COURSES IN SCHOOLS
Training for Staff and Students
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Schools can be frantic places. Exciting and challenging; fun yet overwhelming and sometimes stressful. There don't seem to be many times during a school day or week when we can stop and have some time to pause.
Most of us - children, young people and adults - who work in / attend schools can experience feelings of stress or difficulty in this setting. Sometimes we might get caught up in thoughts about the past - perhaps about what happened with who today - or we migh be thinking lots about the future; for example, worrying if we'll meet deadlines, or pass a test.
Wouldn't it be good to have a "pause" button in the middle of all this?
Mindfulness training helps to re-connect with the present moment. We learn to tune in to our own body and mind and become more away of what's going on inside. After some moments like this, we're ready to reconnect with daily life again, and we return fresher - with more space to work with what's difficult, and more open to moments of joy and fun, as well.
I offer taster sessions and eight-week mindfulness courses for those involved in education: both adults (MBSR, Frantic World - see separate pages - or or .b Foundation - see below) and for primary school children and adolescents (dots b/paws b /.b - please see below).
I have also published some research on school staff and mindfulness, which can be found here.
COURSES FOR CHILDREN / YOUNG PEOPLE / SCHOOL STAFF
More on the paws.b (7-11 year olds), .b (11-18 year olds) and .b foundations (staff) courses in schools
I have trained in these courses - and also 'dots b' for 3-6 year olds (created by the Mindfulness in Schools Project) and have delivered them to staff and students in Wiltshire, London, Surrey and Welsh schools.
THE PAWS. B COURSE (7-11)
'Paws .b' is a 12-session course for children with an emphasis on finding out what their amazing brains do. It delivers shorter practices and activities adapted for younger students.
Like the teenage course, it's a fun and engaging set of lessons with pictures, videos and thought experiments to help students learn. Children who've taken it say it's enjoyable, it has helped them to focus and concentrate, and it also helps them deal with tricky situations and relationships, both at school and at home.
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The ' paws .b' course also involves some home practice, if the students can, in order to train different parts of their brains more. This might be trying a different way of breathing (e.g. using their hands or fingers to echo breaths) or making a note of what it was like to eat a snack one day.
THE .B COURSE (11-18)
The '.b' course is made up of 8 or 9 weekly sessions for 11-18 year olds which help them train in certain skills (like focussing attention and body awareness) and attitudes (like being kinder to ourselves, and curious about what goes on inside the mind and body).
The course also gives more information about how the human and teenage mind works so we can become more familiar with our own behaviour, thoughts and feelings. As teenagers and anyone working with them know, there are many changes that come with adolescence. This course helps to become clearer and more aware about what is going on in our brains, emotions and bodies. That helps to take back some control around things that are stressful or worrying. By starting to notice our reactions or thoughts, we get a bit of space around them and so get more freedom. This means we become more in charge of our next steps, rather than that stressful person or thing controlling us.
The '.b' course involves some home practice, if you can, in order to train different parts of the brain in Mindfulness.It's not quite the same as homework as it may involve tasting a snack 'mindfully' or listening to a 'beditation' (click here for an example) while you fall asleep but as with any new training: the more you practise, the more benefits there will be.
THE .B FOUNDATION COURSE (STAFF)
The .b Foundation course gives school staff a chance to access mindfulness courses in the workplace. It is deisgned so staff can learn about mindfulness practices and approaches, but can also count as the first step in training to deliver .b/paws .b to students via MiSP.
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The course is spread over 8 sessions and aims to introduce you to the theory behind mindfulness approaches, as well as experiencing practices during sessions and at home. The course uses powerpoint, animations and practice, and uses the Finding Peace in a Frantic World book / audio as core materials. It also shares some of the .b practices that students are introduced to, helping mindfulness to become more embedded in the whole school's culture.