The role of well-being is to ensure we support children's health, well-being and mental health needs as well as offering a robust well-being curriculum model. Children have access to a wide range of support within our school including mindfulness sessions from an experienced mindfulness coach, focused curriculum activities, staff support, our cwtch provision and a range of external agencies including shine practitioners.
Welcome to our Well-Being and Mindfulness Zone
Here in Brynnau Primary School, your child will be learning about mindfulness once a week as part of the well-being curriculum through ‘Paws.b’ and ‘The Present’ mindfulness curriculum.
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (foundation phase) will be exploring mindfulness through the ‘The Present’ and Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 will be exploring mindfulness through ‘Paws.b’ and ‘The Present’.
You may have heard of mindfulness or read some of the recent media coverage about it.
A great deal of this media interest has arisen as a result of the growing body of rigorous research evidence regarding the potential benefits of mindfulness for young people. These include randomised control trials and neuroscientific studies.
As Professor Katherine Weare (Emeritus Professor, Southampton and Exeter Universities) observed in her award-winning research summary: Evidence for the Impact of Mindfulness on Children and Young People, schools who engage in mindfulness are likely to see ‘beneficial results on the emotional wellbeing, mental health, ability to learn and even the physical health of their students.
The Present incorporates the latest evidence from neuroscience, including new understandings of brain development from the ages of 3 – 11, and the impact of mindfulness and attention on emotion regulation. In doing so, The Present programme recognises the evolving needs of children as they progress through their primary education and is relevant to each particular age, as they encounter the joys and trials of everyday life. It has been developed by Tabitha Sawyer from Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn in Conwy, Sarah Silverton a freelance mindfulness teacher and trainer and Dr Dusana Dorjee from Bangor University.
During the course they will be learning about many things, including:
Specific areas of the brain and how these affect our ability to focus, make good choices, recognise when we need to steady ourselves when our body or mind is busy or out of balance.
Ways that mindfulness can support them in many day-to-day activities, including concentration and memory, behavioural self- management, and in relationships with family and friends.
Ways to respond rather than react – and therefore make better choices and take best care of themselves and others.
The feedback from children who have previously taken part in Paws b is very positive. They report enjoying the lessons and find the learning supports them in a broad range of situations from being able to concentrate and focus more easily in school to helping them feel calmer in exams and competitions. Many have described sharing the learning with other family members and finding it helps them with their relationships with family and friends.
You can see a summary of feedback about Paws b from over 1000 students here: https://mindfulnessinschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Website-Feedback-for-Paws-b-NP-1.pdf
Should you be interested in reading further about the body of research evidence around mindfulness for both young people and school staff, you may find more information here: https://mindfulnessinschools.org/mindfulness-in-education/why-do-it/
Click on the links below to find out about the Mindfulness in schools project and the Present Curriculum.
http://d6vsczyu1rky0.cloudfront.net/31069_b/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Paws-2-Page-Flyer.pdf
https://mindfulnessinschools.org/mindfulness-in-education/why-do-it/
https://mindfulnessinschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Case-Studies-Chevone-Paws-b.pdf
https://mindfulnessinschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Website-Paws-b.pdf