Social, Emotional & Mental Health Hub

Summary

The Art and Wellbeing Programme is a 6-week programme to help you express and understand yourself and experiences through both talking and creative activities. You don’t need to have had any previous art experience or be good at art to benefit from it.

Within the Art and Wellbeing sessions you are encouraged to use creative techniques such as drawing, painting, collage, colouring, weaving or 3D materials to produce artwork helping you express yourself artistically. This will give you a starting point to discuss your feelings and emotions, if you feel comfortable to do so, in a small group. This may help you explore how your creative process is linked to your feelings and perceptions, giving you a greater understanding of yourself to enable you to make positive changes in your life.

Who can attend:

The Art and Wellbeing programme is for pupils who would like to explore confused or difficult thoughts and feelings, build on their positive feelings and confidence and enjoy the control and expressive qualities of making art.

Session 1: Introduction – Scribbling with your eyes closed

• Introduce pupils to each other and discuss the consideration of feelings when pupils may discuss sensitive issues within the group.
• Pupils to complete the task of scribbling with your eyes closed and then develop these scribbles into objects using pencil crayons.
• Discuss the outcomes within the group if feeling confident to do so.

Session 2: Collage

• Discuss within the group what makes us unique and how we can feel different from other people.
• Pupils to create a collage using magazines, newspaper and coloured paper all about themselves and their identity.
• Discuss within the group how the outcome shows who they are.

Session 3: Paperchain of emotions

• Pupils to discuss emotions and feelings that they have experienced and try to link a colour to these. Each strip of colour can be worked on with words or images from a certain experience. When all of these experiences are covered they can be linked to make a chain.

Each experience can be shared with the group if pupils are confident to do so with the group listening and making a positive input.

Session 4: Weaving

• Recap on colour and emotion leading from paper chain emotions.
• Pupils to create a small weave using colours that best relate to how they feel.
• Discuss within the group why they feel this way and how the colours link to their emotions.

Session 5: Worry dolls

• Discuss within the group what makes pupils worry and how we can off load any worries to feel better and more in control of the situation.
• Pupils to create worry dolls thinking about colours and style.

Session 6: Message on a postcard

• Pupils to think about what they would like to say to someone if they had the confidence to do so in person.
• The postcard can then we written or drawn on with the message they would like to put across.

Each person can share with the group their message if they feel confident to do so.

Summary

This Self-confidence and Self-esteem Programme is a 6-week programme designed to help overcome barriers to participation in group tasks/activities. Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgement, whilst self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities, both very closely related.  On this programme we look at the reasons why some people may have lower levels of self-confidence and self-esteem, exploring why people may be apprehensive to take part in group tasks especially within the school environment.  This will allow you understand your feelings and actions, hopefully allowing you to feel more confident working on them. We will work together as a group to develop our self-confidence and self-esteem through a range of team building exercises and activities.

This self-confidence and self-esteem workshop will explore how a more confident individual will be capable of greater academic achievements once they are not psychologically involved with inner tensions and emotional turmoil. 

Who can attend

The self-confidence and self-esteem programme is for any pupil who lacks confidence to respond and reciprocate with the teacher during lessons and often sits quietly to avoid being noticed, avoids contributing to group discussions/tasks for fear of being incorrect, or who experiences negative self-talk about their abilities and qualities.

Session 1:

Complete a range of ice breaker activities as a group.  We will discover what self-confidence and self-esteem mean and explore our own current levels of self-esteem. 

Session 2

We will explore what our stressors look like and start to understand what distorted and irrational thinking looks like, before looking at the impact of positive-self talk in certain situations.

Session 3:

As a group we will complete a series of team building activities and undertake problem solving challenges that will provide students with the opportunity to work together, communicate and share ideas.

Session 4:

As a group we will continue to complete a series of team building activities and undertake problem solving challenges that will provide students with the opportunity to work together, communicate and share ideas.

Session 5: 

Students will undertake a final challenge where they must work together to solve problems.  It will require students to fire out ideas, ask questions, explore options, be resilient, and demonstrate team work.

Session 6:

Students will review the activities, their performances as a group and discuss how they felt during the process, reflecting on their progress and achievements to date.

Summary

In these sessions you will learn how important it is to form good relationships. The impact this will have at home, in school and in wider society. You will reflect on your behaviours and put together a pledge outlining the person you would like to be and the behaviours you would like to demonstrate. You will look at learning across the school and analyse why it is important to get it right. You will put a lot of thought into the following:

• How can you make a change?
• What extra-curricular activities could you participate in?
• How can you form positive relationships?
• How can you reach your potential?
• You will identify family members, staff and friends who can support you along the way.

Who can attend:

This intervention is for anyone looking to actively reduce negative behaviour in the classroom and around school during social times and to improve positive relationships with your peers and teachers.

