Wellbeing

Wellbeing at Barrow Hills

In early 2020, we were delighted to launch a series of talks aimed at sharing ideas and putting the spotlight on mental and physical wellbeing. At the first event, our guest speakers were: Dr Anne-Lise Goddings, Clinical Lecturer at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and specialist in the adolescent brain discussing ‘The Mysterious Workings of the Teenage Brain’. Followed by Pippa Goedkoop BA (Hons) Dip OCR SpLD, specialist teacher and qualified assessor of learners with dyslexia/SpLDs and Head of Learning Support and Extension at Barrow Hills, ‘C’est La Vie, how to build resilience in children’. The evening was a huge success with a packed hall with a lively Q&A session following the two presentations. The second of the talks took place in March and was another fascinating evening. Dr Paola Carr-Walker BSc (Hons) MPsych (Foren) DClinPsych PgDip AFBPsS, Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, and Founder of Mental Health Now, offering consultancy and training in mental health spoke about ‘Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours – a Psychological Approach towards Better Mental Health’. Followed by Roz Scudamore BA (Hons), qualified yoga teacher, children’s wellbeing ambassador, co-founder of ROSA Retreats and teacher of yoga and wellbeing in schools across Surrey and Hampshire on ‘Wellbeing Practices for Children - practical techniques in yoga breathing, mindfulness and raising emotional awareness’. We really have some amazing members of our school community who are willing to share their expertise with us. Many thanks to Anne-Lise Goddings, Pippa Goedkoop, Paola Coffey and Roz Scudamore and the Barrow Hills team for their professionalism and hard work.

Also in January, our children took part in Parkinson’s Awareness Week with the help of the Guildford and South Surrey Branch of Parkinson’s UK. The awareness week was organised by Niki Oldroyd who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 25. “My particular challenges with Parkinson’s are in initiating movement (usually walking) and freezing, where my brain is saying go but my legs are saying no. This causes lack of balance, lack of coordination and often falls. I am very aware that the children see this when I am around the school and may be confused and worried.”

The week started in Monday Assembly, led by Mrs Oldroyd and Parkinson’s UK volunteer speaker Valerie Box. Throughout the week the children attended interactive sessions, designed to give them an understanding of the main symptoms of Parkinson’s - slowness, stiffness and tremor. As much as possible the symptoms were simulated, allowing the children a glimpse into the world of the 145,000 people in the UK who have the disease (1.2% of people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s are under

the age of 50). The week culminated on Friday 24th January in a Use Your Head for Parkinson’s event to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK. Children and teachers were encouraged to donate £2 and wear something silly on their head - the more outrageous the better. From wonderful wigs to silly hats and crazy hair bands, the whole school community supported the event, raising over £500. In February, during our Mental Health Awareness week, the children experienced lessons, talks and assemblies to help them understand the many factors surrounding their own and each others’ mental and physical wellbeing. Upper Prep began their week focusing on the view ‘we all have mental health’, watching some useful clips which gave them some consistent and accessible language to talk about mental health, a better understanding of mental health self-care, as well as knowing that there were plenty of people available for support should they need it. All of Prep took part in some on-line yoga and mindfulness techniques. Year 4R then got the whole school involved during their Friday assembly! The children also learnt about guided breathing - one of the most overlooked - yet most effective - stress management tools. Simply intentionally taking a couple of deep breaths initially can help ground the mind and help to fi nd a moment of calm. Tuesday’s form time was centred around a healthy lifestyle - both diet and staying active. One key message was that you do not have to be thin to be fi t and healthy. Children were encouraged to walk or possibly gently jog around the orchard, the fi eld or generally around the school during lunch break. The children enjoyed investigating their resting heart rate. Everyone took their pulse for 60 seconds - it was actually quite tricky to count! They then took part in exercise of some description in the classroom for one minute - perhaps high knees, squats, or burpees. They then took their heart rate again. There was quite a difference!

There were interesting discussions on what fi tness/exercise actually means and how this must be combined with a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle. On Wednesday and Thursday it was time to keep their brains active and keep learning. Sudoko, crosswords, word unscramble and brain games for all ages were the order of the day. By Friday it was time for sleep! “Sleep is a vital, often neglected, component of every person’s overall health and well-being. Sleep is important because it enables the body to repair and be fi t and ready for another day. Getting adequate rest may also help prevent excess weight gain, heart disease, and increased illness duration.”

During PSHE lessons throughout the week, the topics were centred around anxiety, stress worries and some tools and tips on how to try and overcome these. It was an informative and engaging week and all the children learnt some useful tips for keeping their minds and bodies healthy, as well as knowing that they are always able to fi nd support at school. Thank you to Mrs Wallace and Mr Crisell for organising. In March, our new wellbeing room opened. Children are invited to pop into this safe space if they need a listening ear in times of anxiety or worry.

Over half term, children from Reception to Year 8 entered a competition to name the ‘safe space’. There were some amazing entries, made even more special by the fact they came from Reception to Year 8.

There were seven highly commended entries: Jacob (4G), Edith (4G), James (8G), Barnaby (8G), Aria (3R), Leonor (6R), Jackson (6R). The top three were ‘The Chatterbox’, ‘The Happy Hangout’ and ‘Safe and Sound’.

Then it was time for the children to vote...

In joint second place was ‘The Chatterbox’ suggested by Maxx from Reception and ‘Safe and Sound’ from Autumn (3G).

In fi rst place with 98 votes was ‘The Happy Hangout’ by Imogen (3R).

But there was also an entry that all the staff liked because it was such a good description for the room rather than a name. ‘A Place for You’ was entered by April (6G).

Our Barrow Hills wellbeing room is named: The Happy Hangout - A Place for You.