Children, just like adults, face various challenges and stressors in their daily lives. From academic pressures to social interactions and emotional development, young minds undergo a plethora of experiences that can impact their mental and emotional health. Introducing the concept of self-care to children is crucial in helping them develop healthy coping mechanisms and resilience early on. We want our children to thrive and shine.
The Role of PSHE in Schools
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education) plays a vital role in shaping children's overall wellbeing. By integrating self-care practices into the curriculum, schools can provide students with essential tools to navigate life's ups and downs effectively. Teaching children about the importance of self-care, mental wellbeing and emotional regulation can set a strong foundation for their future. By teaching children to be kind to themselves, we empower them to embrace their imperfections, failures, and setbacks with resilience and a 'can-do' attitude. The ripple-effect of this will extend beyond the classroom and into wider society creating a more compassionate community.
Our Ambition
At Coach and Shine, we believe that education on one's own mental wellbeing should be mainstreamed within all schools. It should not be reserved to those who's budget will allow for it or be delivered annually; as a one-off, token piece. It should be fully embedded within the curriculum, cultivating greater opportunities for prevention. This allows for all children to be equipped with a personalised toolkit to navigate life's stressors when needed.
Introducing Super Me
Building on our academic research and front-line service within mental health; we have created our Super Me programme. This will deliver emotional intelligence and the importance of self-care into the classroom For the past five months, Coach and Shine have been working with six primary schools to pilot a selection of these lessons. We have received feedback from hundreds of children who have helped shape our content as well as guidance from teaching staff for best-practice delivery. The feedback we have received has been fantastic and we are extremely grateful to all those who participated.
Next Steps
Before launching Super Me into the arena of PSHE, we have one final step to take. We want to make sure that what we deliver is impactful, accessible and most importantly, fun! We will be working with one Fleetwood school for a whole term to allow for a more thorough critique from the children. This will also enable us to more accurately capture levels of understanding and monitor lasting impact. In addition to observations from on-site teaching staff, we are also welcoming external professionals within local education departments to come and see what we do. We want Super Me to be the absolute best and can only achieve this through a model of co-production. Let's get started!
Let's empower our children to shine! Kelly - Coach and Shine Community Interest Company Founder
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