Our school is part of the Clarion Futures Project; Clarion being our local housing association. They funded our school as part of a community project to promote health and wellbeing for children. The funding from Clarion enabled me to train in .begin and Paws b. Beginning my .begin training in January 2021 during one of the COVID lockdowns helped my wellbeing in extremely challenging circumstances; teaching online was difficult, especially with the rest of my family working from home too.

However, as soon as I started the course the benefits of mindfulness reduced my anxiety, enabling me to feel less overwhelmed in the current situation back then, and giving me a variety of strategies to deal with anything that arose. Furthermore, I learned to be in the present, rather than trapped in the past or the future; I used (and still do) the three-minute breathing space meditation when I needed a moment, mindful eating, and body scans also helped me with my physical and mental health.

July 2021 was when I trained in Paws b; it was an amazing course, with the MiSP teachers being supportive, patient, and very knowledgeable. With the summer holidays about to begin the new academic term in September 2021 was when I started to teach Paws b. Currently, I am a year 4 teacher so talking with SLT we decided that I would teach both year 4 classes Paws b during the Autumn and Spring terms as their weekly PSHE lessons.

I wanted to document the children’s mindfulness journey visually. Time is of the essence in school, and I needed a way of evidencing their thoughts and feelings as the weeks progressed without paperwork involved. Jamboard, which is a digital whiteboard, allowed the children to collaborate in real-time through Google Classroom, subsequently I was able to collect their responses on their Paws b journey.

Paws b has changed the children’s lives in such a positive way and not only do the Jamboards prove this but our classroom climate does too. With the challenges of our children recovering from the pandemic; not only academically but physically and mentally too; Paws b has given them the strategies to cope with their everyday lives. The children had to learn to be together again in a classroom environment, they were struggling with relationships inside the classroom and how to deal with tricky situations on the playground, in class, and at home too.

The impact has been immense, with the MiSP survey the children took reflecting this. They are now able to recognise their different emotions and how to deal with them using mindfulness. Now the children understand the 4 areas of the brain that can be developed through mindfulness, they are able to use this knowledge and understanding to help them react positively in different situations. As we all know, knowledge is power and the children loved learning the Science aspect of Paws b too!

Children after the class would come and thank me for teaching them Paws b and now in year 4 we practice every day before lessons begin. I will invite a child to join me at the front of the class and choose a practice to start the day. This now being a daily routine, if I am not in class the children will remind my Teaching Assistant ‘Miss, we need to do our Paws b’. Something that still makes me chuckle is when one of my girls said to me and my teaching assistant that we have puppy dog minds on a Friday! Now it is a standing joke in class.

As a year group, we have joined a MiSP ‘Schools Sit Together’ which the children loved, and have asked when the next session would be taking place. I have led a couple of mindfulness moments with staff before the beginning of a staff meeting during Mental Health Week; this went down a treat.

Our classroom feels safe, welcoming, and supportive of children’s learning; this is definitely because we are ‘Growing Happiness’ and choosing to nurture ourselves and others. My own practice is daily, teaching is a demanding job as we all know so using mindfulness when I am feeling ‘wobbly’ through a three-minute meditation, grounds me again and I move on feeling on top of the world. Before I go to sleep, I will do a body scan and as part of my yoga, I will be in the present. I have joined the Teacher’s one-day retreat twice now. It was amazing to meet other like-minded people and go through the different practices with knowledgeable teachers. Also, MiSP holds fortnightly hub sessions, which I have attended; these sessions refresh and revitalise the soul. That is what I love about the Hub and retreats, how each teacher brings something new to a mindfulness practice, their own little personal tweak.

Teaching Paws b has given me more understanding of mindfulness. It is now part of my everyday teaching routine, when a situation arises between some children, I will talk about the ’storytelling mind’ and refer to ‘making choices’. The children love the videos from the Paws b curriculum and from time to time will ask to rewatch the child having a moment in the supermarket. This is what MiSP has done for us, giving our children an understanding of why we react the way we do in different situations; showing us how to use mindfulness through different practices, which can be used anywhere. The lessons are so much fun, with videos and games that make the children smile and learn. What an amazing combination!

Now moving forward, what is the next step for us? Well, I am an advocate of mindfulness now in school and I want to teach the younger children dots. Through the fantastic feedback from the two year 4 classes, SLT has agreed for me to take the dots course in July 2022. Furthermore, as MiSP is extremely generous, we have been given a supported place. I feel so much gratitude for being given these opportunities, and to see our children using mindfulness in their everyday lives is truly wonderful.

Poverest Feedback

Pupils

• Paws b helps me do better in class and helps me a lot when I am stressed out with my brother.
• I like the Petal Practice because I have a chance to focus and reflect.
• Paws b has helped me with getting relaxed when I feel uncomfortable and scared.
• I like the Petal Practice because it is peaceful in the room.
• Paws b has helped me through these hard times and arguments.
• Paws b has shown me to be kind to other people and take a breath if I am sad or mad.
• Paws b has wonderful things to do like finger breathing.
• I like the How Many Breaths in a Minute because I like the sensation and the feeling and I like counting how many breaths.
• Paws b has helped me with relaxing and sleeping.
• I like the FOFBOC because I always feel tired in the morning and it helps me sort out my thoughts which normally race around my mind.

Staff

• I very much enjoyed the Paws b and mindfulness course. After the chaos and uncertainty of the last few years since Covid, it is very important to take care of your mental health. The structure of the course was in manageable size chunks and worded appropriately for the age of the audience. The mixture of information mediums used: doing, listening, and watching made the course accessible.
• I would say a majority of the children are starting to use some of the techniques from Paws b on a daily basis (which is brilliant) and the majority enjoy our morning Paws b session when we have them. The comment I have received from my class is that a session makes them feel calmer and quieter.
• I would like to say as a member of staff that Paws b is such a great way to start the day. It gives me time before the day starts. I miss it on Fridays when I am unable to join.
• Paws b has had a positive impact on the children, when doing Paws b in the mornings, I find the children are more focused throughout the day.

