The Challenge:

Over the last few years there has been a significant and positive shift in mental health awareness, where the focus in schools has been to provide services that support the pupil’s emotional, social and mental health. However, there continues to be growing need to support the teachers as they teach and care for the pupils. With classes of varying numbers and need, there can be many moments in the day where a teacher is having to care for pupils who are experiencing anxiety, a moment of emotional dysregulation, feelings of overwhelm or difficulty processing information; often they don’t feel supported or trained to do so. As part of their teachers and children’s wellbeing week St Vigor and St John booked a workshop at their primary school with Clare to support and train teachers on how to improve connection and communication with their pupils using a new framework and her picture books as resources.

The Outcome:

Teachers were inspired and encouraged at having a framework that offered structure and direction which supported their emotional health and in turn supported their pupil’s emotional health. It was noted that the teachers felt this framework could be implemented in the calm classroom moments and the more disruptive moments and would be of benefit each time it was used.