Category: Health and Well-being

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Attachment Led Practice

Attachment Led Practice is widely understood to be a child-centred and relationship based approach to helping children to thrive, in school and in life. It is embedded into best practice and embedded into Early Years professionals training. The Scot Gov information is here. Early Years documents also include

buildingtheambition260_tcm4-850492Building The Ambition, to shape practice, evaluation and staff in developing key strategies to support the education and well-being of young children.

Recently parents have asked for a whole staff training in Attachment Led Practice to be considered, as very beneficial universally for whole school.

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Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum for Excellence Words Heart

The curriculum in Scotland is taught through the Curriculum for Excellence. Information regarding this can be found through this link. Curriculum for Excellence

There are four key capacities:

Successful Learners • Confident Individuals • Responsible Citizens • Effective Contributors

Within these capacities (reflecting experiences and outcomes) fit eight outcome areas:

Health and Wellbeing • Languages • Mathematics • Science • Social Studies • Expressive Arts • Technologies • Religious and Moral Education

Quote: Men [and presumably women!] are relatively predictable, limited and uncreative. It is the business of education to make us freer and more creative. (Stenhouse, 1975, p. 82)

[This is an educational goal which seems appropriate for CfE – with engagement of teachers and pupils at it’s heart. It is noted, however, that early progress of the acclaimed Curriculum for Excellence has become somewhat bogged down with paperwork, assessment and its ilk, leaving parents / carers and teachers wondering what has happened and how to set CfE back on course to reach its optimum capability as a very significant Educational Reform].

Documents, such as Building the Curriculum 2 support the vision and development of CfE. This one specifically centres on pre-school, the Early Years of Primary and Special Schools.

 

For more info, see post on the National Framework for Improvement.

 

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Growth Mindset. (Health and Well-being).

With Growth Mindset being a key issue for PPS, particularly looking at Resilience and better life skills to help both in and out of school…..here are some more resources. Big Deal Little Deal has already been shared after being introduced in school…have a look and see the little video and post explaining it for the kids and ourselves.

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Growth Mindset pocket book for Staff and others. (This can also be purchased from Amazon if you fancy using it more yourself as some parents are now doing).

 

And another wonderful video which explains a lot of Growth Mindset, ‘in action’.

AUSTIN’S BUTTERFLY

 

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What is Loose Parts Play?

Loose Parts Play – loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. They are materials with no specific set of directions that can be used alone or combined with other materials.

loose-parts-play-jgpTwo play specialists here in Scotland with particular interests in Schools / Outdoor Learning and Inclusion have collaborated to create an excellent guide for http://www.inspiringscotland.org.uk/. Absolutely fantastic resource for every playground and places where children can come together, collaborate, create, construct, care and thrive.

loose-parts-play-web

A terrific example of Parent Led Playgroup Improvement here in East Lothian can be seen and followed through Law Primary’s journey to open their grounds to a very ripe learning environment. Parents created this group following their early start to make a significant difference – and the project was born. https://www.facebook.com/PlanetPlayNB/

You may like to check out Cramond Primary in Edinburgh too….

Our PLACE – Learn Outdoors

http://creativestarlearning.co.uk/developing-school-grounds-outdoor-spaces/cramond-primary-school-a-play-landscape/

 

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YoungMinds – information for Parents around Mental Health and Well-being.

YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. Driven by their experiences we campaign, research and influence policy and practice.

MINDED FOR FAMILIES

YoungMinds worked with MindEd to create MindEd for Families, a resource hosted by The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. The innovative new site launched on the 21st April 2016. The site provides information and advice for parents with concerns about their children’s mental health and well-being.

Parents who are concerned about their children’s mental health and wellbeing can go on the MindEd for Families site for good quality, practical information free of charge.

Funded by the Department of Education, MindEd for Families has been co-written by parents with a lived experience of child and teen mental health issues and the best clinical experts. The resources have been accredited by the Information Standard as reliable advice. 

MindEd for Families offers relevant, practical information that parents, family members and professionals can trust. It includes top tips and helpful advice from parents with the lived experience of supporting a child with mental health problems.

The information, available to view on tablets and smart phones, includes guidance on what to do in a crisis, what to do if you are worried, how to manage on a day to day basis, how to support your child through their experience and where to turn for support.

Have a look at www.minded.org.uk/families to see the ground breaking new resources. 

http://minded.e-lfh.org.uk/families/index.html

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Snap Survey – consultation with children and young people.

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Work on devising new Play Strategy for East Lothian is progressing quickly. Your views are invited again for the next part. Please follow the link and take a few moments to answer this short survey and pass on to others who can respond (children and young adults). Please help your children record their answers.

 

SNAP Survey! Free time in East Lothian survey

What do you think about opportunities for free time in East Lothian? Where do you like to hang out, what do you like to do, and what gets in the way of you doing it? This survey is and will help us write a Play Policy for East Lothian that covers children and young people’s play and free time opportunities.

If you need help to complete the survey, it’s fine to ask someone to help – just make sure the answers are your own!

The survey has five questions and takes up to about 5 minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/freetimeEastLothian

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Growth Mindset – for Parents and Families

 

 

 

 

With the focus on Growth Mindset and Emotional Resilience this academic year, it may be helpful to consider how we can promote and support this at home too, as parents and carers.the-growth-mindset-i-can-get-smarter-large

It is particularly reassuring to know that the more we build this empathetically and consistently, in our young children, the better equipped they are to deal with the considerable challenges of life as adolescents, and into adulthood.

https://www.mindsetworks.com/parents/growth-mindset-parenting

The strongest resilience comes through strong attachment with caregivers (this can include staff in Nursery and School etc) from birth through key years as children develop. It also affects teen years (which seem to start earlier and earlier given influences around), so this article may be interesting too.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201304/attachment-and-detachment-parenting-adolescents

Raising Children with Confidence.

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http://growingconfidence.org/parents-carers

This is a seven session course which aims to give all parents and carers the chance to explore emotional health and wellbeing and consider how they can best promote it in themselves and their children. Drawing on the latest research it helps explain why parents’ actions make a difference to their children’s emotional wellbeing and future positive mental health. This programme is suitable for parents and carers of children aged 0-11yrs. Courses are held each term throughout the city in primary schools and community venues. Raising Children with Confidence is part of the Growing Confidence project.

http://growingconfidence.org/ Also has information around a suite of training courses designed and first implemented in Edinburgh.

Raising Children with Confidence (RCWC) – for parents and carers of children aged 0 – 10 years.

Confident Staff, Confident Children (CSCC) – for multi-agency practitioners (i.e. professionals working with children in early years, educational and community settings).

Raising Teens with Confidence (RTWC) – for parents and carers of young people aged 11 – 16 years.

Teenage Brains and Behaviour Series (TBBS)– for multi-agency practitioners (i.e. professionals working with young people in educational and community settings).

Cool, Calm and Connected (CCC) – for young people aged 11 – 16 years (used as part of PSE curriculum)

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Parental Involvement – Growth Mindset

Worrying reports and statistics grow annually leading to what is now referred to as a Mental Health Crisis for Adolescents and Young Adults. This article from Herald refers to Scottish teenagers in Meltdown.

Health and Well-being has to be as high on the agenda as Academic approaches, which is why Growth Mindset Strand is one of 3 chosen for PPS to concentrate in this year’s Improvement Plan – fully supported by the Parent Council. The key theme is Resilience and approaching this in a healthy understanding and caring way has started with the introduction of “Big Deal, Little Deal.”