At Whinstone Primary we are aware that a child’s emotional health and well-being influences their cognitive development and learning, as well as their physical and social health and their well-being in adulthood
Supporting pupils’ emotional wellbeing and mental health, so that they can be listened to, are happy together and ready to learn is vitally important to us. Therefore, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our Pupil Wellbeing lead is Mrs Burey & Mrs Gibson
Our SENDCO is Miss McNaughton
The Department for Education acknowledges that in order to help pupils succeed, schools have an important role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy.
Some useful tips and links are listed below that you can use at home to support your child.
MINDFULNESS ACTIVITIES:
Sensing in
Sensing in encourages us to notice what is happening in our bodies. Here are two different activities to practise sensing in with children and young people:
Personal weather report
We can think of the sensations and emotions arising in our bodies as being like weather systems moving across a landscape. Thinking about our feelings in this way helps us to observe our current state without overly identifying with our emotions: just as we can’t change the weather, we can’t change how we’re feeling, but we can change how we relate to our feelings. Here are some simple instructions to use with children and young people.
- Make sure you’re sitting comfortably with your feet on the ground and your back upright.
- Close your eyes if you feel safe to do so and notice what’s going on inside. Spend a minute or so just observing what’s happening inside you.
- Now see if you can summon the weather report that best describes what you notice inside, for example, it might feel sunny, rainy, stormy, still, windy, and so on.
- Open your eyes and share your weather report with a partner/the whole class if you feel happy to do so.
Body scan
Click to find full instructions and a free audio for this body scan(opens in a new tab). You can either read out the instructions to the children/young people or play the audio. The instructions suggest that the children/young people lie down but if space is an issue, ask them to sit in their chairs and adjust the instructions accordingly.
Breathing
Breathing exercises develop children and young people’s awareness of their internal state, as well as building their capacity for physiological regulation and increasing their concentration. Here are some breathing activities suitable for use in the classroom.
Breathing exercises for children
Breathing Exercises
https://youtu.be/b2Tbfs7neAk
https://youtu.be/CtYxhIHI9Yc
https://youtu.be/HTy_fogH2v0
Five-finger starfish meditation
- Make a starfish with one hand, spreading your fingers out wide.
- Using the forefinger of the other hand, you are going to gently trace the outline of the starfish hand in sync with your breathing. To do this, use your forefinger to trace from the base of the thumb up to the top of the thumb as you breathe in. Then, as you breathe out, trace down the other side of your thumb.
- Continue to trace around the outside of the remaining fingers, breathing in as you trace up a finger and out as you trace down a finger.
- Continue this process for up to five minutes.
Breathing with a buddy
following exercise is particularly good for younger children who can sometimes find the instruction to “pay attention to the breath” difficult to follow.
- Choose an object or soft toy that you like. This will be your ‘breathing buddy’.
- Lie down on the floor on your back in a comfortable position with your breathing buddy. Place your breathing buddy on your tummy.
- Focus your attention on the rise and fall of your breathing buddy as you breathe in and out.
- Continue this for up to five minutes.
Mountain breathing
this exercise, young people are encouraged to link their breathing to the shape of their hand. The combination of focusing on the hand and the breath, coupled with soothing touch, usually has a calming effect.
- Put up one hand, palm facing out and fingers spread apart, like a mountain range.
- Using the forefinger of the other hand, you are going to gently trace the outline of the mountains in sync with your breathing. To do this, use your forefinger to trace from the base of the thumb up to the top of the thumb as you breathe in. Then, as you breathe out, trace down the other side of your thumb.
- Continue to trace around the outside of the remaining fingers, breathing in as you trace up a finger and out as you trace down a finger.
- Continue this process for up to five minutes.
Breathing with shapes
Using shapes can be helpful for young people who need extra visual guidance. You can either find a moving shape, or use an image of a triangle to help guide the young person’s in-and-out breath.
To do this, find a breathing ‘Gif’. Click here (opens in a new tab) to see some examples. Alternatively, click here (opens in a new tab) for some videos that use visuals and audio to support breathing at different rates (two seconds, three seconds, and so on). Show the young person the moving image and ask them to breathe along with the shape for five minutes.
Alternatively, draw a triangle like the one in the picture. Ask the young person to breathe in, hold their breath for three counts and then breathe out as they trace their finger around the shape. Ask them to continue this for up to five minutes.

Stretching
Stretching exercises support children and young people to become more aware of how their bodies feel and move, as well as increasing their flexibility. Here are some examples of stretching exercises that you can do with children and young people.
Stretching
Visit the GoNoodle website, which you can access at: https://www.gonoodle.com/ (opens in a new tab). From this website, choose a stretching exercise that you feel will be appropriate to do with the children or young people with whom you are working.
To access the stretching videos on GoNoodle, you will need to sign up as a user on the home page, which you can do for free. Once you have signed up, click on ‘Categories’ at the top of the page. This will take you to a menu of the different categories of movement videos. Scroll down the page to the ‘Movement type’ category and click on the ‘Stretching’ button. This will take you to a selection of stretching videos suitable for doing with children and young people of different ages. Choose ones that you feel will best suit the needs of your cohorts.
Yoga
The following videos will give you some ideas of simple yoga sequences that you can do with children and young people.
https://youtu.be/4Z24hme6AcI
https://youtu.be/nCZzjd6_OHk
https://youtu.be/3Ql411IIpJM
Useful websites:
Some useful resources that you could use at home to support your child’s mental health are below:
Advice for parents and carers: talking mental health with young people at primary school
This leaflet which was created alongside the Talking Mental Health Animation & Toolkit, features an introduction from our Patron, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge who supported the You’re never too young to talk mental health campaign stating the campaign’s resources "demonstrate how we can help children express their feelings, respond appropriately, and prevent small problems from snowballing into bigger ones. – Parent Leaflet (annafreud.org)
Dealing with anxiety – https://tutorful.co.uk/guides/the-expert-guide-to-help-your-child-with-anxiety
Young minds parents’ survival guide – https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/for-parents/parents-survival-guide/
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families – https://www.annafreud.org/parents/
Family Lives – https://www.familylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/confidential-helpline/
Useful Booklets/Publications:
Public Health England How Healthy Behaviour Supports Children’s Wellbeing
Mental Health Parent Leaflet Anna Freud Centre
Wellbeing Booklist
The Anxious Child Booklet for Parents
Worry Doll Instructions
You need to know guide for parents
10 key areas to happier living poster
Relaxation tips for bedtime
Sleep and Diet Parent Leaflet
Bedtime routine for Parents
Mindfulness Booklet A brief guide
Bereavement Resources
Young Minds Publications offers information on a variety of mental health issues from school problems to mental illness in families. https://youngminds.org.uk/shop/publications/
Young Minds Parents Guide To Support A-Z gives you advice on how to help your child with specific mental health conditions, and life events which might be negatively affecting their wellbeing. They also show you where you can get help:
https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/for-parents/parents-guide-to-support-a-z/
Quality-assured information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children’s mental health and wellbeing.https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/
Feelings tracker:Tracking My Feelings.pdf
Anxiety thermometer:Anxiety Thermometer.pdf
Mindfulness calendar:Mindfulness Calendar Daily 5 Minute Activities.pdf
Parent’s Guide to Childhood Anxiety – Knowing the symptoms, how to talk to and support your child with anxiety: https://tutorful.co.uk/guides/the-expert-guide-to-help-your-child-with-anxiety
https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/grownups/healthy-minds/