Cornwall Schools’ Wellbeing Hub Newsletter 6th June 2025
Friday 6th June 2025
Welcome to the Wellbeing Newsletter
Welcome to the wellbeing update and Joyful June
Have you come across ‘glimmers’? They seem to have popped up all over the place recently. My immediate reaction was a ‘pink fluffy’ alert..! Having delved a bit it has some sound evidence behind it. The idea originates with Deb Dana who works alongside Stephen Porges on Polyvagal approaches.
In Deb Dana's work, "glimmers" are micro-moments of connection and regulation that activate the nervous system's calming response, fostering feelings of safety, joy, and well-being. They are the opposite of triggers, which are cues of danger that activate a fight/flight or freeze response. Glimmers are subtle cues that gently shape our nervous system, helping us to feel grounded and connected.
Something to encourage children to think about / look for as part of the everyday?
Child Poverty in Cornwall – LAST CHANCE to complete survey. Being alongside children and families every day your insight is crucial. Please take part- link below.
The Director of Public Health is focusing on child poverty in their Annual Report this year and they are keen to shine the spotlight on the voices / experiences of children and young people as well gathering the views of professionals working with children and families on how poverty affects children and the impact that managing the symptoms of poverty has on their organisation.
There are two excellent opportunities to contribute:
- Help PH explore and capture children's understanding of health and happiness (deadline 27th June)
- share your views by completing the Child Poverty Impact Survey (closing date 6th June)
Just published: Priced out of school: how lack of money prevents young people from attending school, Child Poverty Action Group, May 2025.
Don’t forget you can now access this and previous newsletters on the website
Wellbeing Training with Headstart Kernow
Have you joined the Headstart Kernow Creative Education membership yet?
Sign up here: www.headstartkernow.org.uk/creative-education/
Download our updated Creative Education membership information fliers with access links for:
New Creative Education are offering Supervision (cost involved)
Supervision: Supporting the People Who Support Everyone Else
Professional supervision for DSLs, Mental Health Leads, SENCOs, Pastoral Staff
School staff who support vulnerable children and colleagues need support too. Our professional supervision service provides a structured, reflective space for staff to process challenging situations, develop their practice, and maintain their wellbeing.
Expert Supervision Delivered by experienced professionals who understand the unique challenges of educational settings.
Structured Support Regular, confidential sessions that provide space for reflection, problem-solving, and professional growth. Group sessions or 1:1 available.
Wellbeing Focus Helps prevent burnout and compassion fatigue among staff in demanding roles.
External organisations - training coming up.
Schools in Mind
How can schools and colleges help young people form healthy relationships in a digital world?
We know that it can be challenging to know how to support young people to form and maintain healthy relationships, particularly in the context of the increasing popularity of digital spaces.
Join us on 18 June (16.30 – 18.00) for an interactive webinar, which will help education staff and other professionals who work with children and young people to support the development of healthy peer relationships.
The session will also help you identify signs that a student is being negatively affected by their peer relationships, as well as support you to understand how to look after both your wellbeing and that of your colleagues when navigating these difficult situations and conversations.
More information / Booking (cost involved)
On-demand from ThriveUK
How to create a sense of belonging in schools (Thrive UK)
In this session, we explore how to create a genuine sense of belonging in schools – a vital foundation for mental wellbeing, academic success, and healthy brain development. We expand on previous conversations about the importance of belonging, sharing fresh strategies underpinned by the latest neuroscience and Thrive’s relational approach.
From red pill to 80/20: decoding Netflix’s Adolescence to support mental health in education
Now available as a free on-demand recording with a free guide:
Increasingly young people are being exposed to harmful online narratives around masculinity, relationships and self-worth. From incel culture and the manosphere to red pill ideology, these digital spaces can shape how boys see themselves and interact with others - sometimes with devastating consequences.
As educators, how can we spot the warning signs? How do we create safe spaces for young people to talk about these issues? And how can we equip them with the tools to develop a healthy sense of identity and belonging?
On-demand webinar: Overwhelm-busters for the young person’s toolkit.
Exam season is just around the corner, and with an increasing focus on attainment, the pressure to succeed can be daunting for pupils and educators alike. In ‘SaveMyExams’ 2024 survey, 85% of pupils said they experienced exam anxiety and 1 in 4 said it was nearly unbearable. While it’s natural for young people to have some nerves about exams, it’s important to take steps to ensure the stress doesn’t take a serious toll on their wellbeing and performance.
