News and Views - Halcyon Education

3 Practical Tips to Support SEN Learners with Micro-Transitions

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:21:37 GMT

For many children with SEN, the space between one activity and the next can feel overwhelming. The good news is that once we understand the impact transitions can have, there are simple tools we can use to create smoother school days.

What is a transition?

The Autism Education Trust defines transition as “any change in an individual’s situation”. We can break this into macro and micro transitions. Macro transitions involve big changes like moving to a new school. Micro transitions are smaller shifts that happen daily - arriving at school, moving between lessons, or changing adults.

Why do transitions matter?

Everyone finds transitions tricky at times. Our brains are wired to seek certainty, which is why change can feel so unsettling. Our capacity to manage change can also vary depending on how much sleep we’ve had, our diet, or level of emotional stress.

For some children with autism, differences in communication, sensory processing, and flexible thinking can make transitions particularly difficult (Autism Education Trust).

How might this look?

DFE Guidance & The SEND Code of Practice share a number of ways anxiety around transitions may manifest. These include:

Distress
Outbursts
Sensory overload
Emotional dysregulation
Avoidance

3 Key Strategies for Supporting Micro-Transitions

At Fitzwaryn, we aim to set children up for success as soon as they arrive by creating structured and predictable routines:

Meet & Greet
Each morning, we meet and greet children from their taxis or parents/carers. We use this time to check in and assess readiness to learn. Using tools like aided language boards, 5-point scales and home school diaries can help with this process.
Morning Slides
I love morning slides because as well as providing structure they brighten up the classroom. Mine reads “Good Morning,” followed by simple visual steps. The first two tasks - coats and bags on pegs, books out - stay the same daily. The third symbol shows the morning task.
Visual Timetables
We use visual timetables every day with the whole class and you can read more about them in my previous blog post on ‘ Visual Tools’ .

Using These Strategies in Mainstream Settings

Though rooted in SEN practice, these strategies can be beneficial for all children. Research supports the use of routines, visuals, and check-ins to reduce anxiety and improve classroom engagement. Applying them in mainstream classrooms can support inclusivity and emotional wellbeing for all.

What if this isn’t enough?

Even with these core strategies in place, some children may still struggle - and some days will be harder than others. If you're looking to expand your toolkit, my PowerPoint on Managing Transitions is available through your EduDocs membership.

Conclusion

Supporting children with these small transitions can be really powerful. It can help to build trust, resilience, and long term confidence. Every time we help a child navigate a small change, we teach them that change is manageable. These small steps help prepare our children for the bigger changes that are yet to come.

Aided Language Boards: Tools for Clarity, Connection & Well-being

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 09:41:41 GMT

Using Aided Language Boards to Support Communication in SEN Schools

Every child learns differently, and for some children with SEN, finding the right tool can be transformative - especially when it comes to communication. Aided Language Boards (ALBs) provide a structured, visual way to support communication, reduce anxiety and enhance understanding. In a previous blog, I introduced ALBs- this post dives deeper into their importance and offers guidance on using them effectively in the classroom.

Why Aided Language Boards?

Research highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's anxiety levels and communication skills. A recent Guardian article attributes ‘uncertainty, disruption, increased screen use and crippling anxiety’ to the pandemic school closures. Another study titled Speaking Up for the COVID Generation found that 1.5 million children struggle to speak or understand language at an age-appropriate level. Lisa Feldman Barrett explains that when uncertainty increases, the brain struggles to make predictions, heightening stress and anxiety. ALBs create predictability, giving children a reliable way to express themselves, in turn reducing frustration.

Sennett, Light and McNaughton (2016) identify several other benefits of using ALBs, including:

Increased communication turns and meaningful language use
Improved understanding and expressive vocabulary
Greater use of multi-word phrases
Development of grammar and sentence structure

What is an Aided Language Board?

An ALB is a symbol-based display containing vocabulary specific to an activity, such as ordering lunch. For example, a lunch ALB may include symbols for lunch box, roast dinner, jacket potato and soup, along with core words like I want, more, help, and like. Core words remain in consistent locations to support memory and motor planning.

According to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, ALBs help model:

Requesting and making choices
Expressing needs (e.g., if something is unavailable)
Commenting and forming short phrases
Asking for help

How to Use ALBs

Before children can use an ALB, they must see it modelled. For example, during a turn-taking activity, I would point to my turn while taking a turn and your turn when prompting the child. Saying the word while pointing helps reinforce learning.

As children become more comfortable, we can introduce pauses and choices. At playtime time, we might offer football or waterplay, without pressuring the child to respond. When a child points to football, we can expand on it by pointing and saying, “I want football”.

A typical ALB maybe a little overwhelming. I often reduce them to 8 key symbols and add more over time as the child’s confidence grows.

Where to Use ALBs

Ideally ALBs should be embedded across the school environment. They can be used:

At registration – for greetings and meal selection
At snack times – to encourage choice-making
On doors – so children can request to go to the toilet or another room
On cupboards – to support requesting toys, pens, or sensory items
During lessons and free-choice time

In school, we have a shared bank of ALBs on our system, but from September, each classroom will have a basket of boards to improve consistency across the school and reduce teacher workload.

Recommendations

Colour coding can help children quickly find words and understand sentence structure. The Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust suggests:

Nouns – Green
Verbs – Yellow
Adjectives – Purple
Location words – Blue
Time words – Red

Conclusion

ALBs can be incredible tools but as always you are the most important resource. As Sara & Sarah at Hearts & Heads say: ‘human connection is the most powerful intervention’. Relationships, trust and empathy form the foundation for all communication and learning. When used alongside attentive, responsive teaching, ALBs can transform communication, confidence and independence for children with SEN.

Are Screens Soothing Our Kids? Rethinking Technology and Secure Attachment in Schools

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 09:41:39 GMT

Technology often sits at the crossroads of convenience and controversy, especially when we consider its role in our children's emotional wellbeing. Increasingly, digital devices have become the go-to method for self-soothing among young people. We've all been there—a distressed child handed an iPad to calm them down. While the occasional reliance on screens isn't inherently harmful, it's the regularity of this habit that's problematic, amplifying existing anxieties, worries, and potentially negative self-perceptions.

In my work supporting schools, I've observed firsthand the challenges associated with children turning to technology for emotional comfort. Often, this unregulated digital exposure exacerbates harmful rumination—the continuous loops of negative thoughts that can sometimes spiral out of control. Unlike adults, who usually possess healthier coping mechanisms like a supportive conversation or a relaxing walk, young people’s reliance on screens restricts their emotional growth and coping abilities. Social media spaces are unregulated and often harmful, creating a breeding ground for rumination, instead of a safe space to learn and settle.

One valuable solution I've shared extensively with schools is Dan Siegel’s renowned "4 S’s of Secure Attachment": Safe, Seen, Soothed, and Secure. These concepts offer practical guidance on building emotional resilience in young people and nurturing healthier forms of emotional regulation.

Creating environments where children feel Safe involves clear, predictable structures and dedicated calming spaces. In primary schools, this could mean introducing cosy corners in classrooms filled with sensory-friendly items. Secondary schools might provide calm rooms or peaceful library spaces, while international schools could adapt culturally inclusive relaxation areas where students from diverse backgrounds feel equally secure.

Being Seen addresses the vital need for consistent, attentive relationships. For instance, a large secondary girls' school that removed morning and afternoon form times saw a sharp increase in anxiety and behavioural issues among students. Reinstating these form sessions re-established daily touchpoints with familiar adults, significantly reducing students’ distress. Similarly, international schools can foster connections by pairing older students with younger or new arrivals, creating vital peer support networks.

To effectively support students in feeling Soothed without screens, schools can actively teach and encourage healthier emotional coping strategies as part of the curriculum. Primary schools might offer structured mindfulness sessions or sensory gardens, secondary schools could implement music or art rooms dedicated to wellbeing, and international schools could establish culturally sensitive arts and meditation programs that promote calm and cross-cultural understanding.

Lastly, feeling Secure is rooted deeply in stable relationships and a supportive school culture. Schools achieve this by ensuring each student has a reliable adult connection—a class teacher or assistant in primary schools, dedicated tutors or pastoral mentors in secondary settings, and trusted counsellors or peer mentors in international contexts.

Implementing these practical strategies is not just beneficial but essential. Schools that thoughtfully integrate these secure attachment principles provide a robust framework for young people's emotional and social growth, supporting healthier, screen-free coping mechanisms and significantly contributing to students' lifelong resilience and wellbeing.

https://psychcentral.com/relationships/the-4-ss-secure-attachment

www.halcyon.education

Anna Bateman

Enhancing Attachment Support: Practical Resources for Interoception and Executive Functioning

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:17:04 GMT

Enhancing Attachment Support: Practical Resources for Interoception and Executive Functioning

I first learned about Attachment theory nearly two decades ago and it’s something I find myself returning to time and time again. Each time I revisit it, I increase my capacity to be curious, I learn something new or discover a valuable resource. As a Mental Health Lead, I am sure you are familiar with attachment theory, but I hope that you will find a golden nugget in this reflection. Most of all I hope it highlights the importance of the work you do and the incredible difference you can (and already) make.

What is Attachment and Why Does it Matter?

Attachment theory is a psychological framework originally developed by John Bowlby in the 1950s. It explains how our early relationships with primary caregivers create a blue print for how we connect to others. Bowlby established three different attachment styles. A fourth was added by researchers Main and Solomon in the 1980s.

Secure Attachment: Develops when a child’s needs are met consistently. They learn the world is safe and relationships are trustworthy.

Insecure Attachment Styles: When a child’s needs are not reliably met they develop different coping mechanisms:

Insecure-Ambivalent: Inconsistent care giving can lead to anxiety and heightened efforts to gain attention.
Ins ecure- Avoidant: Dismissive care giving is likely to result in children suppressing their needs and appearing overly independent.
Insecure-Disorganised: Is often linked to trauma and neglect, causing unpredictable attachment behaviours.

The Place2Be Mental Health Champions course emphasises that a diagnosis should only be made by a trained professional. However, we can use our understanding of these patterns to help understand and support children.

Why This Matters in Schools:

Many of the things children need to grow up healthy – e.g. love, understanding, food - depend on relationships. The Clear Sky Charity uses the analogy of a house: without strong foundations a house wobbles under stress. Similarly, children who come into our classrooms without having their needs met, may also begin to wobble under stress.

How can we Help?

Fortunately, neuroscientists have discovered that there is greater plasticity to the brain than we previously thought. Meaning our work truly can make a difference. Daniel J. Siegel, and Tina Payne Bryson, suggest using the Four S’s: safe, seen, soothed and secure.

Teaching interoception and executive functioning skills directly support the ‘Four S’ framework and there are some fantastic resources to support this. While there are many other valuable strategies, these approaches offer additional tools to enhance support and meet individual needs.

Executive Functioning Strategies (Harvard Centre on the Developing Child) - focus on working memory, flexible thinking and self-control to improve daily routines.

Resource: Harvard’s Executive Function Toolkit

Interoception Skills (Department for Education South Australia) - focus on recognising and interpreting internal body signals to support with self-regulation and emotional awareness.

Resource: Interoception Resource Pack

Final Thoughts:

As educators, we have the potential to reshape how a child views the world. We can help them to see that it can be safe and relationships trustworthy. It’s an incredibly rewarding position to be in but it also requires a significant emotional investment. Julie at NACWelling Being shares that: “If we want to be in the best position to support others, we must take care of ourselves first”. I hope you are able to prioritise your own mental health, not just because it puts you in a better position to provide support, but because you matter too.

Mental Health and Faith In Schools

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:15:21 GMT

Mental Health and Faith In schools

For many young people faith and spirituality, or a lack of, are a significant aspect of their identity. This is particularly true for Global Majority children who are often initiated into a faith from infancy through a religious ceremony, practice or event. This belief often continues to be significant throughout their childhood due to attendance to places of worship and participation in religious festivals, practices and customs that underpin their development of morals, empathy and resilience. This is often a crucial aspect of personal development as they navigate personal decisions and choices based upon their acceptance or rejection of religious values, principles and traditions.

Yet when discussing mental health issues many mental health professionals believe that faith and mental health are at a juxtaposition, therefore, any interventions or support should remain secular. Arguments for this include religious stigma regarding mental, the denial of some religious groups that mental health exists, and the ideas of some students being directly opposed with their faith causing conflict and distress. Therefore, bringing religion into mental health support risks alienating young people in need of support.

However, there is a strong counter argument that faith can be beneficial to young people in crisis as it can offer answers to questions, provide a source of comfort or present practical solutions through religious texts, stories, and observances. The mental health charity, MIND highlights the importance of faith and mental health, as a significant contributing factor during recovery from Mental health conditions and supporting wellbeing. Also, a toolkit produced by HHS suggests belonging to a faith community provides connectedness through a “sense of being cared for, supported, and belonging,” (1.HHS).

With an escalating crisis in mental health provision, especially for Global Majority children, having a sense of belonging is crucial for wellbeing therefore schools should create spaces where the significance of intersectionality is recognised and understood. This can be achieved by SMHL leads beginning to consider if including faith concepts as a support mechanism would be beneficial for some students in their schools? Would an exploration of religious belief and how it shapes thinking and behaviour support some student in crisis? Would having a faith to lean into for comfort for some students provide a sense of relief? Would the reference to a God or deity help bring hope to a student during tough times of their life? For example, the Bible depicts many characters who suffered depression and anxiety as an acknowledgement of mental distress, also the Buddha used meditation as a strategy to alleviate suffering.

