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We highly recommend that schools and educators explore the training sessions and resources offered by Pooky, who holds a PhD in child mental health from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. This practical training session is designed to provide educators with effective tools and strategies for supporting students' emotional regulation.

Through this session, you'll gain invaluable insights into the emotional challenges students often face, along with actionable strategies to help them feel calmer and more ready to engage in learning. The training covers both immediate techniques for calming and co-regulating with students, as well as longer-term approaches for proactive soothing, self-care, and creating a positive, low-arousal classroom environment.

By the end of the session, you'll walk away with a practical toolkit of strategies that will help foster a more supportive and inclusive learning environment, making it easier for all students to thrive emotionally and academically.

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INSET: Emotional Regulation in the Classroom

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Slides and resources from and INSET session which explored practical strategies for promoting emotional regulation in the classroom.

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Reducing mental health stigma in schools

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Teachers and other school staff often do not reach out for help with their mental health, due to the stigma surrounding it. Our guide provides ideas, tips and approaches for tackling stigma in your school.

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Classroom display play a significant role in creating an environment that supports concentration and learning. However, it's important to remember that, just like when we go to the cinema or sit an exam, we often prefer our surroundings to be minimalistic to help us focus. In these settings, the area around us is deliberately kept blank to avoid distractions and allow us to concentrate on the task at hand.

This principle can be applied to your classroom, particularly on the front focal wall. The front wall is typically the first place a student looks when entering the classroom, and it's essential that it doesn't overwhelm them with too many visual stimuli. To help promote focus and reduce distractions, I urge you to keep this space fairly clear. The exception could be a visual timetable, which helps children understand the structure of their day, your whiteboard, which can be used for teaching or writing instructions, and perhaps one or two key items that are relevant to the lesson or learning objective that day.

By keeping the front wall simple and purposeful, you create a space that encourages students to direct their attention to what matters most, whether it’s the lesson, the task in front of them, or the teacher’s instructions. A clear and uncluttered focal point can help students stay focused, aiding both their concentration and learning outcomes.

Sarah

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busy classroom walls too much on display free image

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The Green Paper on transforming children's and young people’s mental health provision outlines the government’s commitment to improving mental health services. It acknowledges the importance of early intervention and the role schools and colleges can play in identifying and supporting mental health needs. Key initiatives include increasing NHS funding, hiring more therapists, and providing mental health support teams in schools. The goal is to ensure all young people have access to timely, appropriate mental health support, particularly in schools and colleges, preventing issues from escalating. This will be achieved through collaboration between education, NHS services, and local communities.

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What should the role of a wellbeing governor look like? 

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What should the role of a wellbeing governor look like? 

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Find out more about the role of a wellbeing link governor and how you can make a difference in education through this role.

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1. Create a Safe and Inclusive Space
Keep the classroom cozy, organised, and free from clutter to create a calming environment. Set clear expectations for kindness and respect to ensure every child feels valued.

2. Encourage Positive Relationships
Build trust by actively listening to children, checking in on their well-being, and promoting peer support. Use group work and collaborative activities to foster community.

3. Support Emotional Regulation
Introduce mindfulness exercises and breathing techniques to help students manage stress. Use tools like mood charts for students to express their emotions and practice positive reinforcement to boost self-esteem.

4. Promote Mental Health Awareness
Encourage open conversations about mental health and provide resources for support. Include mental health topics in lessons and check in on childrens’ emotions regularly.

5. Create a Positive Atmosphere
Use motivational quotes and affirmations in the classroom. Celebrate achievements and progress, no matter how small, to build a positive, affirming environment.

6. Establish Routine and Predictability
Stick to a consistent schedule to reduce anxiety and help children feel secure. Use visual timetables for younger children or those who need extra support. Maybe you can use now and next boards?

7. Foster Creativity and Self-Expression
Allow children to express themselves through art, journaling, or other creative outlets. Give them some autonomy in their learning to boost confidence and control.

8. Integrate Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Teach SEL skills like empathy, problem-solving, and self-awareness. Use role-playing to help students practice handling emotional challenges.

9. Support Individual Needs
Be flexible with childrens’ needs and offer personalised support when necessary. Adjust workloads or expectations to ensure every child feels supported and able to succeed.

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Coming soon creating a relationship policy...

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Coming soon creating a relationship policy...

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5 ways to wellbeing interesting to read...

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5 ways to wellbeing interesting to read...

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Mental Health and Wellbeing Provision in School 

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Mental Health and Wellbeing Provision in School 

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Quality-assured information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children's mental health and wellbeing.

