“The school’s pastoral care is excellent… there’s a dedicated wellbeing room (the Zen Den!) with a matron on duty; and the school started teaching wellbeing and mindfulness more than a decade ago.”
At Ardingly Prep, we run a wide range of wellbeing initiatives to promote everyone’s emotional wellbeing, help our children learn to value and protect their own mental health and ensure that any child who might be struggling receives the extra support they need.
Our Wellbeing Initiatives
Daily Wellbeing Check-in
From Year 1, children access a daily check-in strategy using lolly sticks. Everyone puts their named lolly stick in a pot saying either ‘I’m great’, ‘I’m okay’, ‘I’m struggling’ or ‘I’m struggling and need a chat’. This not only enables us to monitor every pupil’s wellbeing each day, but also allows us to quickly help children who overtly ask for our support. It also helps children learn to seek support independently from an early age.
Wellbeing Journals
Children in Years 2 to 6 also keep a journal which encourages them to reflect on their day and, if needed, to seek out support from their Form Tutor or our wider pastoral team.
Wellbeing Assessments
Additionally, from Years 3 to 6, all pupils take a formal, termly wellbeing assessment which measures the positivity of their outlook and emotional wellbeing. As well as learning, for instance, that more than three quarters of our Prep pupils agree with statements such as ‘I’m been cheerful about things’ and ‘I think there are many things I can be proud of’ either ‘all’ or ‘quite a lot’ of the time, these formal surveys also allow us to ensure that anyone with low scores is already on our radar and receiving additional support.
Wellbeing Hubs
A supervised Wellbeing Zone for children in the Farmhouse and the Zen Den for children in Years 3 to 6 is staffed every break and lunchtime, enabling children to step away from their busy day should they need to, allowing them the opportunity to reset and reframe situations where they may need support.
Mindfulness
Children in Years 5 and 6 are taught the Mindfulness in Schools Project’s “Paws b” curriculum by qualified staff. Promoting wellbeing and resilience, Paws b extends thinking skills learning such as neuroscience and metacognition and is recommended to support social and emotional learning.
Massage in Schools
Children in Reception to Year 4 are taught the Massage in Schools Programme by qualified teachers. This enhances their emotional health; children become calmer and have improved concentration, while confidence and self-esteem are increased.
In addition to these ongoing initiatives, we run special events throughout the school year, such as during Children’s Mental Health Week, for children to join a carousel of wellbeing initiatives, to enjoy a much-need pyjama day or join our staff at the Health & Wellbeing centre for ‘Kit Kat and Chat’ sessions.
