Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)

WELLBEING

Recommencing a school term can be tricky in a family, especially when it backs onto the clock being moved forward for Daylight Savings and we all get up an hour earlier! 

However, staying calm and getting along in the morning will help you all feel positive about the day ahead. The most useful way to reduce morning chaos is to set up a morning routine for school. Sticking to a morning routine for school helps your children predict what’s coming, and remember what they need to do. 

Here are some ideas to take some of the pressure out of school mornings – even if things don’t always go smoothly! 

• Think about an alarm clock for children who find it hard to wake up or don’t like getting out of bed. 

• Tackle the morning as positively and as optimistically as you can. Good moods can be infectious. One way to do this is by focusing on the positive aspects of your children’s behaviour and praising them – for example, ‘Great to see you eating some toast’. 

• Give your children calm, clear instructions about what you want them to do, and follow up with specific praise as soon as they start to cooperate. You might need to remind younger children more often about what they’re meant to be doing and when. Simple ‘to do’ checklists, even with pictures, can help

 • As your children get older and more capable, encourage them to do more for themselves – for example, an eight-year-old can get dressed on his own, make his own breakfast, and tidy up after himself. A five-year-old can do things like putting their lunch box in their bag. 

• Cut down on distractions like television, tablets and other devices. Many families have a rule about no screen time in the morning. Think about leaving screens off, unless screen time is a special treat for being ready on time.

 • Try not to give your children extra attention for arguing, whining or stalling. Even negative attention is an incentive for them to keep going with this behaviour.

 • Make it fun – for example, try our ‘Beat the buzzer’ game to encourage your child to be ready on time.

We look forward to maintaining good attendance for all students at Sacred Heart School for the remainder of the year. 

ChatterBox

Part of my role as Mental Health Wellbeing Leader can be to help students by listening to their worries or concerns and by helping them to solve problems.  

I have introduced the ChatterBox system to facilitate this process if needed. 

How it works: 

• Students may want to talk about something that they need some help with to think through, or resolve.
• They place their name in the ChatterBox in the office. 
• On Wednesdays and Thursdays I can meet with the students to listen to their story and help them work through it. 
• Conversations will be confidential, unless I believe a child is not safe and I am obliged to talk to the principal and follow the Child Safe Policy guidelines. 
• I may not get to every student each week. 

Please note, this is not a counselling service, as I am not a qualified counsellor. I am providing the students with an option of another trusted adult in their lives, along with their parents, teachers and staff,  who can listen to them.

Joe Quinn

Mental Health Wellbeing Leader.