Recovery and Reconnection...Recovery and Reconnection: 10 x Wellbeing and resilience session plans...

Recovery and Reconnection:

10 x Wellbeing and resilience session plans

In this document:

Connecting with others.

Talk about your feelings.

Keep Active.

Eat Well and look after your

body.

Sleep well and recharge.

Do more of what you are good

at and enjoy.

Asking for help.

Relax and chill.

Be kind.

Be yourself - be grateful -

individuality rocks.

These 10 wellbeing sessions have been written to provide

opportunities for students and school staff to share their

feelings about being back at school after the Covid-19

lockdown, build on the class community and ease back into

the school routine. There are ten, approximately thirty

minute sessions included. The sessions are based on the

Mental Health Network’s ten ways to Well-being.

Whilst the programme itself is largely aimed at primary

school students, there are themes and materials included

that can be adapted to suit a secondary school audience.

Included in each session is:

A Powerpoint presentation for use with your students

The aims of each session

Additional activities to use alongside those included in

the Powerpoint Slides.

All resources required.

Please choose the activities that you feel best suit your

students.

Each session includes an opportunity for students to let

you know how they are feeling, some movement, a

creative activity and a short visualisation exercise. Each

session can also be used in isolation of others, if so

desired, or the pack can be delivered over the course of

two weeks as you gradually develop reflections and

conversations within the group.

This pack, and accompanying Powerpoint presentations,

can also be found on ELSA and SENCo Sharepoint sites.

Jersey Psychology and Wellbeing Service May 2020

Back to School: Guidance Pack for Teachers/TAs and ELSAs

Back to School:

SESSION 1 - Connecting with others

Guidance Pack for Teachers/TAs and ELSAs

In this document:

Silent statements

Other Ideas for creative

activities

More mindful movement

activities for you to try

We know that connecting with others is good for our well-

being – talking to a friend when you’re having a bad day

can cheer you up. Having fun together stimulates our ‘feel

good’ hormones. You could choose to brainstorm why it is

important to connect with others and who pupils connect

with in everyday life.


Back to School: Session 1 - Connecting with others

Session 1 - Connecting with Others

Change places/ Stand up if …

Silent Statements

Other Ideas for Creative Activities

Little book of friends - https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/friends-little-book/

How to be a good friend worksheet - https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/

How-to-be-a-good-friend-landscape-worksheets.pdf

How are you feeling (three chances per day to record) https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/wp-content/

uploads/2020/03/Feelings-tab-booklet.pdf

How are you feeling – feeling fans for a quick check in https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/emotion-fans

-with-synonyms/

You have a pet

You like pizza

You are excited to see your friends again

You have a brother or sister

You like to dance

You like brussel sprouts

You like to draw

You enjoy playing football

You walked to school today

You like chocolate

https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/friends-little-book/

https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/How-to-be-a-good-friend-landscape-worksheets.pdf

https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/How-to-be-a-good-friend-landscape-worksheets.pdf

https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Feelings-tab-booklet.pdf


https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/emotion-fans-with-synonyms/

https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/emotion-fans-with-synonyms/

Key Stage 1 ideas


Key Stage 2 Ideas

Follow the rules of ‘Simon says’. You can do yoga poses

or incorporate fun, simple exercises as well, e.g.:

marching in place, flapping like a chicken, rubbing

bellies and heads – anything! This activity can be as

long or a short as you want. It encourages children to

have a go, support each other, and build a class

community. Good for self-esteem.

More Mindful Movement Activities you could try


Powerpoint Slides

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

Well-being Back to School Session 1

June 2020

Jersey Psychology & Wellbeing Service

Session 1 – Welcome!

One of the ways to well-being is to connect with others

• Check-in

• Movement

• Creative activity

• Visualisation

How are you feeling today? Warm Up- Having Fun

• Quick warm up:

• roll ankles

• rotate knees

• rotate hips

• move head from side to side

• move shoulders up and down

• rotate shoulders

• swing arm

• rotate arms

• open and close fingers

Silent Statements Paper Chain People

What is Mindfulness?

Meet Mr Yeti

Powerpoint presentation accessed via ELSA and SENCO Sharepoints

Back to School:

SESSION 2 - Talk about your feelings


In this document:

Talk about your feelings

Silent statement Ideas

Other Ideas

More Mindful Moment Activities

We know that talking about how you feel can help process

emotions that could otherwise manifest in other ways, such

as behaviour or physical sensations, and is good for our

well-being. It is likely that a wide range of emotions have

been experienced during this period of lockdown and that

normal support networks may have been withdrawn, or

may have suffered stress due to the situation. All feelings

experienced during this period, and during the

reintegration, are normal reactions to an abnormal

situation. There is no right or wrong. For ourselves it is

important to remember this, and for the pupils we work with

it is important to emphasise that there are no good or bad

feelings – they are just feelings, and they will pass.


