This is a two-week calendar with daily mindfulness activity suggestions. The simple, short activities encourage children to focus on what’s around them to find a sense of calm. These simple mindfulness activities are designed to help pupils relax physically and emotionally. Pupils should be encouraged to do them regularly with the support of an adult, and when confident can independently practice as part of their self care plan. This resource is designed for: children aged 3 and up use with individual children, small groups or whole classes The activities within the calendar will take approximately five minutes and can be done at home or in school. You can display this poster in your classroom or staff room, and use the accompany guidance for instructions on how to deliver the activities. You can run these activities whenever you like, for example at the start of lessons, or after playtime, to help ground and relax the children.

A free toolkit with some resources and tips to help you address anxiety arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19). In this toolkit you will find: a booklet to support schools, videos to provide practical guidance and tips to schools, parents and carers about coronavirus and mental health, activities to ease anxiety that can be done at school or at home and other helpful advice, helplines and resources for adults and children. #coronavirus #covid-19 #covid19mentalhealth

The emotion wheel can be used with children of all ages who are struggling to express their current feelings. By identifying an image they can convey their current feelings. Using the wheel regularly throughout the day will help children and young people see the changing nature of their feelings and can help reduce anxiety around feeling a certain way

This toolkit has been specially designed for World Mental Health Day, and provides primary schools with a range of practical resources to help inform and boost wellbeing for pupils and staff. It includes : Posters Classroom activities Lesson plans Assembly plan Mindfulness exercises Tools and guidance Videos and animations For more primary mental health resources visit www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk

The activities, lesson plans and assembly plans in this toolkit - which meet the learning objectives for the PSHE curriculum - will help children to think about who they are as a person, recognise what they are good at, identify positives things about themselves, learn from their experiences and set goals. There are also activities to support staff wellbeing. For more primary mental health resources visit www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk

Brain breaks are mental and physical activities to break up a period of concentration. These brain breaks may be particular useful after spending long periods sitting or using technology. The brain break may be relaxing or energizing, but they are always intended to get the body and mind going and help children focus once they return to normal classroom activities. Using this resource This resource is designed for: children of all ages use with a whole class Depending of the age of the children, the brain breaks could be used every hour or less for around five minutes. Try to use a variety, and fit them well to the mood and situation. For example, you should choose an active brain break if the previous activity is sedentary, or a maths-related one if you have been studying a different topic. For more resoures, go to www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources

Help your pupils prepare for a new class or school with this assembly, which uses the concept of going on a trip to get them thinking about what they might need for their new adventure. This resource is designed for: Children aged 5 to 11 Whole classes or year groups To run this assembly, we would suggest using some props, like: A suitcase A passport or a photo of one Some suncream Sunglasses A guidebook Some items that aren’t suitable for a summer holiday, like hiking boots or a thick jumper You’ll also need a whiteboard or flipchart paper. This assembly can be used in conjunction with our transition passport resource. Find more activities at www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources

A resource to support children to reflect on the changes that have occurred over the last few months due to Coronavirus. Some children may find the transition back to school difficult after lockdown. It may be useful in the first few weeks of school to reflect on the lockdown period. This resource helps children think about what they have experienced and cope with the changes that have occurred.

This passport activity encourages children to select and present their most relevant characteristics and features to share with their new teacher to support their transition. Transition activities are a great way to support children in the progression through their academic life. This passport activity will help their teacher understand more about their future students and their experiences in school. In light of the coronavirus crisis, many children may be unable to have the chance to complete their last year of school as planned. They may not be able to visit their new school and teachers as they would usually. We have made this resource editable to allow children to complete this digitally at home, so it can be sent electronically to their new teacher or school. Using the resource This resource is designed for use with: Children aged 5 to 11 With whole classes Find more activities at www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources

In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 and the theme of kindness, we are encouraging primary schools to get mentally healthy by spreading a little kindness. This calendar, designed to be used throughout Mental Health Awareness Week, encourages pupils to do two acts of kindness each day – one to someone else and one to themselves. This resource is designed for: children aged 4-11 use with individual children, in pairs or as a whole class Depending on the age of the children, there are two calendars included. One has a suggested kindness activity for each day, which is best for giving to younger children, or using as an example for older children. The other calendar is blank for children to complete with their own ideas.

Use this “Getting to know me” activity with your primary school class at the start of the school year to help pupils get to know themselves a little better and to set a goal that they would like to work towards. This activity will also help give you a sense of their character. This task will encourage pupils to think about how they look, their personality, the things they enjoy doing, and who are the important people in their lives. The worksheet finishes with a goal that pupils can set themselves to achieve – or work towards completing - by the end of the school year. Teachers can revisit these goals during the last term. Pupils can either set these goals themselves, work in groups or teachers can ask pupils to work as a class to set a goal for everyone to work towards. The second worksheet is aimed at pupils who are working in groups or as a class to set an achievable goal. This may be more suitable for pupils working at lower key stage 1 or for children with SEND. For more primary mental health resources visit www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk

