'It's Okay', children's mental health support courses.
Delivered by Sarah Avery ideally in the context of a school pastoral team.
The course is delivered in small groups of 6 children aged 8-13.
The course works with children to identify their feelings and learn how they can express their needs and relate to their peers. The partnership school will identify eight children at a time who need extra help and support in managing their emotions. The sessions look at the themes,
Its Okay to:
1. Be Kind.
2. Be Yourself.
3. Ask for help.
4. Make mistakes.
5. Have hard days.
6. Feel your feelings.
The sessions are an hour long and take place within the pastoral area of the school. The sessions take the format of some ice breaker questions, some worksheets focussing on the week's topic and some craft activities to break up the discussions. The children are asked to monitor how they are feeling at the beginning and the end of the session and at the beginning and the end of the course as a whole. The course is currently running successfully in St Gregory's school and has potential openings in other primary schools. It runs in 6-week blocks with groups of 6 children at one time. The project aims for children struggling with their mental health and emotional well being to learn tools to mange their emotions, talk about their feelings and learn about healthy relationships with their friends to support well being across the school environment and into the home. The project will deliver on the mental health of children and young people. It will give peer support to express how they are feeling so children can and relationships in and out of school. It will allow the children to develop their own learning from each other in how they handle their emotions and give them chance to put into practice and tools to take on through primary school and into secondary school as they grow. The course is adaptable as the children tell us their needs and what they want to learn.
The head of pastoral work at St Gregory's has said, "The Group has been a valuable resource for our students. Teachers have reported a reduction in friendship issues and children have voiced that they feel more confident to speak to a trusted adult about how they are feeling. Children have also expressed a deeper understanding about the impact their behaviour can have on others therefore increasing their empathy skills. The girls have really valued having a space to talk safely about their feelings and relationships. The group has equipped them to improve relationships with others. Children have also found concentration has improved in the classroom as being part of the group, allows them a specific time and place each week to discuss their concerns and worries."
