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Mental Health Week
Mental Health Week 2020
In February we celebrated ‘Children’s Mental Health Week’ which is run by the children’s charity Place2Be who support children all over the UK in schools. This year’s theme was ‘Find Your Brave’ encouraging children to share how they feel so they can get the support they need.
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Our Heads of Wellbeing, Avani and Emma, with members of the Wellbeing Council led a school assembly explaining how being brave means different things for each of us. We were reminded of how to keep ourselves healthy, mentally and physically with top tips followed by a ‘Mindful Moment’ to practice breathing and being present. During the week the children enjoyed doodling on the wellbeing roll, sharing messages and writing inspiring stories for friends in the ‘I am Brave’ book and Avani and Emma read stories to the younger children about being brave.
This term’s parent talk also linked into the theme looking at neuroscience and offering practical strategies to help manage difficult emotions with our children, building language and awareness, self-care strategies, relaxation and breathing exercises. Science tells us that the more we practice a thought or action the more we build and strengthen these connections in our brain. If we can incorporate simple exercises that boost our wellbeing and make these part of our daily routine just like brushing our teeth then we will feel the benefits on our overall mood and capacity to manage challenges or stress. Our aim at Upton is to help each child flourish, learn and succeed by providing opportunities to help develop their personal ‘tool box’ of strengths and skills that underpin emotional resilience and positive life choices.
The Wellbeing Library is full of stories and activity books that parents and children are welcome to borrow at any time. Parent leaflets covering a range of different topics relating to emotional wellbeing are also available outside the office. Please do not hesitate to email me with any queries, concerns or suggestions for future parent discussion topics. AnnaHewitt@uptonhouse.org.uk