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Advice and support for staff  working with young people in relation to self-harm

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Advice and support for staff  working with young people in relation to self-harm

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Advice and support for staff working with young people

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Self-harm affects up to 1 in 5 young people today. It spans the divides of gender, class, age and ethnicity. It’s a growing problem and one that’s not going away. Self-harm is the term commonly used to describe any way in which a young people might choose to actively harm themselves or put themselves at risk. Self-harm is typically a way of coping with difficult thoughts, feelings or experiences.

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The road to burnout I think this applies to staff and children!

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The road to burnout I think this applies to staff and children!

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Pressure and performance - Mental health awareness at work - eLearning

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**Free **  Open University course on Child participation 

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**Free **  Open University course on Child participation 

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Children and young people’s participation is a complex and contested area. The theme of ‘participation’ infers a sense of involvement, citizenship and agency. Here you look at the multidimensional nature of children’s participation and the many challenges that practitioners and children face. When thinking about these issues it will be important to reflect on your own assumptions and to critically evaluate relevant research, findings and theory.

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children and young people’s participation | openlearn

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Children and young people's participation

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Listening to children is a first step in the participation agenda, which is reasonably well established. By contrast, enabling children to share in decision making lags some way behind. This free ...

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Sarah's quick takeaways from this document from 2024:

1. Reduce Workload: Simplify tasks, prioritise key responsibilities, and streamline processes to help teachers manage their workload more effectively.

2. Provide Mental Health Resources: Offer access to counselling services, workshops, and stress-relief activities to support teachers' mental health.

3. Encourage Work-Life Balance: Promote clear boundaries between work and personal life, and encourage teachers to take regular breaks and time off.

4. Foster a Supportive Environment: Create a culture of support where teachers feel comfortable discussing their challenges and accessing help from colleagues or management.

5. Promote Self-Care: Encourage teachers to prioritise self-care and provide opportunities for relaxation, physical activity, or professional development related to wellbeing.

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Our annual Teacher Wellbeing Index provides an insight into the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff working in the UK.

Our annual survey of over 3,082 education staff found that in 2022 record numbers of UK teachers and education staff have considered leaving the sector in the past academic year due to pressures on their mental health and wellbeing.

Over half of staff have actively sought to change or leave their current jobs, citing workload as the main factor

Other key findings include:

Whilst these data make difficult reading for everyone involved in trying to make the system the best it can be, the simple fact is that we are failing. Our children and young people deserve so much more from us. It is time to invest in the workforce and to remove the well documented drivers of significant stress in the system.
Sinéad Mc Brearty, CEO Education Support

Our conclusions

Stress, depression and anxiety have all remained at an unsustainably high level.

Real term funding cuts bite. For the first time, 'lack of resources' has become one of the top five reasons that staff, especially in primary settings, consider leaving the profession.

There are long-term health implications for the education workforce.

Schools support staff wellbeing has deteriorated and their levels of stress and depression have increased. This demonstrates a saturation of stress at all levels of the school workforce.

Download the report below.

Teacher Wellbeing Index 2022

Teacher Wellbeing Index 2017-2021

Employee Assistance Programme

Our service provides emotional and practical support that helps you and your colleagues thrive at work.

Employee Assistance Programme

Are you a headteacher, deputy or assistant headteacher? Would you like to access services focussed on improving your mental health and wellbeing?

School leaders' support

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The Teacher Wellbeing Index details the findings of Education Support's annual survey into the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff working in the UK

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At Barnardo's one of our core values is believing in the unique worth of every individual.

Today, this informs our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, which is at the heart of our Strategy.

This commitment is central to achieving our vision, of a world in which no child is turned away from the support they need.

It is also key to ensuring we provide an inclusive environment for all our colleagues and volunteers, as well as the children, young people and families we support.

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Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is central to achieving our vision of a world in which no child is turned away.

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Wellbeing activities: Managing stress Use these activities for young people and children to explore the resources they have to manage and understand stress

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Wellbeing activities: Managing stress Use these activities for young people and children to explore the resources they have to manage and understand stress

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For age 7-18 for PSHE

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Use activities for young people and children to explore the resources they have to manage and understand stress

Learning how to manage wellbeing can help us cope with change and challenges. To be able to manage wellbeing we need to understand how things affect people and what we have around us that can help.

These activities help children and young people to learn how to use their resources to help manage stress can help improve wellbeing and help others in different situations. Activities are linked to two new animated videos.

