HSL – Silver Award Emotional wellbeing St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, Mill Hill

How we identified the need What we did (the action plan) Reviewing whether it worked

Our Healthy Schools Plan Universal Group - To promote a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and active travel. Targeted Group - EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WELL BEING- to improve resilience in preparation for secondary transfer.

How we identified the need Year six teacher – class were worried about passing entrance exams and SATS Children feeling pressure Scared of failure etc – were asking to pray for exam success in morning prayers. Questionnaire and findings We conducted an online questionnaire with year 6 in September 2015, which we designed ourselves and administered online via Survey Monkey

The results showed that 84% (37/44) of students felt they were afraid of failure and a staggering 89% (39/44) of children admitted they were nervous about the SATs tests at the end of the year. Whilst many children also reported feeling excited about their future it was clear to see that children were nervous and anxious about the changes that would be coming their way and were quite unsure of how to deal with that. Only 23% (10/44) reported knowing what to do when they felt anxious.

The Plan Actions to do

Consultation Year 6 teachers held a verbal pupil consultation to identify why pupils were feeling anxious. PSHE Curriculum Year 6 teachers implemented a programme to teach children how to be resilient and stress management techniques. Taught them about learning styles so they felt more in control (VAK) Learning about successful people who have failed. Learning about muscle relaxation and deep breathing. Talk a lot about having a ‘bag of strategies’ Building Relationships Worry Boxes Circle Time after each break Team building days in the forest (some tasks set up to fail) Staff training Staff training –fed back to staff about anxiety techniques (glitter bottles etc.) Staff were trained in basic mindfulness techniques (5 senses, FOFBOC) Parent Evening The evening included information about mindfulness, stress management and how to help pupils revise for exams.

Reviewing whether it worked Questionnaire again And the results showed this….

School Website: http://stvincentscatholicprimarymillhill.org.uk/