In this 45-minute webinar, Thrive’s Head of Product and Innovation, Viv Trask-Hall, dives into the science behind stress and shares practical strategies that pupils can use when overwhelm creeps in.
Dr Lisa Cherry (TICS) Circles and Threads; Trauma Informed Record Keeping
1st July 2025 (online). Cost involved.
For foster carers, social workers and those in education responsible for writing records.
It is an insightful, interactive, connection space. Using a trauma informed lens, we'll explore how records have the capacity to heal the reader long after their time in care.
Another course from Lisa Cherry - Cultivating Belonging: A Model for Practice 2025 (Cost involved)
Brand new for 2025 - A conceptual model to weave a web of belonging in practice!
Cultivating belonging into our practice can sometimes feel like a tick box exercise; something that we know we should do but without any knowledge of a cohesive way of doing it.
Drawing from Dr Lisa Cherry's research on belonging and written about in her book Weaving A Web of Belonging, this full day session will guide you through the why, the when and the how of incorporating a conceptual model into your practice.
You will leave the day with a clear plan of how to apply her FACES, SPACES, PLACES model into your practice, slides from the day, a toolkit to audit and develop practice, alongside various downloadable items to support your Cultivating Belonging into Practice Plan. This event is suitable for anyone wanting to develop a practice of belonging into their setting, service or system and to deepen understanding of the impact of unbelonging for so many who are then left feeling as though they are invisible and that they don't matter.
Meet colleagues from around the country and draw on collaborative minds across sectors and let's create!
When? - 3rd September 2025 9.30 - 3.45
Where? - Online – Zoom
Your Host: Dr Lisa Cherry
News / Resources / Updates
Exams and Transition support
Find advice and information for YP from YP on both exams season (including SATS) and transition via the Start Now website.
Head to our website to order Transition Mission booklets (free)
Young Minds Update - getting young people through exam season
Stress bucket activity – help young people identify what exactly is causing them stress and the things they can do to reduce it.
Mindfulness activities – help young people calm their heightened emotions and cope with anxiety.
For more tips and advice on managing exam time, check out our guides for parents/carers and professionals.
Empathy Day Festival is in Full Swing!!
There are events and activities everyday with fabulous resources free to access as well. There are some terrific webinars to join live or catch up with via a recording. One that really caught our attention is:
An EmpathyLab x Place2Be webinar. A discussion on the power of reading to support young people’s wellbeing and mental health, the role that reading for empathy has in emotional regulation and social cohesion and the importance of accessible preventative tools such as reading. With expert guest speakers, Imogen Bond - Managing Director, EmpathyLab; Rebecca Kirkbride - Clinical Director at Place2Be; Anthony Kessel - National Deputy Medical Director for NHS England and author; Sharna Jackson - award-winning author.
Watch on demand from 6 June.
WATCH: Get ready to be creative with author/illustrators Sue Cheung and Alex Latimer. In this creative session, pupils will develop an understanding that emotions change over time, as well as their own style of creative self-expression, as they are invited to take the Emotions Maps challenge.
Empathy Emotions Map – EmpathyLabUK
Empathy Day Festival 2025 - Spark empathy with… Sue Cheung & Alex Latimer (video)
Empathy Emotions Map 2024 (resource)
New Opportunity for Schools- Empathy Lab Schools Programme
Find out more
News from Pooky Knightsmith
The latest resource from Pooky is Anxiety in Class. (presentation slides)
These slides explore 10 practical, evidence-informed ways to support students experiencing anxiety in the classroom. Whether a child is visibly overwhelmed or quietly struggling, these simple strategies can make a meaningful difference - and most are easy to weave into your everyday teaching.
This is one of those sessions where each slide is a bite-sized idea you can try, tweak, or share with colleagues. You don’t have to use them all, just pick the ones that feel like the right fit for your students.
What’s inside?
- Calming techniques like 5–7 breathing and progressive muscle relaxation
- Grounding and visualisation ideas
- Coping statements and self-talk prompts
- Ways to help students feel safe, seen, and regulated
- Easy-to-use frameworks like If… Then… and TIGGER
Each strategy is framed in a way that’s gentle, trauma-informed, and neurodivergent-friendly. You’ll also find reflection questions sprinkled throughout, designed to help you adapt the ideas to your setting.