Back to School: Session 2 - Talk about your Feelings

Session 2 - Talk About your Feelings


Silent Statements

felt lonely sometimes during lockdown

missed your friends during lockdown

felt frustrated sometimes during lockdown

enjoyed yourself sometimes during lockdown

got fed up with your family sometimes during lockdown

felt bored sometimes during lockdown

laughed sometimes during lockdown

liked spending time with your family sometimes during lockdown

learnt things about your family during lockdown

kept in touch electronically with your friends during lockdown

missed school sometimes during lockdown

had fun sometimes during lockdown

had trouble sleeping sometimes during lockdown

argued with your family sometimes during lockdown

felt worried sometimes during lockdown

are pleased to be back

are happy to see your friends and your teachers


How are you feeling tab booklets (three chances per day to record) https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/

wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Feelings-tab-booklet.pdf

Circle time – good and bad things about lockdown – one suggestion for each, exploring bad things

first so that each pupil is given the opportunity to talk about both.




My Network Hand

My network people:

Listen to me

Believe me

Do something to help me


Instead of rolling to each other (difficult to do when physical distancing) the adult in the room

could roll the dice for the class.



1 2

3 4

5 6

7

Session 2 – Welcome! Talking about our feelings

• Check-in

• Movement


• Visualisation

How are you feeling today? Get Ready to Dance!

https://family.gonoodle.com/activities/larger-than-life

Silent Statements My Network Hand

Visualisation


June 2020


Powerpoint Slides


Back to School:

SESSION 3 - Keeping Active


In this document:

Keeping Active


Other Ideas

More Mindful Moment Activities

Exercise is good for our mental health. It is a great way to

boost ‘feel good’ hormones and reduce stress and worries.

It can also be used to relax us and help keep our bodies fit

and healthy.

It also has other benefits – it can help you have a sense of

togetherness and belonging, for example when playing a

team game, it can also help you feel successful.

There are many different types of exercise – some are

energetic, some are more gentle, some you can do alone

and some in a team. What is your favourite exercise?

How do you feel after you have exercised? Tired/

energised/ full of beans?


Back to School: Session 3 - Keeping Active

Session 3 - Keeping Active


Silent Statements


Link to the Move-it Minute tracker http://nourishinteractive.com/system/assets/free-printables/241/

kids-write-in-activity-tracking-sheet.pdf?1343336016

Just Dance tracks

You like running

You like dancing

You like yoga

You like walking

You like playing it with your friends

You like swimming

You like karate

You like cricket

You like riding a bike

You like rugby

You like to play

http://nourishinteractive.com/system/assets/free-printables/241/kids-write-in-activity-tracking-sheet.pdf?1343336016

http://nourishinteractive.com/system/assets/free-printables/241/kids-write-in-activity-tracking-sheet.pdf?1343336016


1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

Session 3 – Welcome! Keeping Active

• Check-in

• Movement

• Activity

• Visualisation

How are you feeling today? Exercise

Why is exercise important?

How much exercise do you think you

need every day?

What kind of exercise do you do?

Silent Statements Get Ready to Work Out!

Exercise is Fun Mindfulness time - Let’s calm things down …


June 2020


Powerpoint Slides


Back to School:

SESSION 4 - Eat Well and look After your Body


In this document:

Eat Well and Look after your Body


Other Ideas

Mindfulness Grounding Exercise

Just like exercise, eating well is also good for our mental

health. As well as helping us build stronger bodies, eating

a variety of healthy food can help us stay well and help us

feel energised and motivated.

How do you feel if you haven’t eaten for a while? Light-

headed, grumpy, unable to concentrate? Eating a range of

healthy foods can help us feel more able to cope with our

emotions (think of the times you’ve felt ‘hangry’) and help

us to focus.

Drinking water also helps us maintain our healthy bodies.


Back to School: Session 4 - Eat Well and Look After your Body

Session 4 - Eat Well and Look After your Body


Silent Statements


Templates

We have included two templates for plates – one plain and one which includes the main food

groups.

You like healthy foods

If you have ever felt ‘Hangry’ (so hungry you are irritable)

You ate breakfast this morning

If you like pizza (crisps, chocolate, sweets, ice cream) … is it healthy?

If you like apples… are they healthy?

If you have a piece of fruit in your lunchbox (good time to talk about the difference between fruit winders and fruit!)

If you like fruit

If you think that you eat a healthy diet – what does that look like?