This activity allows pupils to set goals for the future academic year, reflect on themselves, their strengths and their weaknesses and practice letter writing. This “Getting to know me” activity includes an activity plan for teachers, a printable letter template for pupils to write a letter to their future selves and a printable envelope to put the letter in. There is one letter template for all pupils and one for pupils working at lower key stage 2 and for those with SEND. For more primary mental health resources visit www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk

This simple activity will show children how to reframe their thinking around a negative situation, and look for positive ways to view the situation. We all have negative thoughts and may get into patterns of negative thinking. In times of distress, these may occur more frequently, and it is easy to be self-critical and focus on the negative thoughts. Sometimes we might catastrophise a situation, making it seem worse than it really is, or we might blame ourselves for things out of our control. This resource may be a useful tool for children to use once they have returned to school after the coronavirus lockdown. Using this resource This resource is designed for: Children aged 4 to 11 Use with individual children This resource forms part of our rebuild and recover set of resources, designed to help schools come back together and support their pupils’ wellbeing after lockdown. Northern Ireland - Personal Development and Mutual Understanding England - RSHE Wales & Scotland - Health and Wellbeing

BRAIN BREAKS: HELPING CHILDREN SETTLE BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM Following lockdown, your students may find it difficult to return to the formality of sitting at desks and concentrating for longer periods of time. To reduce this restlessness, intersperse your lessons with brain breaks, which are short bursts of activity to keep their brain and body active. We have suggest 8 different brain breaks for you to try in this resource. You can begin these more frequently, gradually reducing throughout the term as the children re-adapt to their regular routine. Using this resource This resource is designed for: children aged 7 to 11 use by whole classes This resource forms part of our rebuild and recover set of resources, designed to help schools come back together and support their pupils’ wellbeing after lockdown.

Using a feelings thermometer is a great tool to help children recognise what feelings they might be experiencing in any given moment. A useful strategy to help children deal with anxiety is for them to become aware of what level their anxiety is. If they can develop an understanding of their anxiety or worries, then this is the first step in learning strategies to manage or cope better. Anxiety can be triggered by different situations, and so using this tool can also help children recognise what situations make them feel more anxious or worried than others. Using this resource This resource is designed to be used with an individual child, aged 7 or above. Prior to using this resource with a child, please read through our pages on anxiety, and guidance for delivering short activities, to ensure you have a good understanding of how to use the resources safely.

The three activities outlined in this resource are designed to help children explore their emotions and feelings, and think about the situations that might trigger those emotions. The activities included in this resource are: an emotion exploration activity sheet a matching pairs activity, where pupils are asked to match situations with emotions an emotion chart, where children can track how emotions change and develop over the course of a story or real-life situation This resource is designed for: children aged 5 to 11 use with a whole class, in small groups, in pairs or on an individual basis Prior to delivering any of the following activities, please read the Mentally Healthy Schools guidance for teaching staff on delivering mental health activities. For more resources, go to www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources

This simple board game explores common scenarios that children may encounter in their day-to-day life at home or at school, and the resilience they may need for tackling them. When children land on different squares of the board, they will pick up a card. The card will either explain a scenario which demonstrates resilience, or it will give them an opportunity to make a choice from three options. they may move forward two spaces, one space, or stay where they are depending on how much resilience their choice displays. Through the game, the children should begin to develop an understanding of resilience in common situations which they can then apply to their own lives. This resource is designed for: Children aged 4+ Use in pairs or small groups We have included cut-out counters and a six-sided die in this resource, or you may want to use your own. For more resources, go to www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources

This resource teaches children about resilience and the steps they may need to take to achieve their goals. The ladder format is designed to break down goals into smaller, achievable steps, and develop a growth mindset in children. Breaking down a goal in this way helps children realise that it is how we process and deal with setbacks that let us develop resilience. This resource is designed for: children aged 4+ use with individual children The resource includes a blank resilience ladder for you to work through the child with, as well as an example that they can refer to if needed. For more resources, go to www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources

Our sixth coronavirus toolkit is full of resilience-building resources for children, school staff and parents and carers. When we experience sudden or unsettling change, one thing that can help us cope is resilience. Resilience helps us deal with the emotions a new situation may cause, and helps us bounce back from difficulties we might encounter. Being resilient is an emotional skill and is something we can develop and build, both as children and as adults. The resources in this toolkit are all about resilience and coping with change, which we hope will be useful for children, school staff and parents and carers alike. As some schools prepare to see more pupils return, building and nurturing resilience will be more important than ever. Suitable for: early years children Key Stage 1 pupils Key Stage 2 pupils school staff parents and carers. Find more coronavirus resources and toolkits on Mentally Healthy Schools.

Following lockdown, some children may have increased anxiety about returning to school, particularly separation anxiety at leaving their parents and carers. This document has been produced to guide teachers in supporting pupils exhibiting anxiety. It may be useful for the return to school in September, following any periods of local lockdown or blended learning, or any other longer absence from school. Each child is individual and parts of this may not apply to their situation. Please refer to our guidance for teachers, and where the concern is ongoing do please refer to further mental health support in your school or local authority. Using this resource This resource is designed for: use by primary school teachers and school staff This resource forms part of our rebuild and recover set of resources, designed to help schools come back together and support their pupils’ wellbeing after lockdown.