On this page you will find ideas and resources for simple mindfulness activities and approaches you can take at home to help your whole family navigate this situation we are all currently in. It is very understandable for children (and us) to be experiencing anxiety and heightened emotions at this time, and hopefully these activities may help you find a way through this.

At St George’s School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.

At our school we:

• help children to understand their emotions and feelings better
• help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
• help children socially to form and maintain relationships
• promote self esteem and ensure children know that they count
• encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
• help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) in schools are part of a joint national initiative between the Department of Education and NHS England to improve access to psychological therapies (IAPT) for children and young people presenting with emerging low mood and mild to moderate anxiety within an educational environment.   As a school, we know we play an important role in supporting the wellbeing of children and young people at a time when they are experiencing lots of physical, emotional and social changes. We are proud to have the support of the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) working across our schools to provide an additional source of support to families and schools. 

MHST's are helping children to feel more resilient, arming them with techniques to look after themselves and strategies to help them cope better with life's ups and downs. This includes support for things like anxiety and worries, exam stress and friendship issues, to counselling sessions, themed group work or information workshops.

We also work closely with children on the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 in the Summer Term. 

The 3 core functions of the teams are:

• Delivering evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues through individual face-to-face work and group work for students or parents.    

• Supporting the school's Designated Mental Health Lead to introduce, or develop, their Whole School Approach to emotional wellbeing.    

• Giving timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support.  

Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP’s) work as part of the MHST in Schools delivering 1:1 work with young people and/or their families.   EMHP’s also deliver workshops in schools to whole classes and run groups for young people and groups for parents/carers. EMHP’s are the people your children are most likely to see in school.  

Please speak to your child’s class teacher or member of the School Leadership Team if you feel you would benefit from support from the MHST.  

For further information on the MHST in Schools, please visit: https://camhsdorset.org/about-camhs/mental-health-support-teams-mhsts  

Click on some of the links below for resources;

  Useful links

A public health England and NHS site to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others.

Quality-assured information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children’s mental health and wellbeing.