If you like chocolate

If you think water is important


1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

Well-being back to school session 4


June 2020

Session 4 – Welcome! One of the ways to well-being is to eat well

to look after your body

• Check-in

• Class discussion

• Silent Statements


• Visualisation

How are you feeling today?Why do we need healthy food?

• What is healthy food?

• What is unhealthy food?

• Why is healthy food good

for our body?

• What healthy food do you

like?

Silent Statements

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Healthy choice?

Unhealthy choice?

Healthy/unhealthy

mixture?

You’re favourite meal!

• Protein

• Fruits/Vegetables

• Carbohydrates

• Dairy

What foods do you think are

in these groups?

Visualisation

Powerpoint Slides


Back to School:

SESSION 5 - Sleep Well and Recharge


In this document:

Sleep Well and Recharge

Silent Statement Ideas

Other Ideas


Sleep is an essential component to feeling ‘well’. We know

that when we do not get enough sleep we may be grumpy,

impatient and find it difficult to focus.

Discuss the benefits of sleep with your class – here are

some facts and points to consider.

Children aged 5 to 12 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep each

night.

When you get enough sleep you may:

Fight sickness so you can stay healthy

Be in a good mood

Pay better attention in school

Be creative and think of new ideas

Get along with friends and family

Solve problems better.

Without enough sleep you may:

Forget what you learned

Have difficulty making good choices

Be grumpy and in a bad mood

Feel tired and not want to join in games and sports

Be less patient

Have trouble listening.

(taken from www.sleepforkids.org)


Back to School: Session 5 - Sleep Well and recharge

http://www.sleepforkids.org

Session 5 - Sleep Well and Recharge


Silent Statements


http://www.plantlovegrow.com/uploads/3/4/5/0/34500811/better_sleep.pdf.

A poster on sleep that can be useful to generate some ideas.

Pupils could write their own top tips – or younger ones could rank them in order of importance. We

then have another opportunity to talk about how everyone is different.

You find it hard to get to sleep

Have a story or read before bed

Have a bath or a shower before bed (when we cool down after we come out of the bath, or shower, a chemical is released in our bodies which helps us to sleep)

Get ten or more hours sleep a night

Like it dark when you sleep

Like a nightlight in your room, or a light left on outside the room

Share a room with a sibling

Get to sleep easily most of the time

Find it hard to get up in the morning

Like sleep

http://www.plantlovegrow.com/uploads/3/4/5/0/34500811/better_sleep.pdf

Session 5 - Sleep Well and Recharge

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8



June 2020

Session 5 – Welcome! One of the ways to well-being is to sleep and

recharge

• Check-in

• Movement


• Visualisation

How are you feeling today?Silent Statements

Sleep well and recharge

A good night’s sleep is essential to feeling good, being

able to learn and staying healthy!

Did you know that your brain works nearly as much

when you’re asleep as when you’re awake?

Here are five reasons to get a good night’s sleep:

1. It creates memories

2. It makes creative connections

3. It clears out rubbish

4. It Makes decisions

5. It learns and remembers how to do tasks

Without enough sleep you may feel:

• Feelings of tiredness and fatigue

• Unable to concentrate

• Bad tempered

• Increased likelihood for getting ill

• Tearfulness

Your task

Design a poster or draw a picture about your own top tips for sleeping

You could include:

• What things are important to you at bedtime

• Reasons why sleep is good for you

• What happens if you don’t get enough sleep

• How to make sure you get enough quality sleep

Visualisation

Ice into Water Body Scan

Powerpoint Slides

Back to School:

SESSION 6 - Do More of What you are Good at and

Enjoy

In this document:

Do More of What You are Good at

and Enjoy


Other Ideas

We know that when we are doing things that we enjoy, it

makes us feel happy, so it stands to reason that we should

make sure that we are including things in our day that we

enjoy.

Doing things we are good at helps to calm our minds and

forget about any worries we might have, even for a short

while. Doing what we are good at helps us feel good about

ourselves.


Back to School: Session 6 - Do More of What you are Good at and Enjoy

Session 6 - Do More of what you are good at and enjoy


Silent Statements


Wordle/Hoodie about me (see separate sheet)

Rainbow of me (see separate sheet)

You can think of something you enjoy

You like playing football

You enjoy dancing

You enjoy creating art

You like to play rugby

If you enjoy something else

You sometimes forget the time when you are doing something you love

It makes you feel good when you are doing something you love

You can think of something you are good at

You are a good friend


I am Unique


1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8



June 2020

Session 6 – Welcome!Do more of what you are good at and enjoy

• Check-in

• Movement

• Creative Activity

• Affirmations

How are you feeling today?Doing more of what you are good at

• Helps us forget our worries for a

while

• Helps us feel good

• Is good for our Well-being

• Boosts our self-esteem

Silent Statements Get ready to relax!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDK

yRpW-Yuc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy2GLZ

Vjaz8

All about Me!

