far - schools should be concentrating on the subjects they are supposed to be covering."

But education bosses say the lessons would target children at a formative stage and help develop an optimistic outlook on life.

Jenny Andrews, the council's assistant chief education officer in charge of running the scheme, said: "Research shows that resilience to setbacks can actually be learned and it can be a huge benefit for children in later life."

The teachers will fly to Philadelphia this summer to learn about the scheme which has been adopted by hundreds of American schools.

Lessons will start at nine Manchester schools in September. If successful, they will spread to all 22 secondary schools in the city and problem youngsters of any age could also be targeted for special lessons.

The schools where the lessons are being piloted are Abraham Moss (Crumpsall), Cedar Mount (Gorton), St Peter's (Gorton), Chorlton High, Burnage High, Levenshulme High, and St Paul's, Newall Green and Brookway (all Wythenshawe).

Around 300 Manchester schoolchildren will take part in the programme.

Some experts believe the `positive thinking' sessions could have a knock-on effect in other subjects and boost children's exam results.

The scheme, aimed at 11-year-olds, is made up of 18 hour-long sessions which train youngsters about handling life's setbacks through role-playing, confidence building games and discussions.

In one exercise, children are encouraged not to be upset if a friend ignores them - training them instead to believe the friend may be behaving that way because of a reason unconnected with them. The `resilience classes' were pioneered by US education guru Martin Seligman.

The council was not able to confirm the exact costs of sending the party to Philadelphia, where Prof Seligman is based, but it is likely to be a minimum of £25,000. Schools in South Tyneside and Hertfordshire are also taking part in the sheme.

The project is being jointly paid for by the Department for Education and Skills, the three councils involved and a London-based think-tank called The Young Foundation.

Manchester has the worst truancy rate in the country. Recent figures showed that a hardcore of 3,300 youngsters were on average missing a third of the school year. As reported in the M.E.N, questions have been raised about the role of hundreds of education staff including a 50-strong truancy team.

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