"I Can" Lists. (download PDF)
These are simple sheets designed to help children track and celebrate their progress, especially in areas where confidence is low or where “I can’t” has become the dominant inner voice.
This idea grew from a moment with my own daughter, Ellie, who once said she “couldn’t do maths.” Rather than argue, we started listing what she could do—and, little by little, the story she told herself began to shift. That’s the heart of this resource: helping children rewrite their inner narrative, one win at a time.
What’s included?
- A printable pack of “I Can” sheets, in a variety of formats:
- Versions with 8 or 15 spaces to suit different needs and attention spans
- Different titles like “Things I Can Do Now” or “Look What I’ve Learned”
- Blank-title versions so you can customise the focus (e.g. “I Can Be Brave”, “I Can Work With Others”)
How to use them:
- Let children record wins in their own words—however small
- Use as a confidence boost after a tricky patch or as part of a regular routine
- Celebrate effort as much as achievement
- Let them choose a meaningful reward when the list is full (a sticker, a bubble tea, time with a trusted adult…)
Also included: Supporting Notes I’ve written up a short guide explaining the thinking behind the sheets, tips for using them effectively, and ideas for adapting them across age groups and settings.
If you use this resource, I’d really love to hear how it goes—and if your learners enjoy it as much as Ellie did.
As ever Pooky is happy to share and for people to use / adapt resources as you see fit – with a credit.
Wellbeing Book of the Week - A beautiful book just oozing with empathy!
The Strange & Curious Guide to Trauma by Sally Donovan, illustrated by Emma Smid
The Strange & Curious Guide to Trauma explores what trauma is, how it affects us, and why our bodies and brains react the way they do. It tells us why ‘Some People' say unhelpful things, and how we can help ourselves and others feel better about the ‘alarms’ that go off when we’re least expecting them.
We cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is beautifully written, clear and concise - Young people who have experienced trauma and their carers will benefit from positive and realistic messages in this book, both emotionally and practically, when they are overwhelmed and need a reminder that trauma is not their fault or that they are incredibly strong individuals. Every adult with a C/YP in their life should read this. HSK Youth reviewers loved it (including those who have experienced trauma and others who haven't - they said it was a great way to help all young people understand and empathise with those who have) Recommended read for every member of school staff and governors.
We love this book so much we have copies to give away to schools / professionals who support children and families in Cornwall and the IOS. Contact us for more information
Free / low-cost wellbeing resources for schools
Excellent free / low cost Social and Emotional Learning resources can be found on some of our very favourite websites:
Whole Hearted School Counseling – brilliant blogs, fab freebies and low cost resources that worth purchasing
Anita who ‘is’ WHSC has been creating some fabulous resources recently.
A recent series of blogs with additional resources have covered some really important areas for supporting young people in engaging and fun ways.
Anita has also been posting some excellent brief wellbeing snapshots for young people and parents via Instagram.
ELSA Support
Again, lots to love with a terrific bank of free downloads and low-cost resources.
Be Happy Resources
Resources to buy and subscriptions to access everything on site but always a free resource or two each week
Any other sites you are aware of and would recommend?
Digital Resilience Tools and Resources
As part of our overall website refresh, we have updated / improved the digital resilience tools / resources and added some new ones. There are tools for professional, parents and carers and young people themselves. Recent additions include:
- SEND Digital Resilience Guidance
- Was that, OK? tool for young people.
- Podcast Series for young people
Explore these and all the digital resilience resources
VapeANON
VapeANON.com lets young people share information about shops selling vapes to children - and it’s entirely anonymous.
Created by Cornwall Council Trading Standards in response to concerns raised by young people at our Children’s Rights Annual Conversation, VapeANON enables young people to pass on information anonymously to Cornwall’s Trading Standards team about shops that are breaking the law by selling vapes to under 18s.
One of the young people who took part in the Annual Conversation said:
“Whilst working with other young people to create an action plan to address the issue of young people vaping at the Annual Conversation we all discovered that most of us knew at least one person who had bought a vape illegally. We all felt like something had to be done to prevent more young people accessing vapes so I’m very proud that Trading Standards listened to the concerns of the young people and are working to combat this issue."
Have you visited our new www.headstartkernow.org.uk website yet?
We are delighted to let you know that our refreshed and redesigned website went live recently. We made it simpler to find what you need as professionals supporting children and families need as well adding a new, more prominent area for parents and carers.