Learning objectives

build resilience, kindness and empathy

learn how to manage stress

reflect on what we have around us that can help

think about our wellbeing and what we can do to improve it

Resource overview

There are different activities for primary and secondary learners and two different document downloads - managing stress and using what we have around us as well as two stress fact sheets, one for primary learners and one for secondary.

This resource was developed by the British Red Cross in July 2020.

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educational activities stress primary school

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educational activities stress secondary school

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Wellbeing activities: managing stress | British Red Cross

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Use activities for young people and children to explore the resources they have to manage and understand stress Learning how to manage wellbeing can help us cope with change and challenges. To be able to manage wellbeing we need to understand how things affect people and what we have around us that can help.

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Samaritans Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening **Free Resource!**

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Samaritans Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening **Free Resource!**

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DEAL: Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening

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DEAL: Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening

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MindEd – provides free online teaching to help adults to identify and understand children and young people with mental health problems. It provides simple, clear guidance on mental health to adults who work with children and young people, to help them support the development of young healthy minds.

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) – the SDQ can assist schools in taking an overview and making a judgement about whether a pupil is likely to be suffering from a mental health problem.

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They reckon only about 2% of people fall into the category of feeling consistently great.

The “2%ers” stand out a mile. They are enthusiastic, optimistic, energetic, effervescent and possess a ‘can-do’ mentality.

Research shows that they live longer, are more productive and raise the happiness levels of the people around them.

But, let’s face it, everyone needs a reminder! Staying happy and positive takes practice and know-how. You could do with all the help you can get! worth signing up to!

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Skip to content

So, what exactly is...

Modern life is exhausting. If you're not careful it can grind you and your team down into 'average mode'.

Art of Brilliance exists to help you raise the bar from surviving to thriving. We specialise in keynotes, training and webinars that remind you (and your colleagues) how to SHINE.

Our aim is to help you be your best self.

Check out our services. We want to help you SHINE!

...and we've worked with some truly brilliant clients

The course was so inspirational and motivational - one of the best I've ever been on. It really provoked thought about how every interaction can make a difference, and why choosing to be positive matters. I can't wait for the next part of the course!

SKY TV

These are just a few of the brilliant people we've worked with... We'd love to have you on the list as well!

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Skip to content So, what exactly is... Modern life is exhausting. If you're not careful it can grind you and your team down into 'average mode'. Art of Brilliance exists to help you raise the bar from surviving to thriving. We specialise in keynotes, training and webinars that remind you (and your colleagues) how to SHINE.

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How Every Child Can Thrive by Five | Molly Wright | TED

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Impossible to I'm possible - Resilient.  

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Impossible to I'm possible - Resilient.  

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Sparsh Shah wants to show people how they can transcend every difficulty that comes their way in life and how they can start a chain reaction to be a guide for other people who want to turn their life around as well.

Four steps

1. Find your passion

2. Never hold yourself back

3. Help Others

4. Dream Big

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How a 13 year old changed 'Impossible' to 'I'm Possible' | Sparsh Shah | TEDxGateway

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The Neurodiversity Hub is a multi-agency signposting and support service comprising of NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary Sector staff. Please note, the Neurodiversity Hub do not carry out Autism or ADHD assessments and they do not refer to these assessment services directly.

Drop in session

Parents and carers can attend the drop in sessions. Details of these sessions can be found via the Facebook Page - HMR Neurodiversity Hub or you can email for more information.

What to expect: You will have a consultation with a member of the Neurodiversity Hub. We will discuss your concerns and support available. Our sessions jointly run with the Home-Start RAASS service and so you can chat to the Home-Start staff and other parents and look at resources whilst you wait. You will be offered a drink and a biscuit or breakfast.

Tuesday Advice Line

When: Every Tuesday

What to expect: You will have a consultation with a member of the Neurodiversity Hub. We will discuss your concerns and support available.

To book: Get in touch between 8am - 12pm on a Tuesday morning. You will then be added to a call back list and a member of the team will return your call between 1pm-5.30pm

Evening Advice Line

When: Wednesday evening (once a month) Details of these sessions can be found via the Facebook Page - HMR Neurodiversity Hub or you can get in touch for more information.

What to expect: You will have a consultation with a member of the Neurodiversity Hub. They will discuss your concerns and support available.

To book: Get in touch between 8am - 12pm on a Wednesday morning. You will then be added to a call back list and a member of the team will return your call between 6-8pm.

Tel: 0161 206 0606
Email: hmr-ndhub@nca.nhs.uk