Over the last year I’ve contributed to a project that has created spaces for Global majority children to discuss issues of mental health, race and faith in school. Those attending have flourished mainly due to connectedness with staff and peers who they feel recognise and understand the importance of faith in their lives. Whilst this may not suit all students, equitable practices relies upon providing for the needs of the child, which in some cases requires just a little bit of faith!

Resources

Youth Mental Health and Well-being in Fath and Community Settings: Practicing Connectedness A Toolkit of the HHS Partnership Center
Mental health advice for young Muslims | YoungMinds
Shine your light project - christiansunitedbirmingham@gmail.com

The Incredible 5 Point Scale: A Tool for Emotional Wellbeing in SEN Settings

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 10:33:01 GMT

The Incredible 5 Point Scale: A Supportive Tool for Emotional Wellbeing

Rose Kight is the Intervention Lead at Fitzwaryn Special School in Wantage. She has over 11 years’ experience of teaching in an SEN setting and has recently completed an NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture.  

Did you know that nearly 40% of young people with autism experience anxiety so intense it qualifies as a diagnosable disorder ? It’s a distressing statistic (Research in Autism Disorders Journal), but behind these numbers are children navigating a world that can feel overwhelming. Everyday challenges like expressing emotions or managing social situations often spiral into dysregulation.

This year, I’m focusing on embedding tools across our school to help children recognise, communicate, and manage their emotions. Among these tools, The Incredible Five Point Scale has become a favourite, giving children ways to turn abstract feelings or concepts into a concrete, visual format that’s easy to understand.

What is The Incredible 5 Point Scale?
Imagine a vertical scale, numbered from one to five. Each number represents a level of emotion or behaviour: “one” might signify calm, while “five” represents feeling furious. The scale is easily adaptable. For example, to teach voice control, “one” might mean silence and “five” could mean screaming.

Additional columns outline what each level looks, sounds, or feels like and may include strategies to support emotional regulation. This structured approach helps teach social expectations, problem solve challenges, and plan for future scenarios. In addition, it creates a shared language, improving communication between teachers, parents, and children.

Example Scale

How I Use the 5 Point Scale:
Each morning, my class begins with a “feelings check” using the scale. To make it relatable, I personalise scales with themes, like the Colour Monster, showing emotions such as calm, happy, sad, scared, or frustrated.

In intervention sessions, I work one-to-one with pupils to develop personalised scales addressing specific challenges. For a child who wanted to play with friends but struggled to respect personal space we created a scale highlighting the different levels of interaction. “Two” represented the desired behaviour of giving appropriate space, while “five” indicated pushing. Together, we explored how these behaviours affected their friends. To reduce overload and make it easy to understand, we limited language and used relatable terms like “comfortable” and “uncomfortable.”

After interventions, I provide classroom support packs, including a desk-scale copy, a portable version, a social story, and calming tools like stress balls or fidget toys. I also train class teams, sharing tips like modelling the scale, using non-judgemental language, and celebrating pupils’ success when they use the scale.

What’s Working Well?

Children actively engage with the scale.
Children share that they find the 5 Point Scale helpful and feel comfortable using it.
Increased success in IEP targets with the scale’s support.
Positive staff feedback.

Next Steps:

Adapt the scale further to meet the needs of more children.
Develop a resource bank of scales for staff access.
Provide drop-in sessions for co-creating scales, modelling the scale, or problem solving challenges.

The DFE's Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools guidance highlights the importance of developing whole-school approaches to promote good mental health, including teaching emotional regulation skills.

While visual resources are not the only answer, they can play a key role in helping children with autism navigate challenges such as communication difficulties and social demands, which are closely linked to anxiety. By providing a clear communication tool, a means to express frustration, and a structured approach to social situations, visual resources offer valuable support for fostering emotional regulation and reducing stress.

Running a Wellbeing Day in School: Supporting Pupils and Staff

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 13:42:33 GMT

Running a Wellbeing Day in School Blog 4

Kerry Bridges has been the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in Preston, Lancashire since 2021 but part of the Pastoral and Safeguarding Teams for a great deal longer. She is happy to talk about supporting wellbeing in schools all day long and has a particular interest in staff wellbeing.

In this series of 4 blogs, I talk about one of the things we do in school to support our children’s wellbeing in the hope that there is something here you can use or adapt. In my last blog, I talked about how we pulled the day together. Read on to find out what happened on the day itself.

As I have said in one of my previous blogs, I really wanted the day to support the mental health of our adults as well as our pupils. The day before the big day, everything was completely ready to go, but I had to leave school early for an appointment. The whole evening, I could not stop running over the arrangements in my head. I’m saying this because if it happens to you, you have someone here who understands. I wanted the day to be a great experience for everyone involved, but I almost forgot about myself. That sort of feeling is common for someone in our position, but it isn’t OK. Make sure you have friends or family around you who will support you and are in your corner. I know that I would not be able to do my job without having them in mine.

In any case, the day arrived. Reverend Joe had sent a video to show in form time to explain who he was, what would happen in the Collective Act of Worship and to set the scene for the day. This was a great way to begin and something I would recommend. Helping the children be clear about our reasons and expectations really set the day off successfully. His worship was very child centred and interactive and exactly what we needed. Even if you are not in a Church school, bringing as many people as you can together at the beginning of the day was so uplifting. We really did feel connected.

My next concern had been that the visitors who were presenting may not be able to make it on the day. Of course, I needn’t have worried. They were there as requested and went over and above what we had asked for. There are so many people who are happy to give up their time to support an event like this in school. Never be afraid to reach out. Nobody has ever said “no”.

For the rest of the day, Joe and I made hot chocolate for our sponsored walkers. This allowed us to see and chat to every single one of the children. What an enormous privilege it was. We had such a great time hearing all their stories of what they had been up to. Everyone was so positive.

And so, the day came to an end. We waved the children off and collapsed in the staffroom. We had done it.

So, what did everyone think? Well, we asked the children to give us some feedback which was overwhelmingly positive. There was an even split across of which bits they had enjoyed, and they gave us some brilliant ideas to implement for next time. Yes, we are running it again this year and we will continue to do so in the future. I hope that you are given the opportunity to do so too. If you are, I would love to hear what you are up to. Please do reach out and let me know if I can help. Working together and making connections is, after all, what it’s all about.

The Science of Kindness: How Positive Role Modelling Shapes Young Lives

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 10:48:27 GMT

The Science of Kindness: How Positive Role Modelling Shapes Young Lives

Hi my name is Sarah Cunningham and I’m an Assistant Head at Lea Forest Academy. For the past 16 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside incredible pupils and staff. In my roles as PSHE leader and Deputy SENDCo, I’ve seen first-hand the significant impact of mental health on young leaners. This experience inspired me to pursue an MSc in Psychology at Northumbria University 4 years ago. I’m excited to share my knowledge and experiences though this blog and I hope I can provide some practical tips to help you create a supportive and nurturing environment for all.

Imagine a classroom where students feel safe, valued, and understood. A classroom where they can express their emotions freely and learn to manage them effectively. This is the kind of learning environment we can create by prioritising emotional intelligence and positive role modelling.

My deep fascination with human potential and well-being, coupled with a desire to make a positive impact on people's lives, drove me to return to academia. As a mature student with 16 years of teaching experience, I found my MSc in Psychology to be a truly enriching experience. For instance, the practical nature of my teaching and leadership roles allowed me to immediately apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations. This was incredibly motivating and rewarding, and it gave me the enthusiasm I needed to start this new chapter with my youngest now in primary school.

My own experiences as a teacher and student have reinforced the significance of role modelling in shaping young minds. Yet, amidst the demands of leadership, planning, marking, and numerous other responsibilities, it can be challenging to maintain clarity and focus. Studying again reminded me that the simple action of "good role modelling" is research-based, rooted in the famous psychologist Bandura's Social Learning Theory.

Intriguingly, I learned about a recent discovery of mirror neurons in macaque monkeys. Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that fires both when an animal performs an action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. In essence, they allow us to "mirror" the actions of others.

This discovery shines a new light on Bandura’s theory, revealing the potential impact of simply watching and copying others. This emphasises the importance of positive role models in shaping behaviour and this understanding encouraged me to actively become more intentional in promoting positive behaviours and positive mental health in my school.

For instance, greeting students warmly, using kind language, listening to children, resolving conflicts peacefully and encouraging older students to support younger children. These simple actions, informed by psychological insights, have a significant impact on our students' well-being and learning. They can make a lasting and positive impact on children, without actually taking too much time.

Studying psychology has deepened my understanding of humans as inherently emotional beings. While setting healthy boundaries is crucial for children's mental health, acknowledging and validating children’s emotions, and teaching students to manage them effectively is equally important. As teachers, we often juggle heavy workloads, but prioritising emotional education is essential. Research from neuroscience suggests that naming emotions can help children regulate their behaviour. By teaching children to identify and label their emotions, we empower them to respond healthily to challenges. By modelling these skills ourselves, we can further amplify their impact on our students.

Ultimately, emotionally regulated children are better equipped to focus, learn, and thrive as countless studies have shown strong correlations between positive mental health and academic success.

I’m passionate about understanding human behaviour and making a positive impact on people’s lives and by prioritising emotional intelligence and positive role modelling, we can create a more compassionate and supportive learning environment for pupils. Efforts in these areas will not only lead to improved academic performance, but it will lead to improved social skills and resilience, empowering pupils to thrive in all aspects of their lives.

Further reading

Click Here Northumbria distance Learning

Alberts, J. (2015). Alan M. Slater and Paul C. Quinn (eds.): Developmental Psychology: Revisiting the Classic Studies: Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2012, 240 pp, ISBN: 9780857027580.

Bas, G. (2021). Relation between student mental health and academic achievement revisited: A meta- analysis. In Health and academic achievement-new findings. IntechOpen.

Gloria, C. T., & Steinhardt, M. A. (2016). Relationships among positive emotions, coping, resilience and mental health. Stress and health, 32(2), 145-156.

Heyes, C. (2010). Where do mirror neurons come from?. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(4), 575-583.

Torre, J. B., & Lieberman, M. D. (2018). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling as implicit emotion regulation. Emotion Review, 10(2), 116-124.

5 Steps to Empower Non-Verbal Children in Mental Health Surveys

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 10:33:20 GMT

“Effective leaders recognise that pupil voice is not just about feedback but about empowering students to shape their educational journey.”

HT Briefing

We all want our pupils to feel valued. One of the ways we do this is through completing a ‘MHWB pupil voice survey’. When we listen, we gain insights into how we can provide more effective support and identify those who maybe in need of early help. But how do we capture this information for children who use means other than words to communicate?

The spectrum of non-verbal communication is vast. We may be able to meet the needs of some children by taking a validated assessment tool and providing opportunities to feedback using visual supports such as iPads or symbols. For others, we may need to differentiate by reducing the number of questions and language within each one. However, there is another group who require us to be more creative.

For these children the Education Endowment Foundation advises that, “Effective approaches for gathering pupil input often rely on observing natural behaviours and responses, particularly for children with significant communication challenges.”

Gaining insights into a child’s internal state through observation can be tricky. However, we can take intentional steps to design a process that is meaningful.

1. Know what you are looking for

We want to know how a person feels not how they present. We can make a child smile by offering them a toy or chosen object but if this doesn’t reflect what’s happening internally our observations lose validity.

2. Agree on ‘things’ to observe

There are many facets to non-verbal communication that may indicate how a person is feeling. These include, facial expressions, body language, posture, vocalisations, eye movement, behaviours, concentration and engagement. Taking time to slow down and tune in can help us make informed decisions about what to observe.

3. Be aware of other contributing factors

Transition periods, temperature, noise levels and time of the day are just some of the factors that can influence how a child may present at any given time. We need to be mindful of these when completing observations.

4. Work together

There is a vast range of expertise within our schools. When we discuss our observations, we can gain greater clarity and paint a more meaningful picture. Capturing evidence using written notes, video and audio can aid this process.

5. Other considerations

There are clear links between communication difficulties and medical health, physical and sensory needs. We need to consider all influences and where necessary ensure health, physical or sensory assessments have been completed by appropriate professionals.

While ascertaining ‘pupil voice’ for some of our children may not be straightforward, we can take comfort in the knowledge that our efforts will be worthwhile. Emotional wellbeing impacts all areas of our life from our physical health to our relationships. When we take the time to understand the needs of the community we serve we can foster a sense of belonging and pave the way for more effective support.

How to Run a Successful Wellbeing Day in School: Planning and Execution Tips

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:00:59 GMT

Explore how Kerry Bridges, Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple High School, structures a Wellbeing Day around the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing. Learn practical strategies for engaging students, involving charities, and creating a memorable day with activities like mindfulness, a sponsored walk, and learning new skills.

In this series of 4 blogs, I will talk about one of the things we do in school to support our children’s wellbeing in the hope that there is something here you can use or adapt. In my last blog, I talked about structuring the day around the NHS 5 ways to Wellbeing. You can read on to find out how we pulled the day together.

I had managed to speak to a few of our local friends who had said they were willing to help me out and I knew that I wanted to run 5 sessions around the 5 ways to wellbeing. I sat down to think about how I could use those sessions to put together a cohesive day.

As we are a Church of England School, it seemed natural to get everyone connected by starting the day with a collective act of worship. In this, I was enormously fortunate to be able to work with a good friend of mine who had previously worked as our school chaplain. Reverend Joe is not only a fabulous vicar, but he knows how to keep children’s attention. He was kind enough to say he would be happy to lead the worship for us.

