WEEKLY “Wellbeing Wednesday” sessions and a new member of the Junior School pastoral care team are helping to promote positive mental health awareness among younger pupils.
Teachers are using dedicated class time each week to focus on mental health and happiness, and to give pupils a chance to discuss their feelings, thoughts and emotions in a supportive environment.
The school has also introduced wellbeing programme Zumos – an online platform that provides support and resources to help improve the resilience, self-confidence and happiness of its users – for pupils to use both in the classroom and at home.
Alongside these improvements, 8-year-old Border Terrier, Poppy, has joined the pastoral care team and now attends Dame Allan’s Junior School each Wednesday to support pupils and enrich their emotional wellbeing.
Deputy head and designated safeguarding lead Deborah Farren said: “One of the benefits of the Dame Allan’s diamond structure is that the Junior School has its own, well-established pastoral system, already providing a caring and supportive framework. We wanted to further extend this great level of support by adding mental health and wellbeing sessions to our curriculum, in addition to PSHE education.
“Wellbeing Wednesdays allow each and every child to focus on their own emotions, as well as those of others, and the sessions are an opportunity for teachers, with the support of the Zumos resources, to share skills such as breathing techniques, or mindfulness and meditation.”
Beyond Wellbeing Wednesday, all pupils from Years 1 to 6 benefit from Zumos on a daily basis. Each morning they take part in a short ‘How to be Happy’ programme, focusing on self-confidence and wellbeing, and they rate their emotions using emojis, which gradually builds a picture of each pupil’s weekly moods, and indicates to teachers any unusual emotional patterns.
Dame Allan’s Junior School and Nursery’s strong pastoral care team benefits from the services of a school nurse and a dedicated counsellor, who provides tailored support including play, art and talking therapies to those who need it. One-on-one sessions are delivered in the privacy and comfort of the yurt.
It is hoped that the addition of Poppy to the team will provide comfort and enjoyment to pupils. Having a dog in a school is shown to help improve moods and confidence, while lowering levels of anxiety, stabilising emotions and enhancing relationships. The Senior School has recently introduced its own therapy dog Heidi.
Mrs Farren, Poppy’s owner, added: “We recognise the importance of promoting positive mental health from a young age, and that means utilising as many tools as possible – be it an online resource, a group wellbeing session or on a one-on-one walk with Poppy – to help pupils have an awareness of their own feelings, and the ability to express them.
“We all work really hard to ensure there is an environment in which each child feels cared for and important, enabling them to grow into happy, confident and resilient individuals. This is achieved not only through our pastoral system, but through the excellent relationships developed between the children and all adults in the school.”