The post Case Study: Poverest Primary Clarion Project appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

Having delivered the Paws b programme at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin during the Summer term in 2021, Mrs Naomi Beynon, deputy headteacher at Bishopston Primary School, expressed an interest in introducing this programme at her school; her children were pupils at Pontybrenin and had they had benefited greatly from the course so she was keen to implement it at Bishopston.

After discussions with Naomi and Mr John Owen, the headteacher, it was agreed I’d deliver the Paws b curriculum to all KS2 classes Years 3 to 6, and to the KS2 Specialist Teaching Facility, as a self-employed mindfulness teacher.

Bishopston Primary were already doing informal mindfulness sessions themselves using various resources gathered from the internet but were keen to develop this work further. They also have a very strong school ethic that health and well-being underpins everything they do and is the most important thing in order to deliver best results. The school, staff and students were familiar with the concept and given this ethic, it was an absolute pleasure to work beside them. They also do a lot of outdoor learning sessions which is brilliant given the convenience of the school to the Gower coastline and its beaches.

Covid-19 was still around but didn’t lead to any school closures therefore we were able to have the continuity of lessons, with the exception of Christmas holidays and me being off sick one week.

This was the first time I delivered the Paws b curriculum in English, having taught it in Welsh previously. I had learnt a lot from my previous teaching sessions and decided to make the classes more interactive and everything done verbally as a class as opposed to doing any worksheets, pair work or group work. This enabled us all to explore pupils’ and teachers’ thoughts and feelings more, and also enabled us to link parts of the Paws b curriculum to work they had already done in the classroom e.g. snowball effect. These moments of discussion also enabled the class teachers to identify times where these practices might be useful for them as a class and we had some wonderful stories come from this; Year 5 went on a school trip to the National Botanical Gardens of Wales and decided to have a mindful moment when they were in the Tropical House.

They listened to the water running and even noticed birds tweeting – they wouldn’t have known they were there normally had they not stopped and noticed, and it definitely enriched their experience.

This was the first time I had taught a group of children with additional learning needs. Before I started, I had a chat with Mrs Michelle Bennett, KS2 STF teacher, to see how best I could deliver it given the pupils’ needs. We decided it would be best to deliver the same 30-minute session I give Years 3 and 4 over a 45-minute class, allowing time to repeat key points. The feedback we’ve had from the classroom assistants, pupils and parents has been amazing. The children who looked like they weren’t taking anything in were seen using the mindfulness practices independently during class. Michelle shared the practices with some parents so they had an understanding of what the children were doing.

The children have absolutely loved the sessions, have been so engaging and made my time there truly magical.

Bishopston Feedback

Pupils

• “It helps me calm down when I am feeling hyper after playing football in the yard.” Yr 3
• “I do it when I am feeling worried about my dad being away with work.” – Yr 3
• “I like the five finger breathing and I do it when I am feeling cross to calm me down.” – Yr 3
• “Ten out of ten” – Yr 4
• “It’s relaxing.” – Yr 6
• “It calms my brain.” – Yr 6
• “It makes me feel tired.” – Yr 6
• “It helps me de-stress.” – Yr 6
• “It has taught me which part of my brain does what.” – Yr 6
• “It helps me with my work, when I need to do activities.” – Yr 6
• “It makes me feel loose.” – Yr 6
• “It clears my mind.” – Yr 6
• “It’s helpful. It makes me concentrate more.” – Yr 6
• “It makes me feel free.” – Yr 6
• “It helps me fall asleep at home; I do the finger breathing.” – Yr 6
• “I enjoy it, but I find it hard to keep still.” – Yr 6
• “Our favourite practice has been the mindful mouthful.” – Yr 6
• “Mrs Owen, is this our last session? I’m going to cry when it is.” – (Specialist Teaching Facility – STF)
• “When I’m in my bubble, I feel like I’m high in the sky on my fluffy cloud, floating and being happy.” – Yr 5
• “Peaceful.”
• “Joyful.”
• “Ah! So that’s why I lose my temper!” – Yr 5
• “Mindfulness is amazing.” – Yr 5
• “Hapus!” – STF
• “When I do mindfulness, I go to the beach and I am happy.” – Yr 5
• “I do the practices during gymnastics so that I don’t fall and I can be at my best.” – Yr 4
• “When I was in bed, everything was quiet in the house. My thoughts started getting carried away thinking my parents had left me home alone, but then I noticed this thought was made up and wasn’t true, and I stopped worrying.” – Yr 4

Parents

• “Our daughter loves it! She is often teaching us different breathing techniques, she confidently uses the finger breathing to calm herself down and will tell us “don’t talk to me yet, I’m doing my breathing!” She also enjoys it when we sit for a quiet few minutes in the garden listening to birds or watching a bug, no doubt this has been helped by all your work in school. Thank you for showing them how to develop such a life enhancing skill.” – (Year 3)
• “We have been using the breathing technique opening and closing his hands and focusing on breathing when he gets angry. Also going up and down his fingers breathing. We have found them both very positive and it seems to calm him down quicker than usual. Thanks so much.” – (Year 3)
• “Our son uses mindfulness to stop himself feeling sick in the car. We talk a lot about mindfulness at home. We did have a chat about flight and fight the other day and his sister knew a lot about the subject. I was really impressed!” – (Year 5 and 3)

