Mindfulness

“Mindfulness has a quality of being in the now, a sense of freedom, of perspective, of being connected, not judging, of flowing through the day. When we’re mindful, we’re less likely to want life to be other than it is, at least for the moment.” Dr. Christopher Germer

Mindfulness is something experienced rather than defined, generally it is our ability to be fully aware of the present moment rather than ruminating over past events or worrying about the future. This is easier said than done but through the process of a regular mindfulness practice the mind is ‘exercised’ to change the brain to be naturally more aware of the present moment.

Within our school environment, mindfulness can support with grounding ourselves in times of overwhelming feelings and emotions, can improve concentration and general wellbeing. Mindfulness brings our awareness to our reactionary tendencies and feelings that can overwhelm us. Within this awareness, we can learn to pause and respond with clarity and thought.

Students mindfulness sessions are based on Mindfulness in Schools Project (MISP) curriculums of paws.b and dots and they are taught under the banner of Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness and bespoke to each students personal needs.

Mindfulness in schools

Links to paws.b and Dots curriculum 3 - 6 years

Links to paws.b and Dots curriculum 7 - 11 years

Staff Mindfulness

All staff attend a six-week mindfulness course, where they are encouraged to develop a personal mindfulness practice. The course is designed to aid our staff’s personal interception and regulation whilst with the students, enabling them to be emotionally available to support our student’s wellbeing and mental health.

We also offer weekly mindfulness sessions for staff to attend. In these sessions, Dan Siegel’s Window of Tolerance model is used a reference point of personal interception and staff are supported to take this into their day whilst working with the children. If a member of staff can check in with their personal ‘window of tolerance’ throughout the day and use mindfulness techniques to regulate themselves, this in turn supports the regulation of the children. Katherine Weare (Happy schools change the world) says that mindfulness is ‘Caught not Taught’ and at Educate U (though our staff team) this is paramount to how we can create an underpinning of mindfulness within the school.