A focus on Mental well-being

PSHE has been vital in our return to normality after the pandemic. The learning below demonstrates how learning experiences and various activities across all year groups have supported children to talk about their own well being and mental health.

Feeling positive

Children in the EYFS have experienced disruption to their first year of education. The teachers decided that the children needed support in coping with strong emotions. One way this was supported was through teaching the children how to understand their feelings after calming techniques such as rainbow breathing.

Using our calming techniques

Year 2 used breathing techniques to calm themselves down on the playground or when they felt overwhelmed and upset. They used mindfulness in the afternoons when they felt that they needed a little break for their brains. Three to five-minute exercises helped them to concentrate with their late afternoon learning. ​

“Growing together”

Year 3 used the theme of ‘growing together’ in children’s Mental Health week to explore ideas about how we can grow emotionally. The children read stories about coping with worries and had discussions on what good mental health is and how they can support themselves and each other. They wrote down thought prompts after reflecting on different strategies to cope with adversity..

Positive approaches to mental well being

Year 5 used the head space app every afternoon and the children have talked about how it helps them focus after the lunch break and how much calmer they feel. They have also started doing it before their big writes and plan to extend it to combat nerves before assessments. For mental health week, they discussed how this, along with mindfulness activities such as doodling and use of journals can help manage difficult emotions.