Teachers

• • “It has helped me as a classroom teacher to vary my practice with the class.” – Year 3
  • “We now use mindfulness as a part of the class routine.” – Year 3
  • “Pupils will ask if we can do it, especially during wet play days etc.” – Year 3
  • “Lots of parents reported during the parent phone calls that their child had taught them how to do it at home.”- Year 3
  • “Children have been using strategies outside of school and find it useful. They use the strategies to calm down.” – Year 4
  • “I am very happy with how the Paws b sessions are going. The children really enjoy, and since day one I have seen an improvement in their concentration. Each week we are taught a new method of mindfulness. This allows each pupil to select their preferred method of mindfulness, rather than all being asked to use the same. As a teacher this then makes mindfulness sessions that much easier, as I feel comfortable leaving the children to do this independently with supervision. This has improved their confidence, and several children have mentioned how they now use it at home to help them sleep or calm them down. The PowerPoints are also enjoyable and easy to follow, and Ffiona is fantastic with the children.” – Year 5
  • “Most of the children seem to enjoy it and find it useful.” – Year 4
  • “The sessions do calm most of the children down.” – Year 4
  • “It has helped me with my ability to deliver mindfulness strategies.” – Year 4
  • “Small portion of the children say that the strategies do not work and some do not want to participate.” – Year 4
  • “It’s criminal that mindfulness isn’t compulsory across all schools. It’s amazing these children are being taught this and everyone should be doing it.” – teacher’s family member.
  • “We had a mindful moment in the Tropical House when we visited the National Botanical Gardens and it was wonderful; we all listened to the water flowing and even heard birds there that we wouldn’t have heard otherwise!” – Yr 5

As a result of this teaching, the school are in the process of developing a new school curriculum with mindfulness set at the heart of it, for Foundation Phase and KS2.

Discussions have taken place on how mindfulness can be embedded within the school long-term with the excellent understanding they’ve gained for the need for class teachers to be mindful themselves in order for the class to be truly mindful.

Several teachers have expressed an interest in continuing with mindfulness courses for themselves personally and to also be able to deliver it as their role as a class teacher. Indeed, the school have been so impressed with the programme that they’ve booked 8-week mindfulness training for all staff in Foundation Phase and KS2 with a view to fully embedding mindfulness within the school and possibly look at staff training further in the future in Paws b and dots so that the school can be self-sufficient with its mindfulness teachings. It was decided that the Paws b posters would be displayed on the pupils’ toilet walls – it was discussed that some children go to the bathroom to calm down and this would be a useful place to display them without them getting lost on the walls of the classroom walls. The children noticed them straight away, coming back to class asking why they had appeared there!

Written by Naomi Beynon:

How does mindfulness sit within and complement your wider wellbeing offering for staff and students?

Mindfulness is now an integral part of the school day, it is used within assemblies as part of our reflection time and also at transition times. We have found that behaviour has improved as a result of the children being given more opportunities to self -regulate. Mindfulness has been embedded into the self-regulation strand of our health and well-being AOLE and has been a focus on the School Development Plan this academic year.

We are a school focused very much on outdoor learning, pupils visit beach and forest school on a regular basis. We feel that mindfulness is the perfect accompaniment to this focus as we can introduce mindful moments and breathing practices in the outdoor spaces.

Teacher workload and stress is a well-documented issue. We now intend to train all our teaching staff in ‘The Present’ mindfulness course which will help them deliver mindfulness to a higher level and also help them deal with their own emotions.

What plans do you have to develop this for the future?

We want to set up Mindful Ambassadors in school so the pupils can take ownership of the practice. When Covid restrictions ease we would like to hold mindful sessions for the wider community and parents.

The post Case Study: Bishopston Primary School appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

• Enw: Ffiona Owen
• Rôl: Athrawes meddylgarwch allanol
• Lleoliad: Abertawe
• Ystod oed y disgyblion: 7 – 11 oed (CA2)
• Nifer y disgyblion: 276 (CA2)
• Nifer o ddosbarthiadau: 9
• Canran premiwm disgybl: Amherthnasol
• Canran ADY (SEND/SEMH): 16.7%
• Nifer o staff a hyfforddwyd i addysgu meddylgarwch: 0
• Dyddiad cyflawni: Tymor yr haf 12/04/2021 – 16/07/2021

Yn ystod mis Hydref 2014, ar argymhelliad seicolegydd, fe wnes i gwblhau cwrs 8 wythnos ar Leihau Straen yn Seiliedig ar Feddylgarwch (MBSR) a gynhaliwyd gan Dr Helen Davies o’r Ganolfan Gwaith ac Ymchwil Seiliedig ar Feddylgarwch, Prifysgol Abertawe, i fy helpu i ddelio â chyflwr niwrolegol yr oeddwn newydd dderbyn diagnosis yn ei gylch ynghyd â’r ansicrwydd, y pryder a’r straen cyson a ddaeth yn ei sgil.

Roeddwn wedi ymarfer fel Ffisiotherapydd ers 10 mlynedd, gan arbenigo mewn adsefydlu strôc. Roedd fy ymarfer yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth ac nid oeddwn erioed wedi clywed am feddylgarwch. Roeddwn yn cael trafferth ar y pryd ac nid oedd gennyf ddim i’w golli, felly cwblheais y cwrs MBSR.

Fe ddysgais i gymaint: sut i fod yn bresennol, sut i ganolbwyntio ar y presennol, sut i ddelio ag emosiynau anodd mewn ffordd iach. Allwn i ddim peidio â meddwl, pe bawn i wedi dysgu’r sgiliau hyn yn gynt, faint gwell y byddwn i wedi delio â straen bywyd. Ar y pryd, roedd fy mhlant yn 5 a 3 oed ac ni allwn beidio â meddwl pa mor fuddiol fyddai meddylgarwch iddynt.

Yn ystod tymor yr Hydref 2019, cysylltais â Mr Ceri Scourfield, pennaeth Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin, ysgol gynradd cyfrwng Cymraeg yn Abertawe yr oedd fy mhlant 10 ac 8 oed yn ei mynychu ar y pryd. Roedd gen i berthynas gref gyda’r ysgol eisoes trwy fy mhlant fy hun ac roeddwn i’n gwirfoddoli’n rheolaidd i helpu disgyblion y Cyfnod Sylfaen gyda’u darllen. Fy ngobaith oedd cyflwyno rhaglenni meddylgarwch o fewn yr ysgol.