If you are not in a church school, you will not have collective worship as we do but I am sure you have assemblies or some way of getting groups of children all together. If you can find an inspiring speaker like Reverend Joe, or someone who knows how to engage your young people, I am sure that you will be able to get a connection going.

For giving to others, I turned to the charities that our children are supporting. We have a year group attached to each charity, and we asked them to come in and speak to the children about the work that they can do with the money we raise. Again, if you don’t already have named charities, perhaps you could use the day to launch something.

Giving to our charities led nicely to “Be Active” as we decided to complete a sponsored walk around our school site. We are lucky enough to have some beautiful grounds and a good deal of outside space, but you don’t need much. Our children completed laps of the school and collected sponsorship based on how many they completed.

This left two sessions to be run in classrooms by form tutors, and in my planning, I tried not to put these as consecutive sessions, even if that meant they were either side of the lunch break. I understood that asking the staff and students to stay together in the same room for two hours is not conducive to positive wellbeing for anybody.

Session four was “Mindfulness” and for this we based the session on Michael Rosen’s book “Write to Feel Right”.

( https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/portfolio/write-to-feel-right/ ). I had heard Michael speak and been blown away by his brilliance. When I had read this book, I knew it was the one for our special day.

Finally, we looked at “Learn something new”, and for this the form group came into their own. With plenty of notice, I asked form tutors to ask their form about their gifts and talents and what they felt they could teach to each other. In some forms the adult was the teacher, but in many others the pupils took complete charge. It is safe to say that everyone came away having tried something at least a little bit out of their comfort zone.

So, everything was in place, and we were all set to go. I just needed it to go to plan...

Running a Wellbeing Day in School: Tips for Planning a Successful Event

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:00:57 GMT

Discover how Kerry Bridges, Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple High School, plans and executes a successful Wellbeing Day. Learn about using the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing framework and engaging community support to promote student and staff wellbeing.

In this series of 4 blogs, I will talk about running one of the things we do in school to support our children’s wellbeing in the hope that there is something here you can use or adapt. Last time, I wrote about the importance of choosing which services to work with. This time, I will tell you about how that helped me to begin planning the day.

I had come away from the initial meeting brimming with enthusiasm. I knew that I really wanted to take full advantage of the day we had and that the focus should be on Wellbeing rather than on Mental Health. Although teaching our pupils about how to look after their mental health is a big part of what we do, it is my ambition that we are able to work on prevention. Our role in education should be to show our pupils how they can take steps to keep themselves as well as they can, both physically and mentally, but that even if they have a diagnosis of mental illness there are still things that everyone can do to support their wellbeing.

In the UK we are amazingly privileged to have open access to research based healthcare via the NHS. In our school, we focus on using commissioned services as I said in my last blog, and where better than the commissioners themselves? Since we have 5 lessons in a day, it seemed to lend itself perfectly to focusing on the NHS 5 ways to wellbeing: 5 steps to mental wellbeing - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The 5 steps are:

1) Get Connected

2) Give to Others

3) Mindfulness

4) Be Active

5) Learn Something New

Our 5 year groups also each have a charity that they are fundraising for and, from this basic idea, I started to think about how I could bring all these things together.

However, there was no chance that I would be able to do this on my own. I wanted our children to have an amazing day, but I also wanted it to be manageable for our staff. I knew that spending all day in form groups could be challenging for everyone. Of course, it was important that they did spend some time in forms, but I wanted to break up the day too. I started to think about our friends in the community who might be kind enough to help us out.

As a Church of England School, we are fortunate that we have many links with our local churches. One of our local vicars is a very close friend of our school as he started out as our School Chaplain, and I was fairly sure he would be happy to help us out. If you are not a Church school, there are bound to be similar people in your community who will be happy to help.

If not, perhaps you have parents or carers who could support you. I have always found our community amazingly supportive. I have found that it only takes one person to come on board and others will follow.

In the next blog I will talk I will talk about how we came together to plan the day.

Visual Tools for Well-being: Enhancing Communication in SEN Classrooms

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 15:14:54 GMT

Visual Tools for Well-being: Supporting SEN Learners Through Effective Communication

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."

George Bernard Shaw

How do you know what you’ve said has been understood? For our SEN children there are so many variables including difficulties with social interaction, communication and sensory sensitivities that make messages hard to understand and even harder to deliver. The Early Intervention Foundation tells us that;

"Good communication is critical to improving outcomes for children. Interventions that support effective communication skills can prevent or reduce the severity of emotional and behavioural difficulties."

As SEN teachers we rely heavily on visual aids to support good communication. The difference a visual aid can make is remarkable. From the comfort experienced by seeing the day clearly mapped out on a visual timetable; to the smile on the face of a child who is able to make a meaningful choice using an aided language board; or the pride experienced when a piece of work has been completed, supported only by a task planner.

"Approaches that create structured and predictable learning environments can significantly reduce stress and anxiety for SEN learners."

WhatWorksWell.Org

With this in mind I want to share three tools we use in an SEN setting to create a predictable environment, help pupils understand emotions and support clear communication.

o Visual timetables- a visual timetable is the focal point of any SEN classroom. They outline the entire day using pictures or symbols placed in a sequential order. We introduce each lesson or activity using the symbol and remove it once the activity has finished.

Now & Next Boards - are boards with ‘now’ written on one side and ‘next’ on the other. Underneath each heading we place a picture or symbol showing what the pupil will be doing ‘now’ and ‘next’. For example, ‘Maths’ then ‘break’. These are particularly helpful for supporting children who struggle with transitions as they break the day down into smaller digestible chunks.

Aided Language Boards - are boards with symbols and key words that enable children to make meaningful choices. For example, what would they like for lunch? They can also be populated with emotions to develop emotional literacy skills. Incorporating regulation strategies can reduce overwhelm when children are experiencing an uncomfortable emotion and help them to select an appropriate calming tool.

This is just a snapshot of some of the resources we currently use. There are many more! While we pride ourselves on making a ‘good visual’ we know that there is still work to be done to develop and embed our offer. So far we have learnt that the use of visuals is more likely to be successful when:

We create resources in collaboration with the parent/carer and child.
We teach children how to use them.
We give adequate processing time.

Research tells us that the number of pupils with SEN needs in mainstream schools is higher than ever. I wonder if there are any resources that you are already using or that can be easily transferred to the mainstream classroom? After all the EFT tells us that overall, “high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND is good quality teaching for all.”

Setting Up a Mental Health Support Network for Schools: A Guide by Kerry Bridges

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:05:24 GMT

In my last series of blogs, I wrote about setting up a Senior Mental Health Lead’s Support Network in my area. I hope that if you read those blogs you found something in them to support you in your role. In this series of 4 blogs, I will talk about one of the things we do in school to support our children’s wellbeing in the hope that there is something here you can use or adapt. Again, if you do so, please let me know. I love to hear how creative and inspiring our community are.

When I first started teaching in 1996, we really did not talk about wellbeing in school. I initially worked at a wonderful school in Nottinghamshire but the area was a mining area and there were few jobs. Our children had little to inspire them (unemployment in the area was running high at the time as a result of mine closures What happened to the Nottinghamshire coal mines? - Nottinghamshire Live (nottinghampost.com) ) . Still, they were expected to come into school and it was our job to teach them Maths and English. We rarely talked about what life would be like for them when they left, because honestly we just didn’t know.

Thank goodness things are very different now and schools are places where we support children with skills for life. Mental health is high on the agenda and looking after our wellbeing is something that we talk about all the time.

As always, there are two sides to every coin. As we look for resources to support us in our work, so there are many companies creating an offer for schools to take advantage of. Here, my advice would be to look very carefully at their credentials. There is no necessity for people working in the area to be qualified in any way and, although this does not mean they aren’t excellent at what they do, it also makes it very difficult to know how appropriate their offers might be. At our school, we are careful to try and use commissioned services or those recommended by mental health professionals in our area. If you are in any doubt, I would urge you to do the same.

Against this backdrop, our Deputy Head asked me if I would run a Mental Health Drop Down day for the whole school. Of course, I immediately said “yes”. What an excellent opportunity to introduce our children to wellbeing practices that they could embed into their day to day lives. I felt excited that there was so much we could do.

As with all amazing opportunities, I sat down to plan the day and the reality of what needed to be done hit me. I needed something that would work for 750 11 year olds, 16 year olds and everyone else in between. It was important to me that in teaching our children about wellbeing, we were not compromising that of the adults in school who were supporting them.

We would not be setting a very good example if we did that. This was perhaps going to be a bigger job than I had first envisaged!

Addressing the Impact of Racism and Radicalization on Students: A Call for Action in Schools

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 10:40:53 GMT

Surprised? By Nicola Bailey (Assistant Head Teacher)

Were you surprised? Some people’s response will be YES! They were surprised at the nationwide riots by ‘protestors’, fuelled by racialised narratives following the tragic murder of 3 young girls. However, for many, there was no shock factor, as what they witnessed was the epitome of bubbling tensions stoked by key figures, who postulated racial prejudices that falsely incriminated Global Majority communities for nationwide political and economic issues.

However, despite personal reaction to the riots, as Senior Mental Health leads, we must uphold a child-centred view of the events as in September school doors will be opened to children who have been exposed to harrowing incidents of hate-filled violence. Some may have been directly impacted, having their own or family’s houses, hometowns, places of worship etc. ransacked and violated. Others may experience a vicarious impact hearing stories or watching news clips that made them aware of the implications of the looting for people that look like them. Other children may have Global Majority friends, or relatives forcing them to process and ‘make sense’ of the protests. Then, there are the children, as young as 11, who were radicalised to openly commit acts of terrorism during their summer holidays. The words radicalisation and terrorism may sit uncomfortably with some. However, without explicit terminology highlighting the severity of the racist violence, there will remain an unchallenged denial of the growing numbers of children indoctrinated by right-wing propaganda.

Yet amidst the current racial tensions all students will be expected to amicably coexist, despite some feeling anxious, scared or angered by the riots. This is a concern as only 1/3 of teachers have received anti-racism training and less feel comfortable with managing racist incidents. Therefore, many students may be unable to access the appropriate support they need, leaving them in a psychologically vulnerable state. The vulnerability of some students is just one of many reasons why school leaders must acknowledge that racism in schools exists and that it is a safeguarding issue!

KCSIE 2024 states “All schools and colleges have a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils.”, with this in mind it is incumbent on schools to stop purporting that they are against racism and instead become anti-racist. Senior Mental Health leads can play a pivotal role in this action by creating a psychologically safe environment where educational experiences are underpinned by a culture of belonging for ALL students. This includes transparent conversations about racism with Senior leaders, alongside high-quality staff training that highlights the connections between racial experiences and mental health. Audits and reviews should be used to gain stakeholder perceptions, whilst Mental health policies and procedures should be co-produced to ensure strategies are in place to counter racism through robust curriculums and appropriate reporting and response procedures.

Without imminent action from government, education leaders and Senior Mental-health leads we will again be shocked- or maybe not, in a few years when again, our children are engulfed in race riots resembling those of the Summer of 2024.

· Nine out of ten teachers want anti-racism training, says new research from Centre for Mental Health and Not So Micro campaign - Centre for Mental Health

· Safeguarding Global Majority children in the context of KCSIE 2024 » LGfL (bookinglive.com)

· How to spot the signs your child is involved in the far right The Independent

Assessing Wellbeing in September: A Guide for Senior Mental Health Leads

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 10:56:01 GMT

Assessing Wellbeing in September: A Guide for Senior Mental Health Leads

As schools resume in September, it’s vital for Senior Mental Health Leads to take a proactive approach in assessing the wellbeing of all pupils. After the summer break, there may be significant shifts in pupils' mental health and emotional wellbeing. A holistic approach, combining evidence-informed tools and personal insights, can help guide support systems throughout the year. Here are some key strategies to help you assess the wellbeing of your pupils effectively.

Using the Three Houses Tool

The Three Houses Tool is a simple, yet powerful approach to help pupils articulate their thoughts and feelings. It involves asking children to create three metaphorical houses:

1. **House of Good Things**: What makes them happy? What do they enjoy at home and school?

2. **House of Worries**: What are their concerns? Are there aspects of school life or home that cause them stress?

3. **House of Dreams**: What are their hopes for the future? What would they like to see happen?

This method provides insight into the pupil’s emotional landscape in a non- intrusive way. It’s especially helpful for younger children or those who may struggle to express complex emotions. By visually capturing their feelings, it can highlight areas where additional support is required and create a platform for further conversations.

Employing Wellbeing Scales: Stirling and WEMWBS

Using validated measurement tools like the Stirling Children's Wellbeing Scale or the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) allows

you to assess a broad spectrum of wellbeing indicators in a structured way.

- The Stirling Scale focuses on emotional and psychological wellbeing, incorporating questions about optimism, cheerfulness, and emotional management. It is designed for children aged 8-15 and can serve as a good benchmarking tool for schools.

- The WEMWBS assesses mental wellbeing in both children and adolescents, measuring things like self-esteem, stress, and emotional resilience. This scale can be administered across the school to gauge the overall wellbeing of pupils and help track progress throughout the year.

By collecting and reviewing data from these scales, schools can identify common trends, potential risk factors, and key areas where targeted intervention may be necessary.

Initial Meeting: What Do Pupils Enjoy and What Don’t They Enjoy?

An initial meeting with each pupil at the start of the term is a great way to establish rapport and gain insight into their personal experiences. Ask questions like, “What activities do you enjoy in school?” or “What parts of school do you find difficult?” By opening the floor to these reflections, you empower the pupils to express themselves in a meaningful way.

