Best Practice

Mental health: Classroom ideas to help pupils develop self-expression and self-regulation

Helping children learn how to express themselves is crucial for developing self-regulation, coping strategies, and good mental health. Shahana Knight looks at how we can encourage these habits during our daily teaching routines


Children’s Mental Health Week earlier this month focused on self-expression as a means to promote good mental health. In response, many schools put on assemblies, art lessons and looked at this theme within PSHE lessons.

This was wonderful to see, but it is important to remember that to really embed this vital message then repetition over time is key. If we really want children to learn to take care of their own mental health by expressing themselves then we have to teach them how to do that regularly and in a multitude of ways. We have to help them apply these lessons to their lives.

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