Eglurais y cwrs Paws b a ddatblygwyd gan y Prosiect Meddylgarwch mewn Ysgolion (MiSP) a daethom i gytundeb y byddwn yn cyflwyno’r rhaglen yn wirfoddol i bob un o’r 9 dosbarth CA2 yn gyfnewid am i’r ysgol dalu ffioedd fy nghwrs. Roedd y cwricwlwm newydd gael ei gyfieithu i’r Gymraeg a ni fyddai’r ysgol gyntaf i’w gyflwyno yn yr iaith hon. Roedd y cytundeb hwn yn rhagddyddio’r ailwampio yng nghwricwlwm ysgolion Cymru a chyn dyfodiad Covid.

Ar ddechrau tymor y Gwanwyn 2020, fe darodd Covid – gohiriwyd fy hyfforddiant ac ni chaniatawyd ymwelwyr ar dir yr ysgol bryd hynny. Cwblheais fy hyfforddiant Paws b ar-lein fis Mehefin 2020 ac yn nhymor yr haf 2021 cyflwynais y cwrs i ddisgyblion CA2. Y diben oedd cyflwyno meddylgarwch i athrawon a myfyrwyr yr ysgol gyda’r bwriad bod yr ysgol edrych ar hyfforddiant pellach i’w staff er mwyn gwreiddio meddylgarwch yn llawn yn y tymor hir, gyda mi yn dod i mewn ar sail ymgynghorol i gefnogi ei weithrediad.

Nid oeddwn erioed wedi dysgu dosbarth o blant o’r blaen felly roedd yn llwybr dysgu serth! Enillais gymaint o hyder ynof fy hun, fy ngalluoedd fy hun a’r gred oedd gennyf mewn meddylgarwch, a dim ond cryfhau wnaeth y cwrs Paws b. Roedd yn bleser pur dysgu yn yr ysgol ac roeddwn i’n eithaf emosiynol ar ôl gorffen – doeddwn i ddim eisiau gadael. Cefais lawer o adborth anhygoel gyda sawl aelod o staff yn amlwg wedi buddsoddi yn y cwricwlwm a gweld ei fanteision drostynt eu hunain, ac yn awyddus iawn i barhau â meddylgarwch o fewn yr ysgol a rhai hyd yn oed yn awyddus i dderbyn yr hyfforddiant eu hunain er mwyn gallu ei gyflwyno.

Adborth gan staff:

“Rwy’n bendant yn fwy ymwybodol o bryd rwy’n teimlo’n sigledig ac rwyf wedi dysgu technegau i helpu fy hun. Maen nhw wir yn helpu, nid yn unig o fewn amgylchedd yr ysgol ond yn bersonol mewn bywyd bob dydd hefyd.”

“Mae meddylgarwch mor bwysig i ddisgyblion a staff. Rwyf wedi gweld effaith mor gadarnhaol arnom a byddaf yn bendant mewn cysylltiad yn y dyfodol i barhau â’r gwaith gwych hwn.”

“Cyn gynted ag y bydda i’n sylwi bod y dosbarth (neu fi) yn heb setlo, rydyn ni’n gwneud un o’r ymarferion anadlu gyda’n gilydd ac mae’n dod â ni yn ôl i lawr ac yn ein helpu ni i ganolbwyntio’n well, yn bendant.”

“Mae’r ymarferion yn fy helpu gyda fy ngorbryder fy hun.”

“Mae angen i mi wneud yr ymarferion hyn fy hun oherwydd rydw i dan straen, felly rwy’n falch eich bod chi yma!”

Adborth gan ddisgyblion:

“Fe wnes i’r ymarferion anadlu pan oedd fy chwaer yn tynnu arna i. Fe wnaethon nhw fy helpu i setlo a fy atal rhag ymladd yn ôl fel y byddwn i fel arfer.”

“Ydych chi’n dod yn ôl y flwyddyn nesaf i addysgu meddylgarwch eto?”

“Y peth gorau am y cwrs yw ein bod ni’n gallu siarad am yr hyn oedd yn ein poeni ni.”

“Fe wnes i’r anadlu bol a brest cyn i mi wneud fy nghystadleuaeth nofio oherwydd roeddwn i’n ofnus ac yn nerfus. Fe helpodd fi i setlo a chanolbwyntio, ac fe wnes i ennill y gystadleuaeth!”

“Ymlacio!”

“Rwy’n gwneud yr ymarferion cyn i mi fynd i gysgu; maen nhw’n fy helpu i setlo a chwympo i gysgu.”

“Mae’r ymarferion yn fy helpu pan dwi’n drist.”

“Fe helpodd fi i beidio teimlo dan straen.”

“Rwyf wrth fy modd â’r gwersi ymwybyddiaeth ofalgar a byddwn wrth fy modd yn ei wneud bob dydd.”

Ar ben hyn, gwelodd un rhiant, sy’n Ddirprwy Bennaeth ei hun, pa mor fuddiol ydoedd i’w phlant ac mae wedi fy ngwahodd i gyflwyno’r cwrs Paws b i holl ddosbarthiadau CA2 a’u Cyfleuster Addysgu Arbenigol Iau yn Ysgol Gynradd Llandeilo Ferwallt lle rwy’n dod i ddiwedd y cwrs 12 wythnos nawr.

Codwyd ymwybyddiaeth o’r cwrs o fewn yr ysgolion sy’n bwydo Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr a dangoswyd diddordeb gan dîm Seicoleg Addysg Awdurdod Lleol Abertawe.

Wrth i amser fynd rhagddo, mae ysgolion yng Nghymru wedi dechrau datblygu manylion y Cwricwlwm Iechyd a Lles newydd sy’n rhoi cyfle i feddylgarwch wneud cyfraniad sylweddol. Mae Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin bellach mewn sefyllfa i gymryd hyn i ystyriaeth a’r gobaith yw rhannu hynny gyda’r ysgolion eraill sy’n bwydo Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr.

The post Astudiaeth Achos: Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

• Name: Ffiona Owen
• Role: External mindfulness teacher
• Location: Swansea
• Age range of students: 7 – 11 years (KS2)
• Number of students: 276 (KS2)
• Number of classes: 9
• Percentage pupil premium: N/A
• Percentage SEND/SEMH: 16.7%
• Number of staff trained to teach mindfulness: 0
• Date of delivery: Summer term 12/04/2021 – 16/07/2021

During October 2014, on the recommendation of a psychologist, I completed the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course run by Dr Helen Davies from the Centre for Mindfulness-Based Work and Research, Swansea University, to help me deal with a newly-diagnosed neurological condition and the constant uncertainty, worry and stress it brought.