This can also serve as a foundation for targeted support. For example, a pupil who expresses enjoyment in social activities may benefit from more group work, while those who dislike specific areas like unstructured time may need additional guidance on coping strategies.

Question: "One Thing I Want My Teacher to Know"

A highly effective tool for building teacher-pupil relationships is the "One Thing I Want My Teacher to Know" question. Ask each pupil to write down or share something they would like their teacher to be aware of, whether that’s a personal challenge, a strength, or a simple preference. This creates a direct line of communication between teachers and pupils, fostering understanding and empathy.

This approach helps teachers make small adjustments in the classroom that could significantly improve a pupil's learning environment, whether it's seating arrangements, acknowledging personal interests, or being mindful of sensitive topics.

Leverage the Bounce Together Platform

Bounce Together is a wellbeing measurement platform that can be particularly useful for schools looking to gather and analyse wellbeing data efficiently. The platform offers a range of assessment tools that can be tailored to the needs of individual schools, such as mood trackers and resilience surveys.

By using Bounce Together, schools can monitor both individual and collective wellbeing, track improvements over time, and ensure that interventions are making a measurable difference.

The platform also provides real-time insights, helping you make data-driven decisions and adapt your wellbeing strategies as needed.

Website Link below:-

Bouncetogether

Conclusion

Assessing pupil wellbeing in September is a crucial step for setting a positive tone for the rest of the school year. By using tools like the Three Houses method, Stirling Scale, and WEMWBS, coupled with personal reflections and platforms like Bounce Together, you can create a comprehensive wellbeing assessment framework.

Taking the time to listen to what pupils enjoy, what challenges they face, and what they want their teachers to know will make them feel supported, valued, and more ready to engage in school life.

Building a Support Network for Senior Mental Health Leads: Strategies and Success Stories

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 15:38:18 GMT

Creating a Collaborative Community: Establishing a Support Network for Senior Mental Health Leads

In 2023, I decided to start up a Senior Mental Health Lead’s Support Network in my area. In this series of 6 blogs, I talk about why I wanted to do that (and how it didn’t always go to plan) in the hope that it will give you some inspiration if you would like to do something similar.

In my last blog, I wrote about finding relevant speakers and making sure that the group stays relevant. It can be tricky to balance this when we have some people who have attended from the beginning and new members every month. I don’t want the same people to come every time, but I am aware that we need to be inviting people that can add value to the group. Last time, I wrote about the commissioned services that we have links with. This time, I wanted to share what I did to look for other people who we might work well with.

Since the group was now growing, we had more of a snowball effect. People were talking about us to colleagues and more people were coming along to attend. Our local EPO (Education Partnership Officer What is TASS - Lancashire County Council) contacted me to talk about the group and shared it in her newsletter. Once more, we were bringing new people in.

At this point, I read a book about Boy’s Mental Health (Boys Do Cry: Improving Boys' Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools: Amazon.co.uk) I felt that this was something that I was not covering as well as I would like to in my school. I decided I would look around and see what was available which led me to X (Twitter) and The Preston Men’s Mental Health Network Preston Men’s Mental Health Network / X) . Again, if you are not in our area, I am sure there will be a similar group near you. Hazel from the group put me in touch with the incredible Sam Tyrer and Change Talks (Change Talks : Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (lscft.nhs.uk)) and we had a brilliant presentation from Mindset by Dave.

Whilst you may not be able to access Sam and Dave in your area, I am sure there will be groups around who would love to link in with you. X has been a great place to find people but I also recommend linking in with your local CFWS (Children and Family Wellbeing Service - Lancashire County Council).

At one of our High School meetings, I met Susie from Lancashire Positive Minds. Susie is an amazing parent who saw a gap in the support for families in the same way that I saw a gap in the support for education professionals. She and Jenny from the group came to present at our last meeting after I was looking for someone to support our parents. Their group does amazing work in our local community and it was humbling to hear from them.

Sam and Dave and Susie and Jenny don’t (yet) run groups that are accessible in every area but there will be people like them near you who are happy to come and talk to your group. We have so many people who are kind enough to come and work with us and you will be able to find people in your area too who are just as amazing. You really only have to ask.

Setting Up a Support Network for Senior Mental Health Leads

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 15:23:36 GMT

Insights and Strategies

In the last blog, I wrote about “ the magic in the room ”. How getting together and supporting each other is absolutely vital in this role. This time I am going to share how I keep the group useful and relevant.

So perhaps you have read my other blogs and are thinking that I have overcome all my difficulties. Now that the group is up and running, it does feel a little less stressful. At least I am no longer waking up in the night worrying that nobody will come!

However, I do want to keep the group useful and relevant so as well as the networking part, I have also tried to bring in external speakers and guests to talk about things that may help us. If you are thinking of starting a group, perhaps some of these ideas may be useful to you and I am sure that you will have others. Please do share them with me and perhaps we can talk about them in a future blog.

At our first meeting, we found that a lot of the group were struggling to get their referrals accepted. To combat this, I invited our PMHW ( Healthy Young Minds :: Primary Mental Health Workers (healthyyoungmindslsc.co.uk) team to come in and do a presentation for us. They were very happy to support us because, of course, it helps them if the referral is complete and relevant. The session was very well received and our group found that not only were our referrals better quality, but we also understood better the challenges also faced by the PMHW team and were able to improve relationships between us all as a direct result. This has been a very happy result of our relationships with our speakers; it’s definitely much easier to have a conversation with someone if you’ve met them already.

Our next speaker was from our EMHP team ( Education mental health practitioner | Health Careers ) Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: agreenpaper - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . If you are lucky enough to have a team in your area, I really recommend linking up with them. We refer many of our children to them and have brilliantly successful outcomes. They can also come in and do assemblies, workshops and offer support to parents. They really are fantastic. For our session, the service lead came in to talk to us about a whole school audit. If you have an EMHP team attached to your school, they may offer an audit with you. If not, there are a few online that you might find useful (such as the one here: Implementing the whole school approach: audit tool and action plan : Mentally Healthy Schools ). Personally, I really like a framework to refer to, so I found this tool very supportive.

I wanted to finish this month’s blog by going back to why I started the network in the first place. I wanted it to be a place of support and connections.

There are people at all different stages of their journeys and we come together to offer friendship and a listening ear. Bringing in representatives from our local commissioned groups has helped us to understand their roles more and for them to understand us. These connections allow us to offer a better experience for the young people in all our settings.

This is the reason we do what we do!

Setting Up a Support Network for Mental Health Leads: Insights and Experiences

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 12:49:39 GMT

Kerry Bridges has been the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in Preston, Lancashire since 2021 but part of the Pastoral and Safeguarding Teams for a great deal longer.

She is happy to talk about supporting wellbeing in schools all day long and has a particular interest in staff wellbeing.

Last time in the blog, I reflected on the difficulties I had in being able to reach the right people. I wonder if in education we could do a better job of linking between schools. Perhaps that is a blog for another time.

In any case, at the second network meeting there were 10 people and from then on we have grown and grown. We have people from all types of school (primary to special schools), who do all sorts of jobs in school (from Deputy Heads to non-teaching pastoral staff) and who usually have more than one role in school (we are often also part of the safeguarding team, for example). This does mean that members of the group aren’t always able to attend every meeting (sometimes people are on their way and a crisis happens at school and they have to turn around and go back). I think this is a great demonstration of why a group like ours is so needed as I really feel that a big part of our network’s role is the support that we give to each other.

So, when we have finally all arrived, what actually happens at the network?

Again, because we often have new people joining, we usually spend some time discussing our own settings and what our current challenges are. Our original meetings were an hour long, but we found that this was not long enough for us even to just network. We currently do meet in a room with one long table so we go around and share our stories. Of course, it doesn’t really work like that either. We will start talking and other people will join in with their stories and we will all offer our experiences and support. We may not be able to solve the problem but it definitely helps us feel we are not alone.

I run the group via email and we do share our email addresses. I think that’s really important so that we never feel that we are on our own; there is always someone to reach out to if we just want to see that we have covered everything.

As we were discussing sharing support and resources, I looked for a way that we could do this online. I am also a Maths teacher and as I was looking on X (Twitter) one day, I came across a padlet with Maths resources on. I realised that we could do something similar for our group so I made one which you can find here: Senior Mental Health Lead Shared Resources (padlet.com) Some of these resources are specific to Lancashire but a lot of them anyone can access. Please do feel free to copy this one and make it your own. I’d love you to share with me what you have made.

I think the point of this blog is that sharing experiences and resources is really key. Again, there might be something great that someone down the road is using but you know nothing about. Why not meet up and ask them?

You could be the start of your own network. If you do start one, please let me know how you are getting on. I would love to hear from you.

Building a Mental Health Leads Network: Lessons from Kerry Bridges

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:53:49 GMT

Setting up a network for Mental Health Leads

Intro

Blog

If you do and would like some support or to share your journey, please feel free to get in touch with me. I would love to hear your stories.

In last month’s blog , I described how I had had the idea to set up the network and invited people to attend but hardly anyone came. At that point, I might well have decided that it wasn’t such a great idea after all and that perhaps nobody wanted to be part of a group like mine. In fact, it really did make me even more determined to succeed. I had looked for a group like mine and hadn’t been able to find one. I had told people that the group was running and I really didn’t want to let anyone down. I decided that there must be another way to find the people we wanted to support.

I have told you about this because if you are thinking of starting a group, don’t be surprised if something similar happens. Perhaps it might not, particularly as there are more groups around even now and more people are accessing their training Senior mental health lead training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . However, if it does happen, please don’t be despondent. Go back to the drawing board, there will definitely be something you can change.

What I decided was that I had relied too much on other people to be spreading the word. Our group now grows with every meeting and people are always inviting friends and colleagues to come along, but originally, I had just gone onto the PMHW group meeting and expected them to reach lots of relevant people. Reflecting back, I realise that I did not really know about marketing (I’m a teacher so it’s not really a surprise) and how hard you have to work to start the ball rolling. I thought I would just tell people and they would come along. I didn’t really have a good strategy as to how to contact these people or where they might be. And I really had no idea who to ask.

Armed with this lack of knowledge, it is quite amazing that the group has got off the ground! Nevertheless, never one to know when to give in gracefully, I decided that I would just contact all the schools myself. I got the email addresses for all the Headteachers in schools in the Lancashire area from our Head’s amazing PA, and I spent 2 hours one evening sending emails to every single one of them. I had no idea if they would even get through, but I had to do something. I spoke to other people who I did know in schools and got email addresses from them for the Senior Mental Health leads or DSLs. If anyone told me they worked in children’s mental health in school, they got an email. In short, if you were in Lancashire, the chances are you got an email from me!

The good news is that people are still joining our group every month. These people’s schools will have been a part of my original email list and yet have never heard of the group until someone mentions it to them. I have learned that email marketing is effective (some stats here if you are interested: The Ultimate List of Email Marketing Stats for 2023 (hubspot.com) but it doesn’t guarantee to get to the person you want it to get to. I’ve learned that doesn’t matter as long as you send a lot of emails! If you want people to come along to your group, you have got to be able to accept that you will also invest a lot of time and energy in inviting people who won’t.

And you have to keep going when it might well be past time to give up!

Leading the Charge: Emma Buckle's Insights on Supporting Student Mental Health in Secondary Schools

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:37:01 GMT

Name:

Emma Buckle

Role:

Assistant Headteacher at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School in Kingstanding. I have been the Senior Mental Health Lead for 2 years but have been on the Senior Leadership Team for 6. I lead on both pupil and staff wellbeing across the school; I am a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a passionate History teacher. I am therefore well placed to comment on the current issues/challenges surrounding leading on mental health in the secondary sector.

Targeted support and appropriate referrals

In this blog I will focus on some of the support we offer in school to those pupils who appear on our radar with mental health concerns.

In-house support

It is important to build a team around you in which a number of different staff - teaching and support - assist the students with their mental health needs. Here at Cardinal Wiseman, which is a small 11-16 secondary school with approximately 800 students, we have a relatively large Designated Safeguarding team of 8 staff, and a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) team of 6 staff. Note - There is some overlap between the two groups. The school paid for each member of the MHFA team to have specific training in this area - all attended an intensive 2 day Mental Health First Aid course. Pupils and parents know who these staff are, and other staff members will refer students to these teams. The teams are promoted at every opportunity - i.e. Year 7 Induction Evening; the school website; the school prospectus; the newsletter; assemblies etc. Within the Special Educational Needs department we also have 2 staff members who have trained or are currently training to become counsellors. These staff have their own caseload of students they support.

Here at Cardinal Wiseman we have worked hard to build a supportive and inclusive environment in which all staff and pupils are taught the importance of recognising their own mental health needs and the needs of others. Mental health has a high status within the school. As previously mentioned in my other blogs, staff have been given a lot of training in this area. Following a training session with Anna Bateman which all staff attended at the end of last year, certain staff commented on how they felt better prepared to support pupils with their mental health following the training.

“The session has helped me to develop my skills in interacting with students in my role as Assistant Head of Year, and understand the difference I can make if I work on my approach”; “I now have a greater appreciation of the potential reasons behind the behaviours some pupils who might be labelled as 'problem children' might display”; “The discussions surrounding the parts of the brain that deal with different scenarios has made me consider the reactions pupils will have and how to approach them in different ways”.

Note - It goes without saying that staff are given comprehensive safeguarding training each year and know when something needs to be referred to the DSL team, rather than dealt with by themselves.

