Health and Wellbeing

Treading the fine line of child protection...

Every day in schools, staff need to make safeguarding-related judgements about pupils and their families. But it can often be a fine line to tread and a difficult call to make. Safeguarding expert Ann Marie Christian discusses how to handle these situations and offers some general advice

SMSC and British Values

Social, moral, spiritual and cultural education and development is an crucial duty for schools, especially in light of requirements to teach ‘British Values’. Headteacher Helen Frostick looks at key definitions to help you evaluate your school’s provision and offers some ideas for SMSC activities

Case study: Talking about death

Talking about death is something we are not very good at and often do not tackle in schools. Yet a vast majority of pupils will experience a significant bereavement before the age of 16. Emma Lee-Potter reports on a pilot project linking one school’s pupils with their local hospice

Moving on up: A transition lesson plan

Transition is always a stressful time for young people. Coach and author Naomi Richards offers some lesson ideas to help prepare our year 6 pupils for their move to secondary school this September

Mental health: Are we too quick to label?

Are we too quick to label the young as having mental health problems? And do the labels we give to pupils actually get in the way of the support they need? Dr Stephanie Thornton considers these very sensitive questions

Tackling the bullying of pupils with SEND

Disabled students and pupils with SEN are more likely to be bullied – a hard truth that is too often overlooked. Drawing on work by the Anti-Bullying Alliance to develop effective practice to tackle this kind of bullying, Sophie Keenleyside offers some practical advice to primary school leaders

Safeguarding: Domestic violence

Domestic violence is a child protection issue that schools must be prepared for. Expert Dr Julie Leoni explains what abuse can look like, the impact on children, spotting the signs and taking action

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Tackling obesity – the primary school role

Preventing childhood obesity is a key challenge of our time, with many seeing a vital role for primary schools – but how best can we engage with pupils and families to make a difference? Dr Joanne Clarke reports on her research into this area

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Stress: Keeping your head above water as a school leader

As a headteacher, James Hilton fell victim to the huge stress that can affect many school leaders. He now spends his time helping education professionals to recognise and overcome the symptoms of stress. It is a theme tackled in his new book – Leading From the Edge. We invited him to offer some ...

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Child protection: ‘Don’t wait for disclosures’

The Children’s Commissioner said in November that schools must be more proactive in identifying sexual abuse. Meanwhile, proposed updates to government guidance highlight the responsibilities of individual members of staff. Are schools really not doing enough?

Keeping workplace stress at bay

Taking active steps to tackle the stress of school leadership is vital for headteachers. Julian Stanley offers some basic advice to help ease the pressure and encourages heads under strain to seek help now

Troubled families – is it too good to be true?

Following the riots in 2011, the issue of disaffected and troublesome young people made the headlines. The Troubled Families programme was heralded as a solution. With its continued expansion, do we know how successful this programme has actually been? Suzanne O’Connell reports

The links between language ability and behaviour

Are we focusing too much on the behaviour of children when we should be looking at interventions aimed at supporting language and communication ability? Dr Zoe Owen discusses the links between language ability and unwanted behaviour – and some possible interventions

Supporting refugee children arriving in your school

Receiving the children of Syrian refugees as they begin to arrive in the UK is a realistic possibility for many schools. It is likely that these children will face many challenges as they integrate. Educational psychologist Dr Joanna Mitchell offers a checklist for successful inclusion

Why are our young so stressed?

Young children seem to suffer increasingly from stress or anxiety. Psychologist Dr Stephanie Thornton considers why this is and offers some solutions for schools to help our pupils cope better

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Restorative practices – it's good to talk

Restorative justice practices involve working with pupils to resolve the conflicts that often occur during daily school life. Teacher and SENCO Nicola Preston explains more about the approach

Pupils with Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes affects more than 30,000 children and there are clear legal duties regarding the support schools have to offer. Libby Dowling advises

Play therapy in schools

Many schools engage with play therapy services to help support their pupils' mental health and wellbeing. Jeff Thomas looks at how primary schools can ensure they offer safe, effective and sustainable services

Staff wellbeing and mental health

Brian Taylor looks at new recommendations from NICE about the mental health and wellbeing of your staff and discusses how Employee Assistance Programmes may be able to help

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