I had practiced as a Physiotherapist for 10 years, specialising in stroke rehabilitation. My practice was evidence-based and I’d never heard of mindfulness. I was struggling at the time and I had nothing to lose, so I completed the MBSR course.

I learnt so much: how to be present, how to concentrate on the here and now, how to deal with difficult emotions in a healthy way. I couldn’t help but think if I’d learnt these skills sooner, how much better I would have dealt with life stresses. At the time, my children were 5 and 3 years old and I couldn’t help but think how beneficial mindfulness would be for them.

During the Autumn term 2019, I approached Mr Ceri Scourfield, headteacher at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin, a Welsh-medium primary school in Swansea that my then 10 and 8 year old children attended. I already had a strong relationship with the school through my own children and I regularly volunteered to help Foundation Phase pupils with their reading. My hope was to introduce mindfulness programmes within the school.

I explained the Paws b course developed by Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) and we came to the agreement that I would deliver the programme on a volunteer basis to all 9 KS2 classes in return for the school paying my course fees. The curriculum had just been translated to Welsh and we would be the first school to deliver it in this language. This agreement pre-dated the overhaul in the Welsh schools curriculum and before the onset of Covid.

At the beginning of the Spring term 2020, Covid hit – my training was delayed and visitors weren’t permitted on the school premises at that time. I completed my Paws b training online June 2020 and in the Summer term of 2021 I delivered the course to the KS2 pupils. The purpose was to introduce mindfulness to the teachers and students at the school with a view to the school looking into further training for its staff in order to fully embed mindfulness long-term, with me coming in on a consultancy basis to support its implementation.

I had never taught a classroom of children before so it was a steep learning curve! I gained so much confidence in myself, my own abilities and the belief I had in mindfulness and the Paws b course only strengthened. It was an absolute pleasure to teach at the school and I was quite emotional when I finished – I didn’t want to leave. I had lots of amazing feedback with several staff members visibly invested in the curriculum and seen its benefits first-hand, and very keen to continue with mindfulness within the school and some keen to even train themselves and be able to deliver it.

Some staff feedback:

“I am definitely more aware of when I’m feeling wobbly and I’ve learnt techniques to help myself. They truly do help, not just within the school environment but personally in every-day life too.”

“Mindfulness is so important for both pupils and staff. I have seen such a positive effect on us and I will definitely be in touch in the future to carry on this fantastic work.”

“The practices help me with my own anxiety.”

“As soon as I notice that the class (or I) are unsettled, we do one of the breathing exercises together and it brings us right back down and helps us to focus better, most definitely.”

“I need to do these exercises myself because I’m stressed, so I’m glad you’re here!”

Some student feedback:

“I did the breathing exercises when my sister was winding me up. They helped me to settle and stopped me from fighting back like I normally would.”

“Are you coming back next year to teach mindfulness again?”

“The best thing about the course is that we could talk about what was worrying us.”

“Relaxing!”

“I do the practices before I go to sleep; they help me settle and fall asleep.”

“The practices help me when I’m sad.”

“It helped me not to stress out.”

“I love the mindfulness lessons and I’d love to do it every day.”

“I did the tummy and chest breathing before I did my swimming competition because I was scared and nervous.It helped me to settle and focus, and I won the competition!”

On the back of this, one parent, who is a Deputy Headteacher themselves, saw how beneficial it was for her children and has invited me to deliver the Paws b course to all KS2 classes and their Junior Specialist Teaching Facility at Bishopston Primary School where I am coming to the end of the 12-week course now.

Awareness of the course has been raised within the Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr feeder schools and interest has been shown by Swansea Local Authority Educational Psychology team.

As time has progressed schools in Wales have begun to develop the detail of the new Health and Wellbeing Curriculum which provides opportunity for mindfulness to make a significant contribution.  Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin are now in a position to take this on board and hopefully share that with the other feeder schools to Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr.

The post Case Study: Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontybrenin appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

• Setting: Service-wide. Local authority schools and workforce
• Location: Powys
• MiSP Curricula: .b Foundations, Paws b and .b
• Age group/s: Adults and young people 7-16
• Author: Linda Gutierrez
• Role: Emotional Health and Wellbeing Lead, Pupil Referral Service South and Mid Powys

About Powys Local Authority

Powys is the largest county in Wales, covering an area of some 2000 square miles, with a small population of around 132,000. Small schools and a workforce covering a wide geographical area makes it a challenge to develop and embed new initiatives. We train staff in a range of evidence-based interventions and, as a local authority, take an inclusive approach to ensure that opportunities for training and support are shared amongst our multi-agency workforce.

Linda’s Training:

• MBSR
• Teach .b
• School Mindfulness Lead

I began my training as a cognitive behavioural therapist, which included a three-day masterclass in depression with Dr Melanie Fennell from Oxford. I was aware of mindfulness, but despite the evidence-base, could not really see me delivering or practising it. From the moment I observed Melanie, so skilfully and profoundly guiding those first practices, I realised that this was something that could become part of me and my work, not just as a therapist but also in my inclusion work in schools.

I was on the hunt for evidence-based practice to address inclusion, attendance and behaviour issues for a Welsh Government pilot. I knew that I wanted to get mindfulness in there, so I turned to MiSP. I trained to teach .b in 2011 and we introduced it into schools.

Outcomes:

We were keen to build our toolkit of evidence and ran a small randomised control trial that showed children who took part in .b reported improved wellbeing during a particularly turbulent time in the school compared to their counterparts who did not take part in .b.

A Pathway for Powys - the importance of sustainability and inclusivity

Responding to the Pandemic

A sustainable and inclusive model

Introducing mindfulness into your setting

Thank you so much to Linda for the inspiring work she is doing. Her talk at the conference is available for Hub members here.