External providers

Current mental health waiting times for teenagers in the UK are a significant concern. According to the latest reports, more than a quarter of a million children and young people are still waiting for mental health support after being referred to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services. YoungMinds, a leading mental health charity, has highlighted the severe impact of these delays, including deteriorating mental health conditions and even suicide attempts among young people due to the long wait for support. More than half of the young people surveyed by the charity reported that their mental health worsened while waiting to access mental health services. In a bid to support our students, I have been proactive in making links with a number of external providers, who then offer counselling services to our students in school. One such link is with Birmingham City University (BCU) who send student counsellors to us for one of their school placements. Initial assessments were made at the end of the autumn term, and the BCU student then started meeting with our Cardinal Wiseman pupils in the spring term. She will be with us until July and has a caseload of 5 students she meets with on a weekly. I would suggest making contact with universities in your area to see if they can offer something similar.

In addition to this, we have started working with Compass Mental Health Support Team (MHST). They offer free, confidential support to Children, Young People and Families with mild to moderate emotional health and wellbeing needs in the local area. The school and/or parents identify a young person they think has a need, a referral is completed and then a representative from Compass completes an assessment. If the young person meets the necessary criteria they can start a weekly counselling session in school. At the moment we have 4 students who are receiving support from Compass. Compass has also had a presence at every parent's evening this year, and next academic year we plan on running parent drop-in sessions and parent workshops in conjunction with them.

Further suggested reading

● For more information on Compass MHST click on the following link: Click HERE

● The following webpage from Mind explores the lack of mental health support in some secondary schools: Click HERE

Fostering Inclusive Reading in Schools: Safeguarding Emotional Wellbeing

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 15:01:56 GMT

Discover how schools can safeguard students against emotional harm by fostering inclusive reading environments. Learn about the importance of racial literacy, the impact of culturally insensitive literature, and strategies for creating a curriculum that inspires and celebrates diversity.

Reading for pleasure?

Recently, a friend told me how she was stunned into silence when a chair of trustees declared that despite the opposition towards a controversial book, due to its use of racial slurs, it was a good text and should remain within the curriculum. This was despite the school comprising of 97% Global Majority children, 35% of whom are Black. Another colleague told me how, during a learning walk she had asked what the class were reading. After a pensive pause a student responded “Miss, you don’t want to know. This book is racist!

Ideally these would be isolated incidents but unfortunately, across the country, children are still being asked to sit in classrooms and read books filled with one of the most hateful racist slurs in history.

As professionals, safeguarding students against emotional abuse is a statutory requirement. Therefore, schools should provide learning environments where children are safe from emotional harm, so they can flourish and confidently move towards the next stage of their life. A foundation for this is learning opportunities that are underpinned by a curriculum that inspires and enthuses students to engage creatively and intuitively with others and explore diverse ideas and identities.

At a recent conference I heard the curriculum described as a 2-way mirror where pupils see themselves reflected in what they learn whilst looking out into a world of opportunities. However, if a student is presented with reading materials that depicts them and people that look like them in a degrading and demeaning manner, it should be questioned what mirror images are being reinforced to those students? Furthermore, what stereotypical windows are being opened to their peers? By using literature that invokes direct and vicarious racial trauma due to its language and negative connotations, some educators are failing to provide emotional safeguards within their classrooms. Often, this occurs due to a lack of awareness of the emotional impact on students’ wellbeing when presented with material that is culturally insensitive as it may leave them open to ridicule and self-deprecation. Teachers being unaware of this impact, further highlights the necessity for racial literacy training for all teachers. A racially literate professional would ensure their resources are inclusive, promotes self-discovery and an exploration of knowledge in a positive and constructive manner. This has never and can never be achieved by using hateful words and a demeaning rhetoric towards any race.

As reading is currently an educational priority now is an opportune moment for English departments to remove archaic schemes of work under the guise of learning about racism. Instead, schools can work alongside stakeholders to co-produce reading curriculums that offer texts which are reflective of all students, with protagonists from all races that inspire positive self-worth and a desire to learn more about their peers.

Literature should be used as a gateway to new worlds, therefore, as students see themselves positively referenced and celebrated through texts, the desire to read more to know more will become an intriguing and enjoyable experience, that ignites the true meaning of reading for pleasure.

Resources

Lit in colour Lit in Colour | Supporting inclusive reading in schools (penguin.co.uk)
Teaching diversity through reading in primary schools Teaching diversity through reading in primary schools (schoolreadinglist.co.uk)
Diverse Fiction for Secondary schools Diverse Fiction for Secondary Schools - MBE Books

Setting up a network for Mental Health Leads

Mon, 20 May 2024 08:49:31 GMT

Building a Support Network for Senior Mental Health Leads: Challenges, Inspirations, and Insights from Kerry Bridges at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School

If you do and would like some support or to share your journey, please feel free to get in touch with me. I would love to hear your stories.

In last month’s blog, I talked about feeling on my own in the role of Senior Mental Health lead and how I wanted to set up a network for like minded people in my area. Of course, I had no experience of doing anything like that before but once again, I had plenty of enthusiasm and motivation to succeed.

In our area, the Primary Mental Health Team Healthy Young Minds: Primary Mental Health Workers (healthyyoungmindslsc.co.uk) had set up a Mental Health Champions meeting which our Pastoral support worker and I attended. At the end of the session, I decided that it was “now or never” and approached the team with my idea. I wondered if they might let me present to the group next time.

At this point, I should say that I had already built up a relationship with our PMHW team so I don’t think they were that surprised that I wanted to do something and they were very willing to help. If you are thinking along similar lines, I highly recommend getting in contact with your local services and asking them if they will let you jump in on anything they are doing. Even if they don’t have something going already, they may love the idea and want to do something similar. On the absolute outside, it’s great to have someone else to bounce ideas off.

In any case, they very kindly let me talk about my group at their next Champions meeting. Unfortunately (and following on from what I was saying in my last blog about being the only people with the full picture), they introduced the group as for “anyone who has completed the Senior Mental Health Lead training” (Senior mental health lead training - GOV.UK ( www.gov.uk) . This lead to a flurry of emails asking me what the training even was, let alone people actually having accessed it. I realised that there was less understanding around the role than I had previously considered.

Nevertheless, I planned my first meeting for 4pm on a Monday, ordered coffee and cakes and waited in anticipation to see who would arrive. By 4:30, the total number of attendees including me and our PMHW link was 3. It was pretty clear that nobody else was coming. I started to think that perhaps everybody else knew exactly what they were doing, didn’t need support and it really was just me.

As it transpired, not only did other people need the support but the issue was that a lot of them had not even got as far as I had. When they had been told the group was for trained SMHLs, they felt that it would not be accessible to them. I realised that something needed to change and I wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet so I went back to the drawing board.

Setting up a network for Mental Health Leads

Thu, 02 May 2024 10:47:39 GMT

Kerry Bridges has been the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in Preston, Lancashire since 2021 but part of the Pastoral and Safeguarding Teams for a great deal longer.

She is happy to talk about supporting wellbeing in schools all day long and has a particular interest in staff wellbeing.

In 2023, I decided to start up a Senior Mental Health Lead’s Support Network in my area. In this series of 6 blogs, I will talk about why I wanted to do that (and how it didn’t always go to plan) in the hope that it will give you some inspiration if you would like to do something similar.

If you do and would like some support or to share your journey, please feel free to get in touch with me. I would love to hear your stories.

Having been a member and then leader in the Pastoral team in school for the past 15 years, I was very excited to see the green paper on Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision in 2017.

I spoke to my line manager and Head Teacher and we all decided that I would be the best person to take on the new Designated Mental Health Lead role. I was sent the information about the training and completed my Certificate in Child and Adolescent Mental Health training with Trauma Informed Schools UK in January 2022. I was all ready to make an impact on my school and our community. My Head Teacher is absolutely brilliant and supports whatever is right for our children. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

I am sure this will resonate with a lot of you reading this blog. There were some amazing people that I met when I was doing my training. I saw some brilliant ideas of what schools were offering and what could be done. It was fantastic to be with like minded people who were facing the same day to day concerns as me and to share ideas and good practice. Some of them may well have been you.

When I came back into school though, I started to feel that I was on my own. Although everyone could see the value of what I was doing and wanted to support me, they weren’t aware of the work that I was doing on a day to day basis and I didn’t have that sense of community and belonging that I had had on my training. There was nobody to say, “that’s good, but this would be even better” or “have you thought about this way of doing things?”

Government guidance for Employers ( Employers and Loneliness , pub. May 2021) draws on research around the negative effects on loneliness in the workplace (lower wellbeing and productivity costing employers £665 million in 2021 for example). Even researching that statistic brought home to me how many people must feel the same, and schools are no different to any other employers.

I wanted to come up with a creative solution that would support me going forwards but I also really wanted to find other people in the same position. I knew that they were probably feeling exactly the same and we could perhaps work together. Our Primary Mental Health Team were setting up a Mental Health Champions session to bring together local offers and end users to showcase what is available in our area. I started to think that I might be able to do something similar but specifically for education.

Promoting Mental Health and Training at Cardinal Wiseman: A Focus on Staff Development

Thu, 02 May 2024 09:06:23 GMT

Discover Cardinal Wiseman's dedication to staff development through mental health prioritisation and training, as part of Public Health England’s 8 Principles. Learn how we empower our educators to support their wellbeing and enhance student support in our two-part blog series."

These snippets are designed to be informative and engaging, summarising the content of the blog post and making it clear to potential readers what they can expect to learn about

Name: Emma Buckle

Role: Assistant Headteacher at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School in Kingstanding. I have been the Senior Mental Health Lead for 2 years, but have been on the Senior Leadership Team for 6. I lead on both pupil and staff wellbeing across the school; I am a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a passionate History teacher. I am therefore well placed to comment on the current issues / challenges surrounding leading on mental health in the secondary sector.

____________________________________________________________

Staff Development

This month I will focus on the ‘Staff Development’ part of Public Health England’s 8 Principles. We have done a lot of work at Cardinal Wiseman in recent years, encouraging staff to prioritise their own mental health, and providing them with training on how they can better support the students with their varied wellbeing needs. I will therefore split this part of the blog into two sections, with the first focusing specifically on the wellbeing of our staff body, and the second the training we have provided so that our staff feel more confident with supporting the students.

Prioritising staff wellbeing

Good staff wellbeing is essential to the success of a school; a school cannot function without its staff! Just as an artist or engineer would look after the tools of their trade, we have a commitment to look after the tools of our trade, which is us, the staff body!

We have a vision at Cardinal Wiseman in which staff work hard, spend a manageable amount of time on the activities that make a difference to pupil lives and do this in a positive working environment. To show our commitment to this vision we have a staff wellbeing lead on the Senior Leadership Team, a staff wellbeing link governor and staff wellbeing is discussed at every governor meeting. It is also an agenda item at every Head of Year, Head of Department and subject department meeting. Staff wellbeing is promoted on our school website and every new member of staff - including our trainee teachers - has a discussion on the importance of staff wellbeing as part of their induction into the school.

Every member of staff also has access to our Employee Assistance Programme, provided by the Education Support Partnership, which is advertised - along with other staff wellbeing materials - on our staff wellbeing board in the staffroom. Each new member of staff, and those returning from a period of significant leave, such as maternity or paternity leave, are inducted back into the school and given a ‘buddy’ - basically a friendly face and supportive ear - who can support them on their Cardinal Wiseman journey. I would suggest that Cardinal Wiseman is extremely proactive with regards to our staff wellbeing, introducing many of these initiatives long before the DFE (Department for Education) published its Staff Wellbeing Charter.

The DFE Staff Wellbeing Charter is a set of guidelines to promote the physical and mental wellbeing of education employees. It outlines various principles and initiatives aimed at supporting staff members in maintaining a healthy work-life balance, managing stress, accessing resources for mental health support, fostering a positive workplace culture, and promoting overall wellbeing. The specifics of the charter may vary depending on the organisation's priorities and the needs of its workforce but the 12 main principles are shown in the image below.

A good starting point for establishing your staff wellbeing priorities is gathering feedback from your staff body via a questionnaire or staff voice group exercise. Cardinal Wiseman also has a Staff Wellbeing Committee made up of volunteers, whose function is to gather information from staff on various different topics and then use this feedback to inform and shape practice. One of the first things this committee did was to create a ‘Staff Email Protocol document’ - I agree that this is not the most catchy name - which seeks to set clear boundaries around communication in the school. The driving force behind this document was the creation of a better work-life balance for our staff - i.e. emails are not to be sent outside of the hours of 8am-6pm and never at the weekend -, and the reduction in the amount of email traffic staff have to read and reply to which was causing unnecessary stress.

Other initiatives I have adopted over the last few years include: A training session specifically for staff on their own wellbeing, in which staff were told why their well being needed to be prioritised and we used the Mind Wellness Action Plan template to assist staff in identifying their wellbeing needs and encouraging a dialogue around this with their line managers; staff voice group meetings specifically for support staff (support staff can feel forgotten about or second best at times in some schools and will often have different needs / concerns to teaching staff); a self defence training session for our female staff, following some of the disturbing stories on attacks on women in the news; a talk from a nurse about the impact the menopause can have on our female colleagues; and a spotlight on men’s mental health to coincide with Mov-ember.

Staff wellbeing should not be a tokenistic add-on, it needs to be an integral part of the ethos and culture of the school. Everyone who works in education knows that it is a demanding job, but staff should feel as though they are able to thrive in their roles by working in a supportive and caring school environment.

Further suggested reading:

● For more information on the government’s Staff Wellbeing Charter follow the link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter

● You can read more about the EAP we use at Cardinal Wiseman here:

https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-your-staff/employee-assistance-programme/

● You can read more about the Mind Wellness Action Plans here:

https://www.mind.org.uk/media/12145/mind-wellness-action-plan-workplace.pdf

Racial Literacy in Education: Cultivating Hope and Change for Global Majority Children

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 14:40:54 GMT

HOPE!

