Scientific evidence clearly showed that young people had emerged from the pandemic with increased lack of direction, confidence, and connection – some of young people were adversely impacted by the pandemic.
The pilot ‘Empowering Students Post Pandemic’ was set up to support a number of Flintshire high school students at Alun School, Hawarden High and Connahs Quay, who had been adversely impacted by COVID-19.
Young And Mindful were easily able to step in and deliver .b courses, and provide high-quality, focused sessions, using the expertise of teachers steeped in direct, first-hand experience of mindfulness. We were able to support the school, the students and teachers, bringing a positive contribution to the whole school.
Project funded by
Young And Mindful CIC (YaM) was set up in January 2022. as an urgent reponse to the effects of the pandemic on children and young people. Please read the report by following the link below:
The founder of YaM has been working in education for over 20 years and has seen the growing need for a wider approach to learning that includes mental, emotional and social wellbeing. YaM was set up to respond to students’ wellbeing needs as COVID-19 brought to the forefront the underlying mental and emotional issues experienced by many students that have invariably gone unaddressed in the past.
Having run two five-week pilot sessions for sixth formers at Ysgol Brynhyfryd, and received 500 questionnaires from three high schools in Flintshire, we knew our mindfulness sessions were a vital resource for schools. We had asked the young people: some of these important questions:
The following themes stood out : 43% of young people said their biggest challenge right now was ‘coping with school life’. They wanted non-academic time, help with keeping calm, anxiety, exam stress, general pressure and pace of school life. 26% did not know where to access emotional & mental wellbeing support. 73% open to trying Mindfulness. 29% had a misconception of what mindfulness was.
The members of YaM have been engaged in mindfulness for many yearsand understand first-hand its positive effect on health and wellbeing.
Our wider objectives for this project were providing a positive experience of the course, a safe and calm environment in which to discuss, develop healthy wellbeing strategies to deal with school and social stressors, and a greater awareness of themselves and others, and developing resilience. All of which have a positive knock-on effect on their mental-emotional wellbeing.
The ‘.b’ course was 14-weeks in length, split into two phases. The 10-week phase contained the key concepts, different breathing techniques for reducing stress, as well as animations and videos for engagement. The 4-week phase was a recap to remind students of the key ideas they had learned. There was a cooling period of two months between the two phases to give students an opportunity to try out what they had learned and develop their own individual practice and to give them a break from the
intensity of the course.
Each session entailed some mindfulness practice, group or pair work and class discussion. The lessons were structured as follows: starting with a settling and relaxing technique, non-invasive enquiries regarding their home practice, introducing a theme and discussing their thoughts around it, watching an animation/video, asking for their key observations, and developing on their answers. The discussions were widened to include broader situations in school, home and society.
It was obvious that the high school students were interested in mindfulness but that the introductory course, which focused mainly on developing awareness and attention, had inbuilt limitations and that students had an interest in furthering their understandingof the factors involved in the adoption of beliefs and opinions and lifestyles and the way such came about, and the part that society played, in particular social media. A lengthier and broader course that deals in depth with students’ interests and is led by students’ interests and includesopen dialogue between students and also teachers is required. The students who thrived on dialogue had acquired a better understanding of themselves and how to listen to others too
Shilpa is an engaging and passionate teacher of mindfulness. She created a wonderful calm and safe environment for our pupils develop their own mindful practice, developing an understanding as to how to direct their attention with greater awareness and skill. The skills Shilpa has equipped them with, they are beginning to applying outside the mindful sessions, which is having a positive impact on wellbeing.
I found the breathing and visualisation exercising helpful to get to sleep.
I have been teaching my friends some of the mindful exercises we did in mindfulness
sessions. I think they are helpful when your friends are feeling sad or anxious.
Mindfulness is great, everyone should learn how to do it!
I like it, it has helped me know when to let things go.
I really enjoy it; it helps me with strategies to calm down and I am trying to
use these within any arguments I have had with other students to help make the
situation better.
It’s rare to see students being quiet, attentive, asking grown-up questions and engaging with the lesson. Usually they are chatty and playing up.