What do you like? How old are you?

What things are you good at?

An Affirmation song

Powerpoint Slides


Back to School:

SESSION 7 - Asking for help


In this document:

Asking for help


Other Ideas

Everyone needs help sometimes. There are many different

ways in which people need help. A discussion with your

class will enable you to see how your pupils are feeling. It

is important that we provide an opportunity for pupils to

think about who they have around them that can help.

You could choose to talk about:

What stops people asking for help ? You might explore

themes such as:

Those who believe asking for support won’t help,

It is seen as a sign of weakness,

Others rely on themselves to find answers,

We may feel we are not sure who to trust,

We may feel embarrassed/ scared/ feel there’s no one to

talk to.

What kind of things do people need help with? Talk in

small groups and feedback – ideas could be collated on

the whiteboard.

What kind of questions might we ask when we need

help? Talk in small groups and feedback – ideas could

be collated on the whiteboard.


Back to School: Session 7 - Asking for help

Session 7 - Asking for help


Silent Statements


My Circle of Help

You have ever needed help with something – like a maths problem or a spelling

If you have ever needed help with a problem or a worry

Have ever needed help to get better at something

Have ever needed help to deal with a situation – like falling out with a friend

Have ever needed help to fix something – like Lego or a toy

Have ever needed to ask for help when you have hurt yourself

Have ever needed to ask for help when someone else has hurt themselves


My Circle of Help

Everyone needs people they can ask for help sometimes.

People in the community

Friends

Family


1 2

3 4

5 6

Cont...

Session 7 – Welcome! One of the ways to well-being is to ask for help!

• Check-in

• Movement

• Visualisation


How are you feeling today?Silent Statements

What stops people asking for help? What kinds of things do people need help with?

Powerpoint Slides


7 8

9 10

What kinds of questions might we ask

when we need help?

My network hand

My network people:

Listen to me

Believe me

Do something to help me


Friends

Family

My Circle of Help.

Everyone needs

people they can

ask for help

sometimes

Visualisation

The Butterfly Hug

Powerpoint Slides Cont..


Back to School:

SESSION 8 - Relax and Chill


In this document:

Relax and chill


Other Ideas


Relaxation is ‘being free from tension and anxiety’. In our

busy lives, taking time out to relax doesn’t always come

naturally. Marneta Viegas, of Relax Kids, states that

“Tension is so bad for concentration. It can affect children’s

performance in school, their interaction with adults and

peers and the way they perceive themselves’.

We also know that stress can cause physical symptoms

such as headaches, stomach aches, migraines, lack of

sleep and a weakened immune system. So, actively

teaching relaxation techniques can have benefits for all

children … and adults. Taking even a small amount of time

out of a busy day can help us to refocus, reflect and reset.


Back to School: Session 8 - Relax and Chill

Session 8 - Relax and chill

Encourage your pupils to look around them, as everyone will have very different ideas about

what helps them to relax. What works for one may not work for someone else. Explore the ideas

below but there are lots more ways to relax and you could have a brainstorm for any that haven’t

been included.


Discuss with your class why they think it is important to relax. What does it do? How does

relaxing help us?

If they are finding this tricky, ask the children to think about times when they feel relaxed, just

before bed perhaps – although for some this may not be relaxing, or when they have been on

holiday, at the beach, playing with friends. How do you feel when you are in these places?

Some positives are on the slide and include:

Increased concentration

Ability to problem solve

Help us manage worries

Feel more positive

Think about our day

Boost our immune systems

Help with annoying aches and pains.

Silent Statements

You play games to relax

Walking relaxes you

Taking deep breaths helps you to relax

Meditation and visualisation relaxes you

You like a nice bubble bath to help you relax

You like to listen to music to relax

Playing sport or going for a run helps you to relax

You colour or doodle to relax

Dancing helps you to relax

You spend time with friends to relax

You watch a film to relax

Reading helps you relax


Key Stage 1

Play-doh

Lying down whilst listening to relaxing music and stretching

Calm colouring (some examples attached)


Key Stage 2

Design your own menu of top relaxation tips to help think about what works for you

Calm colouring


My Circle of Help

Everyone needs people they can ask for help sometimes.


Friends

Family


1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8



June 2020

• Check-in

• Movement

• Activity

• Visualisation

Session 8 – Welcome! Take a break – Relax and Chill

How are you feeling today? Mindful Walking

Spend 5 minutes mindful walking. This can

be done outside in the playground, in a hall

or in your classroom.