For many decades the discussion of race and education has been a contentious issue underpinned by headlines and statistics that often reflect very little hope for Global Majority children navigating the current education system. This is due to data for Global Majority children traditionally being centred around high exclusions (6 times more likely for black boys, figures trebled for black girls last year), academic underperformance, increasing numbers of Mental health and over representation in the youth criminal justice system. These figures run alongside an exodus of Global Majority teachers from the profession and an underrepresentation of Global Majority Senior leaders in positions where their voices are needed.

However, for hope to be restored and a reversal of dismal statistics there needs to be a greater emphasis on staff developing their knowledge and understanding around the complexities of race and how it impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of Global Majority children. Therefore, a starting point for schools committed to improving the educational trajectory for their Global Majority students should be the development of their own and staff’s racial literacy (the capacity of teachers to understand the ways in which race and racism work in society, and to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to implement that understanding in teaching practice. (Runnymede Trust 2020).

In her 2020 research paper Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, identified 6 steps towards becoming Racially Literate beginning with Critical love, the basic concept of being committed to wanting to do the right thing for the students in your care. As SMHL if this is our starting premise then we have already begun to establish some hope for our Global Majority children.

The next steps are Critical Humility then Critical Reflection which reaffirms that this is a process without fast-track options. In these phases you should be curious and may speak with Global Majority friends, colleagues or students but don’t ask for recounts of traumatic racial experiences in a bid to learn what you can discover within the pages of a book.

The next step Critical literacy is our commitment to the learning process. For some staff this may be a daunting experience as they may be presented with concepts that may leave them feeling vulnerable and resistant to change. However, these feelings can be refocused by taking positive actions. Such actions include, selecting relevant resources such as books, webinars, and courses to increase your knowledge and enhance your understanding.

The penultimate step of Archaeology of self is a deep exploration of ourselves before we reach the final stage of Interruption, which is the point we decide current practices and systems must change.

Developing racial literacy cultivates an adjusted professional and personal lens for staff supporting the needs of Global Majority children. This is vital for your role and is imperative for Global Majority children who are hopeful that you will use your racial literacy skills to invoke changes in practice that will change the narrative, statistics and outcomes relating to their future.

Resource Links

Racial Literacy: A Policy Research Brief produced by the James R. Squire Office of the National Council of Teachers of English SquireOfficePolicyBrief_RacialLiteracy_April2021.pdf (ncte.org)

The Cost of Not Being Racially Literate The cost of not being racially literate diversity equality inclusion Black Lives Matters political impartiality guidance teaching learning pedagogy racial literacy (sec-ed.co.uk)

Race and Racism in Schools Race and Racism in Secondary Schools (runnymedetrust.org)

Written by Nicola Nicholls

Innovative Wellbeing Practices in Secondary Education: Emma Buckle's Insights

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 10:41:14 GMT

SMHL Secondary Blog

Role: Assistant Headteacher at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School in Kingstanding. I have been the Senior Mental Health Lead for 2 years, but have been on the Senior Leadership Team for 6. I lead on both pupil and staff wellbeing across the school; I am a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a passionate History teacher. I am therefore well placed to comment on the current issues/challenges surrounding leading on mental health in the secondary sector.

Other methods of identifying need and monitoring impact

My blog last month focussed specifically on our use of the BREATHE survey in school to identify mental health/wellbeing needs and then plan interventions. Today I will focus on the other methods we use:

a) The whole school ‘letter to self’ activity: Part way through the Autumn term of 2023, all students from Years 7-11 were asked to write a letter to themselves, this was something we had done in the past with Year 7 but never with the whole school all at once. The pupils were told that the letters would be read by certain staff members and they were asked to comment upon their current feelings and emotions, as well as their plans/hopes for the future. The activity was loosely structured around the ‘Three Houses’ screening tool, with the House of Worries, House of Good Things and House of Dreams. Note - I am aware that some of the students might not have been honest about their feelings because they knew that the letter was going to be read by an adult, however I still feel that it was a valuable activity to undertake especially as I involved form tutors in the reading of the letters.

For me the purpose of the task was two-fold:

1) To identify safeguarding/wellbeing concerns that might not be on our radar - and it did do just that, and

2) to enable form tutors to get to know their pupils better, building stronger working relationships with their tutees and therefore being better placed to support the wellbeing of these pupils. I blocked out some time on the Continuous Professional Development calendar for the reading of the letters and each pastoral team was supported by a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a Mental

Health First Aider Note - The giving over of time was important because I didn’t want staff to feel as though this was just an extra task they had to fit into their working day. It was important they were given enough time to give the letters the necessary attention.

The letters were ‘triaged’ and colour coded, with ‘Reds’ going to a DSL, ‘Ambers’ the Heads of Year / Assistant HOY or wider pastoral teams, and ‘Greens’ the form tutor or placed under the heading of ‘no further action’. In addition to this, HOY were asked to pass general ‘themes’ affecting the wellbeing of each year group onto me, and in response to this I have planned/am planning a number of further interventions - i.e. For Years 10 and 11 the focus has been on exam stress and coping mechanisms, and Year 9 girls self-esteem and friendship issues. Following on from this activity, I also think we need to do more work around transitioning the new Year 7 cohort into secondary school life in September 2024.

From a leadership perspective it was a useful exercise to undertake with the staff body, acting as impromptu CPD, helping staff to understand the different levels of concern and when they need to pass the issue onto the safeguarding team.

b) Whole school pupil voice: This is completed by every child across the school at two specific points in the year - January and June. The Senior Leadership Team create a questionnaire on various aspects of school life (pastoral and academic) and the pupils have a period to complete it in school. Note - It is important to factor this task into the school timetable so that every child in the school is given the chance to complete the questionnaire, and it helps to ensure that the students actually put some thought into their answers.

The questions I asked specifically about mental health are listed below. The responses allowed me to get a good grasp of whether or not the pupils were hearing the key messages we are trying to promote around mental health in school and then plan for the next steps. The question with the scale is useful in shedding light on any mental health issues we are not yet aware of. Those who marked themselves lower down the scale were seen by a DSL, Mental Health First Aider or wider pastoral teams. In the summer of 2023 I noted that pupils who identified as being a different gender or as being gender fluid marked themselves lower down the wellbeing scale. From this, a number of interventions have been put into place, such as the establishment of the LGBTQ+ club on a Monday after-school.

In addition to all of the above, or perhaps instead of, my aim before we finish for the summer is to explore some of the online wellbeing applications and questionnaires which can be bought in. I need to weigh up the cost of such a resource against the impact it will have in improving the lives of our students.

Further suggested reading:

The following link explains how to use the 3 Houses (and similar assessment tools): CLICK HERE

The following link will take you to the Anna Freud website and shows you some sample questionnaires you could use with secondary school stu dents: CLICK HERE

Introduction Getting Started

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:18:55 GMT

Name:

Emma Buckle

Role:

Assistant Headteacher at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School in Kingstanding. I have been the Senior Mental Health Lead for 2 years, but have been on the Senior Leadership Team for 6. I lead on both pupil and staff wellbeing across the school; I am a Designated Safeguarding Lead and a passionate History teacher. I am therefore well placed to comment on the current issues/challenges surrounding leading on mental health in the secondary sector.

Introduction: Getting started

One of the first things I did as the new Senior Mental Health Lead at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School was devise an action plan based on Public Health England’s 8 Principles for adopting a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. See below.

Cardinal Wiseman is situated in a deprived area of Birmingham; this adds another dimension to our mental health provision and the needs of our school community. Evidence suggests that the fall-out from the COVID pandemic disproportionately affected those from disadvantaged backgrounds, females and those with previous mental health issues. Analysis of our safeguarding monitoring system shows that the majority of the entries are for mental health related concerns. Mental health is indeed a big issue that impacts our school body every day.

Mental Health can feel like an insurmountable concern to address, with too many pupils to help and too many initiatives/guidelines to keep abreast of, and so the biggest piece of advice I can give a Senior Mental Health Lead is to develop a 3 year action plan in which you tackle 2 or 3 ongoing issues at a time. Brainstorm everything you would like to achieve in your role and then prioritise what needs to be done in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3.

My priorities for Cardinal Wiseman this academic year are:

1. The early identification of mental health issues so that appropriate support can be put in place quickly - I will address how we are doing this in my next blog ;

2. Increasing the protective factors which surround the pupils, helping them to become more resilient/proactive with their own mental health;

3. Developing an open and supportive culture so that staff, pupils and parents alike feel empowered to discuss mental health related issues - free from judgement and stigmatisation. Whole staff training is an integral part of this.

Time is precious in a school environment. Carving out time/space to promote mental health whole school can feel like a challenge; teachers, especially in a secondary setting, see their priority as their subject area, and that is why having your Headteacher and governing body on board is paramount. At Cardinal Wiseman, mental health is a permanent agenda item at governors and SLT meetings. It features on the School Development Plan and there is a specific mental health section on the school website. If you are struggling to get the ‘powers that be’ on board, show them that there are strong links between mental health and attendance, mental health and attainment, mental health and behaviour, happiness, confidence etc. Emphasise the correlation between emotional wellbeing and cognitive development/learning, as well as a child’s physical and social health. Adopting a whole school approach to mental health will be ‘win-win’ for everyone in school!

Staff need up-skilling on mental health issues - how to identify them and how to support pupils (in line with a school’s safeguarding procedures). Create an ethos and environment which promotes wellbeing at every opportunity. The drip-feed effect can work wonders if you are struggling for time. For staff add a mental health slide to briefings; share key pupil information so that staff can adapt their practice where necessary; introduce ‘staff shorts’, top tips on how to address specific mental health issues. For parents, have a ‘presence’ at parents evenings; a hand-out or stand which highlights what parents/carers can do to support their children through the issues they might encounter.

In the next blog, I will address what I am doing at Cardinal Wiseman to try and identify mental health issues at an early stage before they manifest into something bigger.

Further suggested reading:

- ‘Promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing’ on the GOV.UK website. - The ‘Anna Freud Mentally Healthy Schools’ website has a number of articles which are useful.

Whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:56:46 GMT

Senior Mental Health Lead Blog by Emma Buckle

Name:

Emma Buckle

Role:

Identifying Need and Monitoring Impact

As mentioned in my previous blog, I have based my mental health whole school approach on Public Health England’s 8 Principles (see below).

Today I am going to focus on how we, at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, identify mental health needs amongst our student population, put in interventions and then monitor impact. The blog will focus specifically on the BREATHE Wellbeing Census for Birmingham Schools and how we have used this survey to inform our practise for the past two years. 2023-24 will be our 3rd year of running the survey.

This quote, taken directly from the BREATHE Education website, summarises how the survey works and why it is an effective tool which can be used to monitor the mental wellbeing of your students: “Pupils completed the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales (WEMWEBS) (Tennant et al., 2007) in secondary schools and the Stirling Children’s Wellbeing Scale (SCWBS) (Liddle & Carter, 2015) in primary schools. Higher scores on both measures indicate better mental wellbeing – both are validated and reliable instruments”. In the latter part of the summer term, you are able to access a report which compares your average wellbeing score to an average for all schools across the Birmingham Local Authority, thus providing you with an effective comparison. Note - I do accept that the data needs to be scrutinised with a degree of caution because we know that mental health/wellbeing is fluid and not a static measure. But in terms of measuring our wellbeing and seeing where we fit into a regional comparison, I was able to learn that we ranked as number 5 out of the 22 secondary schools who took part, thus suggesting the wellbeing of the pupils at Cardinal Wiseman was generally in a good place.

As well as looking at the headline figure for our school I was able to drill down into pupil groupings - i.e. I could see that girls generally marked their wellbeing as lower than boys, which fits in with national trends and the dialogue around Andrew Tate, the ‘Me Too Movement’, misogyny and the well publicised crimes against women. From this we have started working with an educational charity who deliver workshops in school to both genders, tackling some of the misconceptions and stigmas that still exist around men and women, and their perceived roles in society.

There was not a huge difference between our Free School Meal and non-FSM pupils, which was interesting and perhaps unexpected. Persistent Absent pupils marked their wellbeing as lower than their peers, but this was not a surprise given the time PA pupils have away from school and the proactive factors in place in a school setting which can support them with their wellbeing. There were not huge variations according to ethnicity but our ‘White’ cohort did mark their wellbeing as being lower than the other groupings. It is interesting that our ‘Black’ cohort had the second highest wellbeing score because last year the ‘Black Year 9 Girl Cohort’ (our current Year 11s) were noted as having lower wellbeing, and interventions were put in place to try and address this - i.e. I conducted a working group/pupil voice exercise in which I met with a selection of students and asked for specific feedback. From this, a cultural day was added to the school calendar, a question around heritage and ethnicity was added to the Personal Reflection document completed as part of the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) programme and the Physical Education department provided a selection of Afro-Caribbean hair products for the girls to use after their swimming lessons. It could be argued that the 2022-23 data suggests these interventions were indeed successful in making this cohort of students feel more connected to the school and therefore improving their wellbeing. The BREATHE survey provided us with the data needed to highlight this issue and then put interventions into place.

Special Educational Needs pupils with cognitive and learning difficulties marked themselves as having lower wellbeing than their non-SEN and SEN peers. The data is anonymised so we are not able to pinpoint specific students but 27 students fell into this category suggesting there is a need. This data has informed my mental health planning this year. In the next blog I will add detail about some of the specific strategies we have adopted.