Session 1: Forming positive relationships

• Why is it important to form positive relationships?
• Why is it important to treat others as we would like to be treated?
• How do positive/healthy relationships with those around us contribute to our mental health and well-being?

Session 2: How would others describe me.

• You will be given a printout of your behaviours around school and in lessons.
• You will reflect and describe how a stranger reading these incidents would describe you.
• You will think carefully about how these barriers can be eliminated.

Session 3: The Pledge.

• You will identify the new you.
• How can you be the best version of you? What do you wish to change?
• You will write a pledge to your parents/carers and post it to them.

Session 4: Learning walk and reflection.

• You will witness positive and negative behaviours around school.
• You will analyse these behaviours and triggers.
• You will explain how outcomes could be changed for the better

Session 5: Support network.

• You will identify a support network in school and at home.
• Who can help you achieve your goals? Who will encourage you to reach you potential?
• Where can you go for help?

Session 6: The new improved me.

• You will re-visit your behaviours around school from week 2.
• You will say goodbye to the old you and leave those behaviours in the past.
• You will reflect on what you have achieved over the past 5 weeks.

Building Self-Confidence & Raising Self Esteem

The Positive Body Image Programme is a 6-week programme to help you promote positivity towards your own body, as well as those around you. On our positive body image course, we examine the feelings of negativity/concern young people commonly share, and how to tackle these issues when building positive relationships with your own body. We work together to understand the social construction of ‘beauty’ in society, and how we can use this to challenge preconceived notions of the ‘ideal body’.

This positive body image programme draws on research and feminist literature to provide a well-rounded view of various aspects that will potentially impact your body image throughout high school and beyond. In order to develop strategies to maintain a positive body image this programme will consider:

• The importance of recognising pressures on young people’s bodies, and how they can navigate such expectations.
• How we can be actively kind to ourselves and practice good mental health.
• The impact and consequences of the online world young people are constantly exposed to.
• The importance of forming healthy/positive relationships with food at a young age, and how to maintain this into adulthood.

The joy we can receive and spread by celebrating uniqueness, embracing our differences and appreciating our bodies for what they are.

Who can attend:

The Positive Body Image programme is for pupils who have, or are beginning to have, negative attitudes and feelings towards their own body. This can include negativity towards the following:

• Body shape and size
• Hair and body hair
• Facial features
• Breasts and genitals
• Height
• Muscle appearance
• Skin and spots/acne
• Teeth/smile

Session 1: What is body image?

• What is the difference between a positive and negative body image, and how does this impact us as individuals?
• How do we define ‘beauty’/’attractiveness’? - Understanding social constructions.
• Why is it important to talk about body image now? - The pressures and expectations on teenagers throughout puberty and beyond.

Session 2: A positive relationship with yourself: Stigmas and taboos

• Why it is important to break the stigma – acne, body hair, stretch marks and genitalia.
• Body image and mental health – how to be kind to yourself.

Session 3: Fakebook, fitter and instagram: The impact of the media

• Inspired by the work of Laura Bates
• The impact and pressures of social media – how can we challenge the online world?
• TV and film – why do we idolise celebrities?
• Magazines and advertising – a look back in time. How beauty standards have changed over time.

Session 4: Positive relationships with food: Fighting diet culture

• What is diet culture and why is it so damaging for young people?
• How to form positive relationships with food.
• Links to mental health issues and eating disorders.

Session 5: How we can support each other: Celebrating uniqueness

• Conversations with friends and family, how to offer and accept support.
• Use of everyday language and being mindful of those around us.
• What makes us unique and why is it so important to celebrate differences?

Session 6: Making a pledge

• Making a personalised pledge – how will you promote a positive body image for yourself and those around you?

Summary

We will look at how anxiety effects the body. How the body copes with anxiety. What coping methods/strategies we can trial to reduce anxiety and manage it. Look at thought stopping and worry time and practice these techniques at home and in school. Have the opportunity to talk one to one about your worries and concerns.

Who can attend:

This intervention is for anyone looking to actively reduce their stress and anxiety in everyday life and discover strategies to safely control their emotions and feelings

Session 1:

Intro to course. Definition of anxiety. Anxiety symptoms. Relaxation and breathing techniques.

Session 2:

Dealing with anxiety and positive thinking. What can we actually control. Worry time homework.

Session 3:

Managing anxiety. Fright, flight or freeze. Embedding and discussing previous methods.

Session 4:

Mindfulness and relaxation session. Reflective colouring and one to one listening sessions.

Session 5:

Changing negative thinking into positive thinking. Altering thought patterns. Raising awareness of thoughts and assessing ourselves. Thought stopping.

Session 6:

Summary of course. Online evaluation. Retrieval of information covered over the past 5 sessions. Tools they can continue to use to support anxiety. Mindfulness and relaxation session. One to one listening sessions.