Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing
Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Intent

Welcome to the Barley Hill Wellbeing Hub.

It is so important we do what we can to look after our mental wellbeing, especially at this difficult time. Adults and children alike need to be aware of what makes them feel good - better mental health helps all of us…at work, at school, at home, and in the way we feel about ourselves.

Please go to the bottom of the page to find some mindfulness and wellbeing activities for your child to use at home.

Here are five steps to Mental Wellbeing;

For parents

You can take the Mind Plan Quiz on the NHS website to discover more ways to feel better. Click here for the Mind Plan Quiz.

If you, like many others, are finding Lockdown #3 tough right now, find a wealth of information and top tips to help you through this difficult time:

www.mentalhealth.org.uk

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/

https://www.annafreud.org/parents-and-carers/

Remember:

For Children

We hope for our children to be both physically and emotionally well.

Here are some ideas to promote both areas of wellbeing...

Keeping active:

Children and Young People need to do at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. It keeps bones healthy and encourages muscle strength and flexibility. It is also amazing for keeping us feeling positive and energetic. Here are some exercise ideas to keep children active:

Fun ideas to keep active:

* Have a kitchen disco and enjoy a good boogie!

* Make an obstacle course inside or outside

* Get skipping – skipping ropes are cheap and skipping is a great exercise!

* Who can do the most exercises in a minute – whoever wins gets to choose what you play next i.e. star jumps / sit ups / hops / jumps from side to side

* Hide and Seek

* Who can keep the hula hoop going for the longest – time each other and beat your record the next day

* Treasure hunts around the house/garden

* A nature hunt at the park

Children and their emotions:

Here at Barley Hill Primary School, we promote the use of Zones of Regulation®. We know how important it is for us all to recognise our different emotions and have a ‘tool box’ of strategies to help us cope when we feel angry, tired, worried etc.

Here are some lovely books to help children understand their emotions:

Mindfulness for children:

Mindfulness can help adults and children alike. There is now lots of research that indicates mindfulness can help children improve their abilities to pay attention, to calm down when they are upset and to make better decisions.

Keep it simple. Mindfulness is a big word for young children to understand. Put simply, mindfulness is about awareness - noticing our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and anything that is around us and happening right now.

There are some great apps to support Mindfulness - Headspace, Smiling Mind and Stop, Breathe and Think Kids.

There are also lots of lovely Yoga activities on YouTube, we love Cosmic Kids:

Gratefulness

The practice of gratefulness is easy and fun – it also boosts feelings of positivity, connection to others and the world around us, as well as giving us a sense of happiness and calm…it is certainly worth spending time on this practice with our children. Here are some activities, which are both engaging and practical:

* Have a family ‘Grateful’ jar – each day / week add your own note with a picture, word or sentence to show what you are grateful for. You can read them all at the end of the month or year!

* Gratitude photo challenge – encourage children (or have a go yourself) to take pictures of things you are grateful for when you go for a walk or even around your home!

* Write a ‘Gratefulness’ journal. Write three things you are grateful for each day (or draw pictures’ – just before bed is a great time to do this as it calms the mind and ends the day on a positive