Silent Statements Relaxing helps us to:

• Concentrate

• Manage worries

• Solve problems

• Think about our day

• Get rid of stress

• Feel positive

• Find out about ourselves

Time to relax

You could choose to:

Take part in some calm colouring

Write your own relaxation menu of what

works for you

Try some of the techniques learnt already

Visualisation Mindful Breathing

Powerpoint Slides


Back to School:

SESSION 9 - Be kind


In this document:



Other Ideas


Being kind is good for our well-being – when we are kind to

someone, it enhances our own sense of well-being. Being

kind creates opportunities – opportunities to get to know

someone, for belonging, for positive interactions and to

boost self-esteem. We know that practicing kindness helps

us to self-regulate, as in order to help others we first need

to manage our own emotions. Being kind can also help us

to work with others and achieve shared goals.

What we can do:

Talk about feelings and name them.

Watch one another, listen and validate feelings so that we

recognises that all feelings are ok, and can identify the

feeling again.

Use examples in babies who exhibit feelings freely and are

non-confrontational.


Back to School: Session 8 - Be kind

Session 9 - Be kind

Encourage your pupils to look around them, as everyone will have very different ideas about how

to be kind. There are more ideas to share, and you could have a brainstorm to discuss any that

are not included below.


Silent Statements

Other Ideas

Short video clips about kindness which can be discussed with the class

Key Stage 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wi0UWLeT9I

Key Stage 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9UByLyOjBM

There are activities for each key stage but, as ever ,if you want to substitute please do.

Can think of a kind action – something you could do that is kind

Have done something kind today

Have made someone smile or laugh today

Have ever been kind to someone who was sad or upset (how … what did you do … )

If someone has been kind to you

If someone being kind to you made you feel happy

If you aim to be kind today

Have ever held a door open for someone

Have ever smiled at someone who looked sad

Have listened to a friend if they were going through a hard time

Would be there if someone needed you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wi0UWLeT9I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9UByLyOjBM

Session 9 - Be kind

Heartbeats – ask children to sit and notice their heartbeat.

Does it beat fast or slow?

When would their heart beat faster?

Try to encourage lots of conversations in class about times, perhaps, when students have felt

nervous or excited?

Talk about different emotions e.g. what about emotions at times of transition?

Other mindful ideas

Session 9 - Be kind

1 2

3 4

5 6

7



June 2020

• Check-in

• Class discussion

• Silent statements


• Mindfulness

Session 9 – Welcome! Be Kind

How are you feeling today? What does it mean to be kind?

• What could we do to be kind?

• Can you think of something you

have done which is kind?

• Can you think of a time when

someone was kind to you today?

• How does it make you feel when

someone is kind?

Silent Statements Kindness challenge

Get ready for some Mindfulness

Powerpoint Slides


Back to School:

SESSION 10 - Be yourself - be grateful - individuality

rocks

In this document:



Other Ideas


Being grateful and accepting who we are can have a huge

impact on our well-being, so it is important that we teach

children to look for the positives and build on these

feelings.

You could run a circle time where each pupil says one

thing they are grateful for or something nice about

themselves. Negative self-talk is easy to slip into and it is

easy to forget to be kind to ourselves.

Practicing gratitude can:

Lead to higher levels of happiness and optimism

Help us cope with stress

Increase self-esteem

Improve resilience

Promote better sleep

Improve our immune systems and help us stay well

(taken from mindfullittleminds.com).


Back to School: Session 10 - Be yourself - be grateful - individuality rocks

Session 10 - Be yourself - be grateful - individuality rocks


Silent Statements


All About Me—puzzle

Link with Giraffes Can’t Dance book — Picture included. Use this colouring exercise to discuss the key

messages in the book, how the story is all about the gift of individuality, how the main characters felt

etcetera. Record important thoughts that each student derives from discussions around the edge of the

picture.

You are pleased to be back with your friends

You think you’re awesome

You like some things about yourself

You are pleased to see your teachers

You are happy to have had time with your family

You are happy to be you

You can think of something you are grateful for


1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8



June 2020

Session 10 – Welcome! Be yourself – be grateful

• Check-in

• Movement


• Visualisation

How are you feeling today? Silent Statements

The Same? …or Different? All about me puzzle

Affirmations

Powerpoint Slides


Recovery and Reconnection...Recovery and Reconnection: 10 x Wellbeing and resilience session plans...

Documents

Transcript of Recovery and Reconnection...Recovery and Reconnection: 10 x Wellbeing and resilience session plans...