Health and Wellbeing at Whitehouse Primary School

Our Mindful School 

How do we create mindful children? By creating mindful teachers and parents and empowering them to guide, share and live the journey together. This is our vison at Whitehouse and we couldn’t be happier to share it with you.

So, what is it? Mindfulness centres around being compassionate with yourself and finding (or perhaps rediscovering) peace and contentment in your life, in your world. It is not complicated or time consuming but mindfulness does require practice, persistence and patience. It is observing thoughts, day dreams, mind wanderings or distractions without judgement of criticism. It is finding a sense of stillness in an increasingly chaotic, busy, noisy world for us as adults as well as our children. It is training our minds to live in the present, moment by moment, not missing a single experience.

The effects of mindfulness training have been scientifically studied and shown to prevent depression whilst positively affecting underlying day to day anxiety, stress and irritability. Not just in adults, but in children too. Children. Your children, our children. We didn’t need any further encouragement to practice mindfulness in our school. Instead of negatively reacting to feelings of anxiety and hopelessness or sadness, your mind is trained so that thoughts dissolve away more easily.

Together we can change the world The excitement and passion for mindfulness within the hearts and minds of our teachers and staff at Whitehouse is growing and growing (we love our teacher mindfulness sessions as much as the children!).

We are committed to the well-being of our children and want to ensure  that each and every child at Whitehouse Primary develops a high level of self-esteem, a sense of confidence and feeling their place in the world.

We’ll guide them to improve their concentration and they will learn how to feel and understand their emotions. Combining mindfulness techniques and activities with yoga poses, ensures that children are highly motivated to practice. In fact, they’re already getting pretty good at this stuff!

We only have this moment, twinkling like a shooting star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.


Our Growth Mindset

What is a growth mindset? The term ‘growth mindset’ refers to a way of thinking, learning and taking on challenges. A person with a growth mindset is open to constructive criticism, takes feedback and uses it, takes on new challenges, pushes themselves outside of their comfort zone and shows resilience and perseverance.

Studies show that it is people with a growth mindset (as opposed to a fixed mindset) who achieve in life, are successful in all they do and are happy. Of course, this is exactly what we want for all our children.

At Whitehouse Primary School, we know that pupils who have a positive attitude towards their learning will make good progress and be successful.

We want all our pupils to relish challenges, embrace their mistakes as part of the learning process, value the importance of effort, respond carefully to feedback and take inspiration from others. This will help them to achieve, not only with us, but also in their future lives as adults.

We are very excited about the prospect of nurturing a growth mindset culture at Whitehouse Primary.

Encouraging children to become confident and resilient learners We know that in order to fulfil the potential of our pupils and encourage them to become confident and resilient learners we, as a team of parents and staff, need to be modelling the mindset of a learner who is not afraid of making mistakes but who thrives upon them, knowing that this is all part of the learning process. The way in which we encourage children to learn and explore is vital to their success, not only at school but at home as well.

At Whitehouse Primary, we consistently endeavour to challenge and develop the attitudes of all pupils and staff towards learning by considering what makes a successful learner. We talk about what kind of learners we want to be and how we can positively approach challenges inside and outside the classroom. The school is buzzing with talk of perseverance, challenge, risks and celebrating mistakes. This is shared in our weekly celebration assembly.

For further information on how to encourage cofident and resilient learners at home, have a look at some of the links below.

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

www.oxfordlearning.com/growth-mindset-tips-for-parents/

www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help-your-child-try-new-things


Our Daily Mile

The aim of the Daily Mile is to improve the physical, emotional and social health and wellbeing of our children – regardless of age or personal circumstances.

It is a profoundly simple but effective concept, which we have implemented at Whitehouse Primary School.

Its impact can be transformational- improving not only the childrens’ fitness, but also their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general well being.

Every child at Whitehouse Primary participates in the Daily Mile.

The Daily Mile is not a competition, but a positive step towards encouraging and motivating young people to lead more active, healthier and happier lifestyles. Our children have embraced this and look forward to their daily sessions. Their fitness and stamina is improving weekly

How does the Daily Mile work? 

  • It takes place over just 15 minutes, with children averaging a mile each day.
  • Children run outside in the fresh air – and the weather is a benefit, not a barrier.
  • There’s no set up, tidy up, or equipment required.
  • Children run in their uniforms so no kit or changing time is needed.
  • It’s social, non-competitive and fun.
  • It’s fully inclusive; every child, whatever their circumstances, age or ability, succeeds at The Daily Mile.