Primary school children are being
offered mindful meditation sessions to help increase resilience to stressful
situations, help self regulate emotions and improve learning outcomes, it has
been announced.
The mindful meditation sessions, already
successfully being used by some schools, is being offered for Key Stage 1 and 2
children by Mindful Life Journeys, a company that provides online meditation
tools.
The Mindful Meditation sessions, which were
designed in partnership with national charity Achievement for All, will help
combat an increasing incidence of lack of resilience in primary school
children.
Evidence from a poll of teachers by the NASUWT
last year found that a third of teachers have worked with primary school
children who suffer from depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
The study found that 91 per cent of teachers
knew children who had suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, while nearly 80
per cent of teachers said their primary school pupils had depression.
“The lack of resilience in some young children
needs to be taken very seriously. Not only will it affect their happiness and
performance at school, but if not tackled early it could lead to mental health
issues in later life,” said Julie Pearson, co-founder of Mindful Life
Journeys.
“But we have a key opportunity if we act now.
Childhood is meant to be a time of carefree happiness, not of stress and
anxiety. As a society we have a responsibility to help these children improve
their resilience as a matter of priority. The benefits will be more positive
mindsets and improved learning outcomes.
“Children at primary school age are receptive
learners and what we can teach them now about resilience can have a positive
influence throughout the rest of their lives,” she continued.
The mindful meditation sessions have been
thoughtfully designed with input from professionals, including Achievement for
All, head teachers, teachers, teaching assistants, as well as parents and
children. As a result, schools are already reporting positive outcomes.
Commenting after using mindful meditation
sessions, Year 2 pupil Taye said: “It helps me get calm and brave. It takes all
my worry and fears away.”
Adbullah, another year 2 pupil, said: “It helps
me get rid of my anger and makes me really tired.”
The mindful meditation sessions are now
available to primary schools throughout the UK for less than half of one full
pupil premium. Schools currently working with Achievement for All also qualify
for a large discount. New sessions are added regularly and schools can
listen to an example meditation on the website below.
Mindful Life Journeys provides bespoke online mindful meditation content, that
can enable anyone to practice mindful meditation with support from useful blogs
and empowering tools. Its website can be visited
at: https://mindfullifejourneys.com
Mindful Life Journeys already work with schools
including:
Wolverdene Special School, Andover
Brimpton Primary School, Brimpton
Falklands Primary School, Newbury
St Peter's C of E First School, Droitwich
Woodlands Primary School, Maidenhead
* Achievement
for All is a leading not-for-profit organisation that works in partnership with
schools and settings to improve outcomes for all children and young people
vulnerable to underachievement.
For
more information, visit: www.mindfullifejourneys.com
Follow
Mindful Life Journeys on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
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