£111k boost for Sunderland schools to support emotional wellbeing

SHINE Sunderland has awarded £111,380 to ‘True Self’, a project to create a network of mindfulness practitioners in local schools, supporting pupils struggling to regulate their emotions.

Project authors Joanne Maw, Headteacher of Southmoor Academy and CEO of Aspire North East, and Katy Tinman, Pathway Lead at Southmoor Academy, tell us first-hand about the initiative and about receiving the award.

‘True Self’ will train a network of professionals to become mindfulness practitioners who can lead on expanding the initiative to colleagues in their own school settings.

The three-year project will begin with six schools – three primaries and three secondaries – in collaboration with The Link School, an alternative provider of primary and secondary education in the area. The Link School already has a successful mindfulness programme and will host the initial training.

Joanne explains that mindfulness techniques can help pupils self-regulate as staff are not only “able to be adaptable with children who are in distress, but also able to pre-empt those stresses from happening as well”. The eventual goal is for ‘True Self’ to be adopted as a city-wide approach throughout Sunderland schools.

In the first year, two members of staff in each school will be trained to understand how mindfulness can support pupils who are in distress.

Working initially with small groups of 10 children, the staff will lead mindful conversations with anxious pupils, so that they feel listened to and valued, thus improving their relationship with school, attendance and attainment.

Staff will explore different branches of mindfulness and be encouraged to develop a toolkit of techniques that best fit with their school’s provision, and that align with their school’s ethos.

“It might be that one school chooses breath work because that makes the most sense in their lessons. And then one school might choose sand play because they’re a smaller school and they’ve got the equipment to be able to do that,” said Katy.

“So the first year is to figure out where they feel most comfortable and confident in terms of their own training. The aim is that eventually all the staff know how to use the strategies and all the staff are confident in employing them.”

In the second year, trained staff will share mindfulness practices with colleagues, supporting them to use the branch of mindfulness that best suits their school environment.

Trainers will meet practitioners termly to guide their continued professional development (CPD) of ‘True Self’ approaches. Schools will have flexibility to choose the training method that best suits their needs, be it a whole school approach, by department, or via one-to-one drop-in sessions.

Year three of the project will see an increased use of ‘True Self’ techniques across the wider school setting; teachers using mindfulness with learners in their classroom, pastoral staff with pupils in detention or as part of an intervention, or lunchtime staff working with children in the yard.

Eventually, as the project is integrated into the whole school community, it is expected that a common language and shared understanding will emerge, benefiting all learners.

“The aim is to create a change in school culture in relation to mental health, mindfulness and well-being….and that staff will be able to use mindfulness within their classrooms to support pupils as a form of low-level intervention,” Katy said.

Emphasising the importance of trained staff having firsthand experience of mindfulness techniques, Joanne explained: “You can hear about it and understand it and understand how it works, but it’s only by actually experiencing the impact on yourself that you realise actually this works. It’s the experience that that convinces people.

“So we need the practitioners who are going to be leading this to really believe in it and to have experienced the positive impact of mindfulness themselves so that they can then be passionate about sharing it in their own setting.”

Examples of mindfulness techniques with children can include breathing, creative work, sand play, guided meditation, gentle movement such as yoga, sensory activities, listening and observation.

It is hoped that as ‘True Self’ becomes embedded into school practices there will be a positive impact on children’s well-being and their ability to self-regulate emotions, leading to fewer suspensions, increased classroom engagement, improved attendance, and greater overall attainment.

Joanne and Katy are optimistic that the practice will be embraced by whole school communities, leading to shared understanding and becoming part of the day-to-day language and culture.

Looking ahead, the team anticipates all schools in Sunderland being invited to take part, with the long-term hope that ‘True Self’ techniques will be adopted city-wide and become part of mainstream practice.

This could lead to improved outcomes for pupils in the area, as well as ease transitions for children moving to a new school, such as from primary into secondary, as language and practices will be familiar.

Joanne sad: “We know across the city that attendance is a barrier, but even when children are in school and are dysregulated, it has the same impact as non-attendance. So we want them to have the tools to be able to direct their own regulation through standard approaches.”