Next time I will also explore how we have used the ‘letter to self’ activity across the whole school, involving form tutors in the reading of these letters, and thus widening the number of people who support our students directly with their mental health.

Further suggested reading:

- This link will take you to the BREATHE Education webpage where you can find out all about the survey mentioned above. https://breathe-edu.co.uk/census/

Note - The BREATHE survey only applies to Birmingham schools but I would do some research and explore if there are any comparable surveys you could sign up to in your region.

Building bridges, not walls: Why cultivating friendship is essential in primary school.

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 09:56:47 GMT

Building bridges, not walls: Why cultivating friendship is essential in primary school.

Written by Sarah Cunningham Assistant Head (PSHE/Deputy SENDCO) Lea Forest Primary Academy (AET)

Working for 17 years in a primary school, I witness first-hand the transformative power of strong friendships. They provide important opportunities to develop language and emotional regulation skills in childhood (Guralnick et al, 2007), and their importance increases as pupils’ navigate their way through adolescence (Laursen & Bukowski, 1997). In fact, it is well-documented that friendships, particularly close, have many positive effects on children and adolescents, including physical and emotional welfare and academic outcomes (e.g. Nangle et al, 2003). Friendship experiences consistently correlate with happiness (Demir et al, 2013) and the absence of these friendships can lead to depression and loneliness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Therefore, nurturing healthy friendships are crucial for the mental well-being of every child in our care.

But it's not always plain sailing. Exclusion, cliques, and bullying can leave some children feeling lonely and adrift. This isn't just heart-breaking; it has tangible consequences.

So, how do we, as teachers, help children navigate the complex world of friendship? Here are some key strategies:

1. Building a culture of kindness and empathy: This starts early. We can weave messages of respect, inclusivity, and understanding into every aspect of school life. From playground games to classroom discussions, every interaction is an opportunity to model and teach empathy. When we celebrate kindness, we create a ripple effect that washes over the entire school community.

2. Fostering social and emotional learning: Social and emotional programs equip children with the tools to build healthy relationships. Activities like mindfulness exercises, communication skills training, and conflict resolution strategies empower them to understand their own emotions, manage them effectively, and interact with others in a positive way.

3. Creating opportunities for connection: Playtime and lunchtime activities can be formed based on shared interests, which are crucial in all friendships, but are particularly pertinent for single sex boy friendships. Introducing ‘buddy systems” where older children mentor younger ones are splendid opportunities to build bridges across age groups which create a culture of support and kindness.

4. Addressing friendship challenges head-on: Exclusion, bullying, and other social difficulties can't be ignored. Relational approaches, like restorative justice can help to equip us with the tools we need to address these issues sensitively and effectively. Providing individual support to both the victims and perpetrators, working alongside parents and external agencies when necessary, is crucial to heal rifts and prevent lasting damage.

Building bridges, not walls: Why cultivating friendship is essential in primary school.

5. Celebrating diversity: No two friendships are alike, and that's a good thing! Let's celebrate the diverse social landscapes of our classrooms. Encourage children to embrace differences, be inclusive, and understand that true friendship thrives on shared experiences, not identical personalities.

Cultivating healthy friendships in our schools is not a quick fix. It's an ongoing process of cultural change, targeted interventions, and determined commitment. But the rewards are immeasurable. By building bridges, not walls, we create a safe haven where every child feels connected, supported, and empowered to thrive – and that's the truest foundation for a lifetime of mental well-being.

Demir, M., Şimşek, Ö. F., & Procsal, A. D. (2013). I am so happy ‘cause my best friend makes me feel unique: Friendship, personal sense of uniqueness and happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 1201-1224

Guralnick, M. J., Neville, B., Hammond, M. A., & Connor, R. T. (2007). The friendships of young children with developmental delays: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 28(1), 64-79.

Laursen, B., & Bukowski, W. M. (1997). Behavioral Development. International Journal of Behaviour Development, 21(4), 747-770

Leary, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (1995). The need to belong. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.

Nangle, D. W., Erdley, C. A., Newman, J. E., Mason, C. A., & Carpenter, E. M. (2003). Popularity, friendship quantity, and friendship quality: Interactive influences on children's loneliness and depression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32(4), 546-555.

Keeping well in wartime

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 09:56:44 GMT

I took a recent visit to Bletchley Park, an English country house and estate that became the principal centre of allied code-breaking during the Second World War.

If you haven’t watched ‘The Imitation Game’ yet, I highly recommend it. It is based on a true story which centres around Alan Turing and other highly skilled and tenacious people, who through their efforts helped to shorten the World War by almost 2 years due to their amazing code-breaking skills.

Bletchley Park was worth the visit and provided a fascinating understanding of a tumultuous time in history, showcasing the determination, resilience and brilliance of all those involved.

However, it was in the gift shop where I noticed a leaflet titled ‘How to keep well in Wartime’. Which was first published in 1943 by Crown Copyright, issued for the Ministry of Health and the Central Council for Health Education. I was intrigued and curious as to how the information and advice may differ too today.

With this curiosity, I flicked through the pages and was astounded- the key information was the same as it was today. Perhaps it’s just me, but after 80 years, I thought that things may be different? Especially considering that the Second World War was the challenging time in our generation. Chapter 7, entitled ‘A word to those who worry’ began with ‘Generally speaking, before the war there was an increase in the number of worriers, of people who felt anxious about nothing in particular.’ An interesting perspective of anxiety and worry prior to the war?

The chapter continues to provide advice and guidance for understanding why we might worry, how ‘worrying parents make a nervy child’ and showing patience and tact to those who worry.

There are also chapters that describe:

How to maintain regular in wellbeing habits and self-discipline
Getting enough sleep
Getting fresh air and sunshine
Keeping the mind and body active
Eating healthily
Being moderate in all things, including smoking and drinking alcohol

Whilst there are a couple of other chapters on hygiene and stopping germs, I think you would agree that the wisdom of eighty years ago, is as relevant then as it is today and who knows, possibly 80 years in the future?

Pupils and staff wellbeing is as important today as it was during one of the most challenging times in history. I will finish with the advice in Chapter 10 entitled; Help yourself to be well. ‘To get the most out of life you must put the most into it. To live, to love, to laugh, to labour to the fulness of your capacity, get fit and keep fit.’

@ 2023 Halcyon Education Ltd

How to promote good staff wellbeing in school

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 11:39:31 GMT

Ensuring good staff wellbeing is essential for creating a healthy, positive and productive school environment. Here are some ways to provide good staff wellbeing in schools:

Foster a supportive culture: Create a positive work culture where staff feel valued and supported. Encourage open communication, provide regular feedback, recognise and reward good work, and promote collaboration among staff members.
Prioritize work-life balance: Encourage staff to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Provide opportunities for flexible work arrangements, offer leave policies that allow staff to take time off when they need it, and encourage staff to take regular breaks throughout the day.
Provide professional development: Encourage and support staff to develop their skills and knowledge through ongoing professional development. Offer training and development opportunities that are relevant to their roles and interests.
Promote physical wellbeing: Encourage staff to take care of their physical health by promoting healthy eating, regular exercise, and other wellness activities. Provide access to resources such as healthy food options, on-site fitness facilities, and health and wellness programs.
Offer mental health support: Create a supportive environment that prioritizes mental health and wellbeing. Offer counselling or therapy services, provide training on stress management, and promote self-care practices such as mindfulness and meditation.
Encourage social connections: Encourage staff to build social connections and foster a sense of community. Provide opportunities for staff to connect and collaborate, such as team-building activities or social events.

By prioritising staff wellbeing in schools, you can create a positive work environment that promotes productivity, engagement, and job satisfaction.

The Big Book of Whole School Wellbeing

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 10:51:00 GMT

My work at Halcyon Education is centred around a whole school approach to mental wellbeing in schools. I was delighted therefore to be invited to contribute to The Big Book of Whole School Wellbeing, launched on Amazon this month.

Each chapter contains expert guidance for school leaders and covers specific topics on how to lead well, educate well, learn well and engage well. The book is a fabulous resource to provide a comprehensive approach to supporting the mental wellbeing of both pupils and staff in schools, all in one content rich volume.

<br id="07528 338181" duda_id="07528 338181"/> With thanks to the Editors Kimberley Evans, Thérèse Hoyle, Frederika Roberts and Bukky Yusuf for curating and editing the content to produce a book that I am sure will have a huge impact on the ability of schools and school leaders to support, nurture and guide their entire community to enhanced mental wellbeing.

Check out chapter 2 – Self Care for Leaders, a piece I was very happy to contribute to this project.

Available now via Amazon .

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Your first 100 days as a senior mental health lead

Sat, 11 Sep 2021 10:18:00 GMT

According to Forbes, what you do during the first 100 days in a new job is crucial to your long-term success, whether you’re an employee or the U.S. President. You have only one chance to make a great first impression, and you want to lay the foundation for achievements down the road.

So, what happens when we apply this approach to your role as senior mental health lead? Whether you are new in role or you have been in post for a while, there will be something here for you to consider.

Some assumptions: you are new to the role; you have been given time and resource to implement change.

Let’s begin with the end in mind. Where do you want to be at the end of 100 days?

There are 3 key areas which you will need to understand in order to create your vision and strategic plan.

Tools of the job

An audit tool which helps you audit what you have in place already. This could be as simple as the 10 steps audit tool or something which is provided by your senior lead for mental health training.

An established provider for training which will provide you and your team with good quality training on mental health.

Coaching or external support is such a valuable source of support, providing someone who can help you keep on track and build confidence.

A team who are passionate about mental health and can help you develop a vision and create change

Time to lead and time to recharge. If you are not given any time to lead this area, this should ring alarm bells that this is a tick box exercise. Be protective of the time you do have each week, this will be your key to success, as will taking time each week out of school to do something you enjoy.

Your drive and energy can create opportunities for change. In the first 100 days, you won’t be able to sustain the same level of energy all the time, but you can use it to establish areas for development or change and promoting your vision.

First 30 days – Observe and Learn

If you have a good audit tool, use this to gather evidence and pull together the areas which need developing.

First 60 days – A picture is emerging

A picture is beginning to emerge on what is working well and potential areas for development.

Further questions you might want answers to?

First 90 days – confident to lead

A vision for the next steps is becoming clearer.

First 100 days – A vision for change

You have evolved and developed your strategic plan so that it is contextual and will meet the needs of your school.

Next steps:

Once you are confident and actions are beginning to gain traction, you might begin to think about your outward facing approach. Supporting others, building a network beyond school and influencing external organisations.

For advice and guidance, please get in touch. Join the many schools who want support to keep them on track and build their confidence.

Call 07528 338181 or email anna@halcyon.education

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Developing a culture of trust

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 09:59:00 GMT

In Episode 6 of our Mental Health in Schools podcast we hear from young male students about why it is important to them, that teachers take the time and make the effort to listen, especially when they are showing uncharacteristic or poor behaviour.

Here is a visual idea that I use with young people when I am training mental health ambassadors. It can also be used in training sessions with staff when thinking about creating a culture of trust and openness to talking about mental health.

Imagine a set of drawers…

When we talk to others we tend talk in these three ways:

When we think about anyone sharing information and worries with us, we realise that students and indeed adults are not likely to share bottom drawer stuff with us if they don’t know us.

For most people talking about mental health, emotions, worries, fears or problems – is bottom drawer stuff.

So consider:

What creates the opportunity for students/adults to share bottom drawer stuff when they don’t know us?

One thing – TRUST

We can break this trust down further:

And if we don’t know the answer or know how to help, that’s OK. We can explain that while we don’t yet know how to help them, together we will find someone who does.

This is a straightforward approach that ensures the right conditions are in place for students and adults to open up about their mental health and well-being.

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Safe from Harm

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 11:34:00 GMT

This month’s blog delves into the importance of a positive whole school ethos around mental health and that it is our statutory duty to do so.

I had planned to write about how, as a mental health lead, we can help teachers who do not ‘get it’ – mental health that is. However, what I have noticed over the last few weeks is there is a bigger problem to tackle. There is a misconception that by mentioning or talking about mental health we will give students the notion that they too have a mental health difficulty. Just like when we talk about the last occasion we broke our arm, when we talk about it, more students want to break their own arm – right? Nope!

This is what mental health stigma looks like in schools; suppress talking about it and it will not be a problem. An approach like this creates an environment where it is not ok to talk about our mental health and leads to feelings of shame and worthlessness. The added challenge with this approach is that students will find ways of dealing with their difficulties themselves in ways that are not always healthy and safe.

Almost every school I have worked with has asked students to complete an annual survey when they are asked whether they feel safe. In this context it is usually whether the student feels they are protected from harm i.e. that they are free from bullying, they feel physically safe within the building, children with allergies are catered for and so on. In these cases, most students do feel safe and protected and schools have policies and rigorous processes which ensure this happens almost all of the time.

However, do we ask our students in the survey about what the school does to encourage and support their well-being and prosperity ?

Do we follow the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance 07528 338181 which is:

All schools are under a statutory duty to promote [synonym: encourage, support, foster] the welfare [synonym: well-being, prosperity] of their pupils, which includes preventing impairment of children’s health or development, and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

So, if we are not talking about mental health for fear of things getting worse, we are actually creating an unsafe environment for students where their well-being is not being supported, and we are not performing our statutory duty to prevent the impairment of health.

Taking action to promote a culture where students can talk about their mental health, prevent any difficulties from getting worse and seek support from adults is our statutory duty.

Here are 5 top tips and resources to help you take action:

Here are my recommended reads which will help you start the conversations in assemblies and lessons.