The post Offering mindfulness throughout the Powys County Council Pupil Referral Service: An inclusive and sustainable model. appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

WAVE is a multi-academy trust looking after:

• 13 schools and around 800 pupils KS1-KS5 (5-18yrs). Most of the schools are Alternative Provision Academies, educating children who are permanently excluded or at risk of permanent exclusion, or whose health means they cannot attend their school.

They also provide education in:

• A Tier 4 CAMHS unit, a residential unit for children with significant mental health and hospital inpatient education for pupils. They are growing provision across the trust and through outreach to the mainstream schools they serve in:

• Cornwall, Devon and Somerset
• Around 500 schools in a 6,500 sq. mile reach.

Rob Gasson, CEO, describes the work that they do in his talk at the MiSP conference.

“Our journey is to assess quickly . . . the needs of young people and work with them in a really heartfelt way to ensure that we can put together, with them, the steps they need to be successful not just in terms of their education but in terms that ensure that their lives are as successful as they can be.”

We’ve taken a strategic approach to putting mindfulness across the school and working with our entire populations, our families and our staff, as an entire organisation to ensure that we live this in terms of our ethos . . . and we’re growing through outreach across the mainstream schools that we serve.”

(Family Worker is) a big job and Ceri has done an absolutely amazing job in working with the young people and leading this across the trust and really enthusing all of us . . . it didn’t need a lot of work because, if you are in this field, hopefully you are connected to the understanding of how we connect in proper relationships with young people and with families.

I hope what we’ve done in this organisation is taking that, in terms of the strategic approach, to another level and we continue to do that in the next piece of work we are doing.”

STAFF WELLBEING

Rob Gasson CEO recognises the importance of staff wellbeing and shares WAVE MAT’s approach:

“We talked about recovery curriculum in schools for children and I think in alternative provision PRUs recovery curriculums are always recovery curriculums, but now we’re moving into recovery curriculums for staff because although we have fantastic colleagues, with a retention rate of 97% and average sick days of only 2 days a year, which is unprecedented in education and certainly unprecedented in our field, actually we know, I know, people’s journeys over the course of the last months have not been easy ones.

We’re deliberately looking now at how we can use mindfulness, how we can use other techniques around health and wellbeing and how we can bring supervision in  . . . and yoga . . . to actually allow our staff to be able to centre themselves so they continue to give to our young people because in our organisation young people come first but of course our most valuable resource are my colleagues . . . and they absolutely need to be able to be in a place where they can self-soothe and where they are in a position to continue to give in a way that is healthy.”

Ceri has experienced the benefits first hand:

“For me I was first introduced to mindfulness through .b Foundations, run as part of a Health and Wellbeing initiative and what it gave me was a fantastic support and toolkit during my day. I found I became a lot better at being aware of when I was becoming dysregulated.

Invariably we do meet incidences of high level behaviour and I found in those moments that I was given a tool I could use . . . and in turn I was much better at helping to regulate the students I was with.

Within WAVE we do a lot of training, Team Teach Training and . . . Trauma Informed Schools and central to both of those approaches are a regulated adult and what I found mindfulness has really helped me do is to be that regulated adult. It gives me a set of things to do to support myself and then be better at supporting the students.

Something that has been discussed in the MAT, looking at when we’re developing our own in-house Team Teach, is can we look to use these mindfulness-based approaches to help staff to support themselves during those times when they are dealing with these more highly charged incidents.”

 

Ceri ran a workshop for staff talking about MiSP, the use of mindfulness at her APA and introducing some of the Paws b practices. She hopes this will encourage more staff across the whole MAT to try mindfulness and maybe implement it in their APA.

She has since taught the 8-week .b Foundations course to 17 colleagues across the MAT. To support trained staff with ongoing mindfulness practice, she has also set up a regular sitting group.

PAWS b AT NINE MAIDENS: Our journey so far summary, highlights and positive feedback...

Ceri Skilton

Family Support Worker & School Mental Health Lead, Nine Maidens Alternative Provision Academy (APA), WAVE Multi Academy Trust (MAT), Cornwall.

Route to teaching:

• .b Foundations
• MBSR
• Teach Paws b
• Teach .b
• School Mindfulness Lead

What drew Ceri to mindfulness?

Working in an APA can be intense at times with moments of high stress and daily interactions with high numbers of dysregulated students can lead to burnout.

What were the benefits?

I found the .b Foundations highly beneficial, I learnt new ways to recognise and deal with my own stress levels which in turn have helped me to better care for and regulate the students I am with. I have also become better at self-regulating and taking care of myself during and after high level incidents which has improved the quality of my life both in and out of work.

What inspired Ceri to introduce mindfulness in her school?

I recognised how useful these practices could be for the students at our school who so often struggle with self-regulation. As a teaching assistant I was often the one who would be out of the classroom supporting students, so often we say to a student “Take five minutes out to go and calm down” but how do you do this if you have never been effectively taught?

I thought mindfulness could offer our students a set of practical tools that could help not just with situations like this but also generally in their daily life and interactions at school. I also thought that it would offer students the opportunity to experience moments of quiet during the day, something that many rarely, if ever experience.

What was Ceri’s experience of training with MiSP?

I was initially unsure as to how our students at the APA would respond to mindfulness; I was slightly concerned that our sessions were not going to look like the pictures or videos on the MiSP website! I had many questions for the Paws b trainers and they were fantastic in their support, advice and encouragement and I left the course feeling confident to give it a go.

I would like to thank MiSP as all of my places on the Paws b and .b have come through the supported school places scheme that they offer, without the discount offered to the school I would have been unable to do the training and introduce mindfulness to the students at our APA.

What was Ceri’s experience of delivering Paws b?

The students and staff responded positively to its implementation and the Paws b curriculum appeared to have a positive impact on behaviour for many of the students taking part.

One teacher commented to me afterwards that she felt that for one very high level and challenging student taking part in the Paws b sessions was the turning point in his more positive change in behaviour at school.

