A helping hand for mental health

5 ways to support children’s mental health

One of our key R.I.S.E. Magazine categories is ‘wellbeing’ encompassing wellbeing across the school community. We wanted to take some of the advice from our contributors on how to support children’s wellbeing to empower educators with some key strategies during Children’s Mental Health Week to embed into their practice.

Here are 5 ways to support from our R.I.S.E. community:

1. Embed empathy

“Empathy is our greatest strength as humans because it enables us to open our minds and hearts.” – Kiran Satti.

In Kiran’s article, Empathy is education, she shares her advice on how to help children make sense of the world through empathy, with a particular focus on the use of story to engage with and exercise empathy skills. One powerful example, is having braille books in your class library giving them an insight into how someone may learn to read by tracing braille.

2. Develop emotional literacy

“By providing children with opportunities to develop their emotional literacy, we are supporting their emotional wellbeing, which is a foundation upon which academic achievements can be built.” – Cat Alott

In Cat’s article, ‘Supporting pupil’s emotional literacy’, she shares how important emotional literacy is to pupils’ wellbeing and how to help them develop it. She shares how to help pupils build an emotional vocabulary through modelling, using body language and reinforcing the vocabulary as you explain how you are feeling and why.

3. Encourage self-compassion

“Self-compassion is an evidence-based tool which can be used to help children (and staff ) develop greater self-awareness, promote healthy habits, build emotional resilience and improve mental wellbeing.” – Nicola Harvey

In Nicola’s article, ‘Embedding self-compassion into the classroom’, she gives top tips for how to help children to turn compassion inwards. For example, when a child is unkind to themselves or self-critical, Nicola suggests getting them to ask themselves: “Would I talk to a friend like this?”, to help them reconsider how to treat themselves.

4. Practice mindfulness techniques

“By practicing breathing techniques, we can slow down our heart rate, lower our blood pressure and bring our attention back to the present.” – Erika Sandström

In Erika’s article,  ‘Inhale confidence, exhale doubt’, she shares how using mindfulness techniques (such as breathing exercises) can help pupils calm down in moments of heightened stress or anxiety. One example, is using breathing bubbles – an audio-visual guide to help you maintain rhythm and pace in a deep breathing session.

5. Dedicated time for social, emotional learning

“ Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) could, and arguably should, be delivered in many ways. Integrating it into the school culture over time will achieve a long-lasting positive impact for students, teachers and leaders.”  – Dr Leila Khouja Walker and Pete Read

In Leila and Pete’s article, ‘Beyond academic learning’, they share the importance of dedicating time to deliver social emotional learning with examples of different ways it can be incorporated into curriculum planning. One example, is using tutor time to get pupils to focus on a particular SEL skill through structured online activities, with tutors on hand to provide one-to-one pastoral support.