Learning from Lockdown and Resources to Support Pupils and Families
Within my capacity as an Inclusion Mentor, I see and speak to many pupils, parents, and colleagues about their experience(s) of lockdown and the impact Covid has had on their lives. Some of the key learning and take away messages from these conversations and interactions are:
Relationships are pivotal
Place relationships front and centre and build social capita l- parent to child, teacher to student, colleague to colleague and teacher to parent. We must be encouraged to be human first in the wake of this crisis and to build positive relationships and strengthen our relational depth.
Achieving this starts with an inside job! - offering oneself kindness (self-care). In doing so will be better able to support and be a companion to others in need.
Offering love, kindness - empathy, honesty, and warmth are the foundations that will strengthen the structure of our relationships.
"The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he/she will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love." Dr B.D. Perry
One shape doesn't fit all
Through my experience of children and their families prior to and even more so during lock down, I recognise that the person, the individual is what is important and should always be at the centre of their support. The is a plethora of support avenues and advice that are accessible to children, adults, and families. I feel that finding the right avenue for the individual is what's important, adopting a holistic approach.
Mindful Practice
Mindfulness provides us with a means of cultivating greater and more objective awareness of our own emotional landscape, the emotions of others, and of external circumstance.
In doing so, it gives us more choice in how we respond to challenges we may face and the ability to more consciously choose where we place our attention.
Amid a global pandemic we can fall victim to living in the past and equally living too far in the future, losing sight of the fact that the only place we can affect changeover is the present moment. In this climate a mindful approach is helpful, as it enables us to learn to build our roads on today because tomorrows ground is too uncertain for plans.
Further Guidance and Information
As mentioned in our podcast please look at some of the guidance and information below - please hold in mind that not all the information and guidance will feel suitable to you or that of your child's needs, these are just a collection of resources that others have found helpful at this time:
The Liverpool Learning Partnership (LLP), Mental Health Support Teams and the Whole School Approach Partnership have put together a short booklet to support families at home and encourage them to think about their emotional wellbeing during this time. You can download the booklet here.
In addition to this, a collection of resources can be found on the Liverpool Learning Partnership website here.
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/
https://mentalhealth-uk.org/blog/looking-after-children-and-yourself-while-working-from-home/
https://mentalhealth-uk.org/blog/how-to-look-after-your-mental-health-while-working-from-home/
https://www.who.int/campaigns/connecting-the-world-to-combat-coronavirus/healthyathome
FACE COVID - How to respond effectively to the Corona crisis
Supporting children and young people with worries about COVID-19
Mrs Scott
Inclusion Mentor