What feedback has she had from colleagues?

“Paws b is really enjoyable and aimed at an age-appropriate level. Our Nurture class understand Paws b and they enjoy taking part in the weekly sessions and developing their knowledge of mindfulness. The students use Paws b on a daily basis throughout the school day. This has helped them to better understand themselves and develop their self-control. We have seen a positive and effective impact on self-management and self-regulation since implementing the Paws b curriculum and practices into our classroom. We will continue to use the Paws b techniques we have learnt as part of our school day.” Primary Nurture Class Teacher

“Our class have embraced the Paws b sessions as part of their curriculum. They are beginning to understand the benefits and look forward to their daily practice. Staff have been able to encourage pupils to use the practices they have learnt during or before they become dysregulated. We have noticed that pupils are gaining a better understanding of their mood and ways in which they can maintain focus. With further practice we hope that they will be able to independently use a more mindful approach in times of distress.” Primary 3 Class Teacher

“A fantastic impact! The class use Paws b a lot often encouraging each other to use the practices when they are having a hard time. It gives the students a focus when they are stressed and the students are even quoting neurology at me now!”  Primary 1 Class Teacher

What do Ceri’s students say?

When taking part in the 30 practice challenge I ask the students to record what they noticed during the practice, here are some of their recordings:

• Petal Practice – I noticed it was beautiful.
• FOFBOC – I noticed it was calming even when people were shouting.
• Torch Practice – I noticed that I could see the torch light.
• Finger Breathing – I noticed that it calms me a lot especially on the first day of school.
• Torch Practice – I noticed you can take your attention anywhere.

OUR JOURNEY SO FAR: Training, implementation and impact...

Ceri’s training

I am a Family Support Worker & School Mental Health Lead at an Alternative Provision Academy (APA) in Cornwall which is part of the WAVE Multi Academy Trust (MAT).

I was first introduced to mindfulness in 2017 when our Health and Wellbeing Champion organised for the .b Foundations course to be run at our school.

Twelve staff members took part and several have since commented to me how useful they found the course.

I was so impressed with the mindfulness practices and their benefits taught on the .b Foundations course that later in the year I signed up and took part in a local 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course.

Following my 8 week MBSR course I continued with my own personal practice and joined a monthly local mindfulness sitting group.

In April 2018 I attended the Paws b training course in London

Implementation

What support did Ceri have?

I was lucky enough to be given a bursary from WAVE MAT to run a small research project into the impact of the Paws b curriculum on our students’ behaviour.

I have been incredibly lucky to have received much support and encouragement from the APA’s Principle my Headteacher John Stocker and staff at Nine Maidens and also from the CEO of WAVE MAT Rob Gasson and the executive committee, without which the introduction of mindfulness in our APA would have been impossible.

How did Ceri approach delivering Paws b, what helped and what was the impact?

Introducing Paws b

In the summer term of 2018 I taught three out of the four Primary classes the Paws b curriculum as part of my research project.

It helped that several of the staff members had taken part in the .b Foundations and that they were already familiar with the concepts and practices I was introducing.

The students and staff responded positively to its implementation and the Paws b curriculum appeared to have a positive impact on behaviour for many of the students taking part.

Repeating Paws b

At the end of the summer term I had finished teaching the Paws b and wasn’t really sure what I was going to do next. I provisionally thought that I could maybe teach the Paws b sessions to each Primary class once a year. However in October 2018 staff from the year 5 and 6 class (Primary 3) asked if I would come back to teach the Paws b sessions again.

One of the students in particular was really struggling with regulating himself and they felt that he wouldn’t engage in a one-on-one session but would take part if the whole class did so too. I began teaching the Paws b curriculum again to Primary 3. Classes at our APA change quite frequently, as new students arrive and other students leave and are re-integrated back into mainstream, so at least half of the class had not done the Paws b sessions.

It helped having a few students who were already familiar with what to do as the new students just followed suit and took part in the practices with little fuss.

There is always some resistance to any kind of learning activity at an APA but in general the students seem to enjoy engaging in the Paws b, it is run as part of our PSHE curriculum it is not optional and they are expected to take part as they would with any other learning activity. I have had students have to leave the room due to disruptive behaviour but in general it has been well received.

I sell it to them that there is no reading/writing and all they have to do is sit and watch, the students particularly enjoy the questioning nature of the curriculum. It offers them the opportunity to reflect and think about things we don’t often think or talk about such as what makes you wobble and what do you find difficult.

Most of the students find this interesting and engaging and enjoy sharing their experiences; often if they are not engaging at the start are by the end.

Phase 3 Embedding the learning

Lunchtime Club

I wanted to encourage the students in Primary 3 to continue practicing throughout the week between sessions so I set up a daily lunch time club. I go to the classroom after lunch every day and those who want to can come and sit in the corner of the room and do a Paws b practice with me.

Student Mindfulness Ambassadors

In October 2018 I did the .b training course and was introduced to the idea of a 30, 60 and 100 day challenge and the creation of a ‘Student Mindfulness Ambassador’. Several students are taking part in this award scheme, recording their daily lunch time practices and ultimately I would like one or two ‘Student Mindfulness Ambassadors’ who will then go into the other three classes and lead short Paws b practices with the younger students.

Impact

There is one student in Primary 3 for whom the Paws b has been particularly helpful. At the start however he absolutely hated Paws b, leaving the classroom during the first two sessions shouting “I hate Paws b I don’t want to train my mind.” However over the weeks that the sessions and lunch time club have been running he has been joining in more and more. He now joins in all the Paws b sessions and is a regularly attender at the lunch time sessions and was one of the first students to gain the 30 practice bronze award. He is working towards and is keen to become our first ‘Student Mindfulness Ambassador.’

Primary 1 is a class for students in years two and three. In November the class teacher informed me that one afternoon when the class was particularly lively she had stopped the students and asked them what they could do to help themselves settle down. One of the students, who had taken part in the Paws b sessions with me during the summer term and whom had just moved into her class, put up his hand up and said “We could do a Paws b.” He then led the whole class to do a sitting Paws b practice, the teacher was really impressed!