Primary Schools:

https://www.annafreud.org/what-we-do/schools-in-mind/resources-for-schools/we-all-have-mental-health-animation-teacher-toolkit/

Silly Billy by Anthony Browne

Billy worries obsessively about everything until Grandma suggests that worry dolls might help him to cope better. This book takes a sensitive and gentle approach to dealing with childhood anxiety. Many of Browne’s other books are also good for supporting discussion around emotions.

The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside and Frank Rodgers

Jenny carries a huge bag of worries with her wherever she goes and is desperate for someone to help her. This book shows children that a problem shared is a problem halved.

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

The youngest and bravest member of the Hope family is the only person who tames the Black Dog, a metaphor for depression, which grows bigger and bigger each time you try to ignore it. A particularly useful book for children who live with parents with mental health problems.

Secondary Schools:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE5Ip60_HJk – The Stand Up Kid – Time to Change: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/about-us/what-are-we-doing/children-and-young-people

https://www.annafreud.org/what-we-do/schools-in-mind/resources-for-schools/talking-mental-health-animation-teacher-toolkit/

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

An astonishingly moving book and now a major film, there are many meaningful messages to be taken away from Wonder; from being brave and standing up for yourself to understanding that it’s not your circumstances that determine your happiness, but your outlook and attitude.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Christopher is an intelligent youth who lives in the functional hinterland of autism–every day is an investigation for him because of all the aspects of human life that he does not quite get. When the dog next door is killed with a garden fork, Christopher becomes quietly persistent in his desire to find out what has happened and tugs away at the world around him until a lot of secrets unravel messily.

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What do we mean by ‘a whole school approach to mental health’?

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 10:22:00 GMT

I hear the phrase ‘whole school approach to mental health’ almost weekly in conversations with organisations, schools and at conferences. It is usually in the context of the importance of this being a solution to rising mental health issues.

Everyone agrees – we need a solution that isn’t just a quick fix or one-off intervention. But what do we actually mean by a whole school approach? What does this actually look like?

In my experience of working with 100s of schools, achieving a whole school approach takes four things: energy, time, knowledge and tenacity.

If you are going to invest your precious energy and time, you want to make sure you are investing it into the right activities, those that are proven to work, and get to the heart of specific issues, as well as those aimed at preventing problems from starting in the first place.

If you want more help, I have launched an online course and developed some tools which will help you with prioritising the areas that you need to focus your energy including hints, tips and strategies which will make sure that your whole school approach is successful. This is available via The Academy, and you can find out more details here.

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“We thought we knew our kids, we really don’t”

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 10:54:00 GMT

I hear this common phrase from schools quite often, usually after they have undertaken some form of whole school group mental health assessment or screening e.g. the 3 houses tool, SDQ, WEMWEBS or Boxhall profile (see link below for more information). Oftentimes these schools have really strong pastoral care and support in place, so why should they say this?

The reality is they are caught in a firefighting trap. The pastoral team is busy providing great support to those who are known to them, who present with issues in one or more of the following ways:

We should however also consider the rest of the children in the class or school. The need for support isn’t a binary process i.e. either we need support or we don’t. Within the school there will be children who don’t present any difficulties or emerge on any data radar for many reasons. This may be because they are:

If we wait for children’s behaviour, attendance or progress data to drop before we do anything, we end up in a constant cycle of fire-fighting and always trying to play catch up.

Spotting the signs early on

The 3 houses approach is an extremely powerful tool to pick up early signs of well-being and mental health difficulties when used across an entire school. It is particularly suitable for schools year 4-7 and helps in increasing the reach of preventative measures that can be put in place at a time when they are needed.

You can download the 3 houses here

You can also go to the Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC) website where you can find all sorts of evidence-based ways of using data to understand children’s vulnerability to mental health and well-being.

I recommend using these assessment techniques to put whole school checks in place so that early signs of poor mental health or vulnerability are identified before they present as more obvious problems or issues. This early warning system enables you to take supportive action at the right time, and can often head off greater problems further down the line. This is of course, the best outcome we could want for any of our children.

Collecting data

The assessment tools being used in some schools are very effective in screening for early signs of mental health difficulties. In my new course ‘Getting Ahead of the Curve’, the 2nd module covers the topic of data, its importance, how to collect it and use it to put preventative measures in place.

This course comes from the Halcyon Education Academy and is the first in a series of 12 week immersive programmes for mental health leads which will transform your thinking, understanding of data, curriculum and ethos. Its specific aim is to reduce the level of fire-fighting that is prevalent in schools, and to assist mental health leads to get to know all kids better, so they feel equipped with the knowledge and tools to be able take more effective and timely preventive action.

The Halcyon Education Academy will be opening its doors in April. Further details of this online course and how to register to take part will be available very soon. If you’d like me to email you when registration is available, please email me and I’ll make sure you’re the first to know.

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The OFSTED Framework and links to mental health in schools

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 09:21:00 GMT

Here is a brief guide to the new OFSTED framework and the links to mental health and well-being. I’m going to mention the changes to the framework and talk about some of the inferences, my opinion and interpretation of the document.

There are 4 judgement areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management.

If you prefer, listen to the October 2019 podcast . We recommend you download the accompanying handout before you listen.

What’s at the heart of this inspection from a mental health perspective?

The framework is built around the factors that have the greatest protective effect for all children. ‘ What’s it like to be a child in this school? ’ is the context for the inspections. This is probably a good phrase to have in mind and sets out, in my opinion, the more child centred approach of the new framework.

The words ‘mentally healthy’ are used about 3 times in the inspection handbook so you might be forgiven for thinking that this new framework is not supportive of the mental health and well-being of the school community. However, there is a strong systemic resilience-based design to the inspection, which is very welcome. Here’s how:

Here’s a document which you might find useful: Ten Steps Towards School Staff Wellbeing by Anna Freud.

Next Steps:

Anna

* (OFSTED have defined ‘disadvantaged’ as students who access pp funding at any point in the last 6 years; students in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route; Children in Need of help and protection and receiving statutory support from local authority social care.)

Teaching ‘calm’ – skills for anxious moments

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 11:16:00 GMT

How often do you find yourself telling pupils and children to calm down? Once a week, once a month or daily? Usually when I ask this question in training sessions the answer is several times a day. Yet when you ask pupils to describe what they are doing when they feel calm they often say ‘ when I am playing computer games ’ or ’ when I am playing with my friends in the park’ .

However, when we feel calm as adults, we are usually still, either sitting or lying with a peaceful mind and shoulders relaxed. If you have ever watched children playing on computer games they are not calm, their faces, minds and body are active. This is true for playing in the park too.

So, let’s go back to the daily situation where we are telling pupils to calm down when they are feeling anxious, angry or frustrated. If their understanding of the word calm is connected to the experience of playing on a computer game then that is where physiologically they will go, when you ask them to calm down. Not relaxed shoulders, sitting still with a peaceful mind.

Unless we teach pupils what calm experiences feel like, this will not change. The skill of being able to calm oneself or self-soothe is fundamentally important to anyone’s emotional well-being and mental health. It is a skill that is needed throughout life for anxiety and stress management and to maintain good self-control, a pre-requisite for making good decisions.

Teaching ‘calm’

There are various ways in which pupils can be taught to connect with the feeling of calm during a school day. For primary pupils, 5 minutes before or after playtime or lunchtime is a good time to do an activity. For secondary pupils this can take place during form time or PSHE lessons.

Here are some ideas I have seen in schools and some techniques I recommend using:

Learning calm as a life skill

There will always be those occasions when this does not work, it goes without saying that if a child is in a rage, violent or at risk of harming themselves or others, your priority in these circumstances is to ensure that they, you and those around them are safe from harm first.

However, if you practice even just one of these techniques with your pupils on a weekly (or even daily) basis it will start to become part of your pupil’s self-management repertoire, a life skill that they can tap into more readily when the need arises. So when pupils do need to calm down, you can remind them to connect to that physiological experience of calm you learnt together and are highly likely to get there quicker more often.

In my experience, the benefits of this approach work best in those angry, frustrated and anxious moments when an adult uses a calming down technique with the pupil rather than telling them to do it. Try ‘I t looks like you might need to calm down, let’s do it together now’ .

What examples do you have of teaching children the art of ‘calm’? I’d be interested to hear. Please leave your comment here, share them with me and the community via Facebook or Twitter or contact me directly.

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Relationships are more influential than intervention

Sun, 16 Sep 2018 10:16:00 GMT

Thinking of another intervention in school to improve progress? Then consider a whole school approach to developing relationships. It costs nothing other than time, is sustainable and something which will have a positive impact on all abilities.

The facts about good relationships

At the Search Institute, they are finding that pupils who have stronger relationships with teachers do significantly better on numerous measures of motivation and executive function that are essential for academic success. This includes self-regulation, mastery motivation, academic confidence, and openness to challenge.

When adults take time to talk with pupils about their talents, interests and goals it strengthens the relationship between them and has a massive motivational impact. In fact, pupils whose interests and talents are nurtured are 68 % more likely to want to master what they’re learning at school, and 50 % more likely to give their best effort at school (Search Institute; May 2015).

Young Minds advocate that ‘holding a child in mind’ is fundamental for pupil’s growth, particularly for your most vulnerable pupils, and their life chances are better. ‘ Time and time again we see a bond with one caring adult as being very important… to communicate caring support and high expectations to the young person ’. (Angie Hart).

Build relationships – make a start

So here are some top tips from the Search Institute and Young Minds about how to strengthen those relationships to maximise pupil’s motivation, resilience and progress:

Which of these do you do well and what could you do more of? Are aspirations linked to the school’s sense of hope and aspiration, or the pupils?

How engaged are you with building relationships with pupils? I am not suggesting it becomes awkward or trite; your natural daily interactions are crucial. However, I have completed pupil conferencing sessions where I have fed back to the school that pupils want and value more positive feedback face to face, not just in books.

Nurture independence

Expressing care and showing pupils matter doesn’t always mean stepping in to solve every problem for pupils. Help them to explore a solution for themselves talking through the options available to them. In this way, you will be sharing power with them and building confidence, resilience and resourcefulness to help them take charge of their life.

To improve the aspirations of pupils, there are plenty of biographies of both celebrities and ordinary people changing lives and fulfilling their potential. They can be included in assemblies and literacy lessons. Some great examples that will engage pupils are Stephen Sutton, Scott Baxter (charity Abaana) or Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE (Black British female scientist). Ordinary people doing extra ordinary things!

Inspiration, inspiration, inspiration!

Invite into school local heroes, parents or even members of staff who have successfully overcome adversity and what it took for them to achieve it. Share their story, foster the relationships and create a sense of connection, aspiration and confidence in the pupils.

This will not impact on pupil progress and motivation however if it is ad-hoc and thrown together or just limited to one year group. Plan carefully – start with an INSET for staff and work outwards, planning elements into your curriculum and developing a commitment to the approach.

I would love to hear your success stories. Share with me on Facebook , Twitter or via email .

Here are the links if you want to explore more.

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/primary-teachers-play-important-role-good-behaviour-among-teenagers

https://www.search-institute.org/developmental-relationships/developmental-relationships-framework/

https://youngminds.org.uk/find-a-course/staff-resilience-in-school-training/

Or get in touch if your school would like to develop this approach further through a training session or support.

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How to Run a Successful Wellbeing Day in School: Planning and Execution Tips

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Discover how Kerry Bridges, Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple High School, plans and executes a successful Wellbeing Day. Learn about using the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing framework and engaging community support to promote student and staff wellbeing.

Visual Tools for Well-being: Enhancing Communication in SEN Classrooms

Visual Tools for Well-being: Supporting SEN Learners Through Effective Communication

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Setting Up a Support Network for Mental Health Leads: Insights and Experiences

Kerry Bridges has been the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in Preston, Lancashire since 2021 but part of the Pastoral and Safeguarding Teams for a great deal longer.

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Fostering Inclusive Reading in Schools: Safeguarding Emotional Wellbeing

Discover how schools can safeguard students against emotional harm by fostering inclusive reading environments. Learn about the importance of racial literacy, the impact of culturally insensitive literature, and strategies for creating a curriculum that inspires and celebrates diversity.

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Kerry Bridges has been the Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in Preston, Lancashire since 2021 but part of the Pastoral and Safeguarding Teams for a great deal longer.

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HOPE!

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Building bridges, not walls: Why cultivating friendship is essential in primary school.

Keeping well in wartime

I took a recent visit to Bletchley Park, an English country house and estate that became the principal centre of allied code-breaking during the Second World War.

How to promote good staff wellbeing in school

Ensuring good staff wellbeing is essential for creating a healthy, positive and productive school environment. Here are some ways to provide good staff wellbeing in schools:

The Big Book of Whole School Wellbeing

Your first 100 days as a senior mental health lead

Tools of the job

First 30 days – Observe and Learn

First 60 days – A picture is emerging

Further questions you might want answers to?

First 90 days – confident to lead

First 100 days – A vision for change

Next steps:

Developing a culture of trust

So consider:

Safe from Harm

Here are 5 top tips and resources to help you take action:

Primary Schools:

Silly Billy by Anthony Browne

The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside and Frank Rodgers

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

Secondary Schools:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

What do we mean by ‘a whole school approach to mental health’?

“We thought we knew our kids, we really don’t”

Spotting the signs early on

Collecting data

The OFSTED Framework and links to mental health in schools

What’s at the heart of this inspection from a mental health perspective?

Next Steps:

Teaching ‘calm’ – skills for anxious moments

Running a Wellbeing Day in School Blog 4

Surprised? By Nicola Bailey (Assistant Head Teacher)