Phase 4 Repeating Paws b

With this in mind and the fact that many of the students had changed in our classes I decided to run the Paws b curriculum again for the two classes Primary Nurture and Primary 1. We started in January, as the students are younger I will only teach the first six half hour sessions.

Impact

The teacher has since commented to me that since taking part in the Paws b sessions she has noticed the students from Primary 1 being more supportive of one another at times of difficulty suggesting Paws b practices that the student in need could use to help calm down.

Embedding the learning

During the week between sessions once a day I try to do a Paws b practice. This might be before breakfast, at circle time or before an activity, we do a Paws b most days.

I have also noticed the students from Primary Nurture starting to use the Paws b practices independently, with one student who loves to play football at break time pausing for five breaths before practicing his big football kick.

I leave a Paws b display in each classroom building it up week by week with each session. It means once the curriculum is over the students and staff still have a visual tool box of practices that they can remember and use.

Running the Paws b sessions has even helped staff further support one another, with one of the staff members from Primary 3 doing one of the Paws b practices with another staff member who was very nervous prior to their job interview.

What’s next?

Ceri is now a Family worker for WAVE.

She has trained as a School Mindfulness Lead and taught .b Foundations to her colleagues. Three of these colleagues have trained to teach .b through the MAPS project.

Ceri hopes to continue teaching .b Foundations to staff and that they can get a community of people who are teaching and practising across WAVE.

She hopes to work towards gaining the MiSP School Award.

Ceri is doing wonderful work at the WAVE MAT and offers inspiration to other new and established MiSP trained teachers. We are so grateful to her for sharing her experience.

HUB members have access to some fantastic tips from Ceri about delivering Paws b and embedding mindfulness in her APA.

Hub members also have access to the full conference talk by Rob and Ceri.

The post WAVE MAT – A Strategic Approach appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

Mental health problems in 7 – 12 year olds are at an all time high.
1 in 5 kids in the UK have never seen the sea.

I was a class teacher in a small primary school in Lewisham for 10 years. Unfortunately, although the school had a lovely community, it was often overshadowed by news of local violence and crime. Many of the children never got the chance to leave their housing estates and a trip to the shopping mall was the highlight for many of them.

I used to run a few mindfulness sessions and lunchtime clubs from time-to-time, knowing how much the teachers and children needed it throughout the day – but I wanted to do more, and in 2017 had the idea of getting some of the children out to Cornwall, to experience the elements of the ‘surf lifestyle’; fitness, swimming, movement, and a mindful approach to life.

I developed City Kids Surfing project, a six-week programme that built towards a ‘graduation’ night and a four-day trip to Newquay.

We go into schools and promote ‘ocean literacy’ and surfing as a lifestyle choice and invite applications to the programme. The project works mostly with pupil premium children, recommended by their teachers with some referrals from councils, and their families. Children who have not seen the ocean are prioritised for selection.

Successful applicants join a group of trainee ‘Urban Oceaneers’ where they learn to swim against the elements, basic beach safety and life-saving skills. They qualify as conservationists and plan and deliver a speech on an environmental topic before ‘qualifying’ to train as a surfer!

The project culminates in the trip to the coast where we stay in youth hostels, visit a surf school for two days, eat round the campfire and share stories of the waves to heal our over-stimulated minds from the modern world.

In 2019, we were planning for twice as many kids and a great new location in Devon. But having moved forward with my own personal mindfulness journey, I realised that what was lacking was the element of formal mindfulness that I saw as vital: I needed to deliver mindfulness as a skill integrated in the project, but I was unqualified to deliver it.

That’s when the Teach Paws b course came to the rescue! I had researched various courses and felt that Paws b was the strongest. The course in London landed just at the right time for us, and the supported place was very much appreciated as we run the project on extremely limited funds.

The overall objective of the project is to use the lifestyle choices, attitudes and attributes of surf communities to tackle life. We teach the kids how to think positively, prepare, look after personal wellbeing, take risks but stay safe and, of course, how to charge a wave. Free, natural adrenaline is a better choice than crime and violence.

Mindfulness is a key element of all of it. The first two sessions of Paws b are taught in their schools and then we take the ‘sits’ with us to the beach. We sit together to calm nerves in dorms and then on the beach. Beach sits are glorious, so many sounds and new experiences. We sit in the evening before bed too.

The changes we see over four days are miraculous, I am in no doubt that Paws b is a vital part of the experience for these children, it ties in perfectly and the kids have been showing their parents too!

As the program strengthens and numbers increase, our use of Paws b will too. We can direct the groups in the future to MiSP’s online sits and hopefully have some guest teachers down to the beach!

Children have responded miraculously. If it was not for the Paws b element, I can say categorically that some of them would be too nervous to go into the sea. Some would not have made it onto the trip due to behavioural issues. To be able to teach the course and then just say “Pause and be, bro” and they know what we mean, is a gift. Many analogies are made to waves, emotions and ocean layers, but the core is their understanding of mindfulness.

We make sure we explain the mindfulness element to schools and families as an integral part of the project and we talk through the benefits of mindfulness for the children. Aware that mindfulness may not be appropriate for everyone, we give the children the choice to opt out of the mindfulness sits, but last year, out of 19 kids they all asked for more!

The Future …

Unfortunately we had to cancel this year’s trip due to COVID, but we are planning something bigger in 2021! We are now working with two schools and a youth community in Brixton. The charity’s trustees are looking at how the Paws b element can be strengthened and made the most of, especially post-project.

My recent experiences with online platforms have given me many ideas, although the pastoral care element has to be carefully considered. We have been looking to develop an online presence to keep the kids involved post-project since the beginning, so I am now looking at possibilities.

2021 will see 30 children on the trip, which for us is huge!

More information:

• Visit the City Kids Surfing website.
• Email City Kids Surfing.
• Watch the five minute Volvo film about City Kids Surfing: Unseen Ocean
• Find out more about MiSP Supported Places.
• Find out more about the Teach Paws b course.

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