Cornwall Schools’ Wellbeing Hub Newsletter 9th May 2025
Friday 9th May 2025
Welcome to the Wellbeing Newsletter
Happy Teacher Appreciation Month
Not sure it is ‘a thing’ here in the UK but there is a lot of social media and stuff in my inbox about it so I thought we could have it in Cornwall at least. I’m sure I am not the only one who’d prefer a teacher (and school staff more widely) appreciation year (each year) with the salaries and resources to show the appreciation in a more concrete way…
It is a tough time to be a teacher – in all sorts of ways. Be that poor wellbeing in a tired and overstretched workforce to budget / resource concerns to societal challenges including SEND, the impact of ‘phones and social media, post Covid attendance issues and increasing child poverty.
I have had conversations recently with school staff about the way child poverty is impacting in schools and how schools are stepping up to help with everything from food banks on site, providing uniform and /or doing washing for some families or arranging transport for children who may not get to school as families can’t afford the cost of transport.
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)
It’s MH Awareness Week next week (12th to 18th May). The theme is the power of community.
There are links to various resources below.
I just wanted to leave you with this question (thanks to Andrew Hall in his safeguarding newsletter):
What’s the most powerful thing an adult in school can say to a child to help them feel safe and supported?
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:
External organisations - training coming up.
Thrive UK
Mental Health Awareness Week (12th-18th May) is just around the corner and this year’s theme is ‘community’.
A strong sense of community - where children and young people feel safe, supported, and valued - is key to mental wellbeing, healthy brain development and academic success.
To mark the week, Thrive is offering two free webinars designed to help early years practitioners and school staff create learning environments where children and young people feel accepted, appreciated and free to be themselves.
How to create a sense of belonging in the early years - Monday 12th May, 16.00-16.45 BST
How to create a sense of belonging in schools Thursday 15th May, 16.00-16.45 BST
PS. If you can’t make the live session, register and they’ll send you the recording / resource afterwards.
On-demand from ThriveUK
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.
Barnardo’s: Layered Learning CPD Package
Emotionally Based School Avoidance – 3 x 3hr CPD sessions
Tuesday 13th May 2025 1:00pm - 4:00pm – Introducing EBSA
Thursday 15th May 2025 9:30am - 12:30pm - Reflection session
Friday 13th June 2025 9:30am - 12:30pm - Resources and sign posting.
Find out more about this and other sessions available including staff wellbeing.
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.
News / Resources / Updates
The Brilliant ME! Guide to Anxiety Booklet for parents and carers has just landed from the printers. Schools / professionals can order free copies from us via the resource order page on the website and parents can request free copies directly or get them from their local library.
There is an accompanying booklet for school staff with additional information and resources (order from the resources page).
Exams, SATS 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)
The ELSA support website has lots of transition resources including the free The CALM Approach SATs booklet
You can download a free SATS Survival Plan from Be Happy Resources.
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.
NSPCC / Childline / Exam Stress
The NSPCC has published a news story on children experiencing exam and revision stress. Data from Childline counselling sessions between April 2024 and March 2025 highlighted key themes including feeling under pressure to do well; struggling to balance revision and other parts of life; and losing sleep over revision, exams, and the idea of failing.
The news story includes advice to help young people during this period.
Words Matter
Words Matter are a charity highlighting the impact verbal abuse can have on children’s mental health and wellbeing.
They recently held a briefing at the House of Commons
Find out more about their work including research and resources at https://wordsmatter.org/
NSPCC have some excellent information on their website on emotional abuse, including verbal abuse
Calling All Primary Schools
Start Now Website Workshop for Y5/6 (post SATS of course).
The Start Now website created by young people in Cornwall is undergoing a refresh and we’re splitting it into two sites. One aimed at 10 – 13 and the other 13 – 16.
We’d love the opportunity to spend time with some Y5/6 pupils exploring the existing site and getting their thoughts on new designs / content ideas for the 10 – 13. Pupils will have an opportunity to work with HSK in the first instance and with Kat and Mat our web designers to make a real difference to the website when it is launched.
We have a new chatbot (created by YP working with Tech Cornwall) to test out and design ideas to consider.
- We’ll bring some fun, simple wellbeing activities with us
- There are gift vouchers for participating groups and freebies to share as well
To find out more contact us
Mentally Healthy Schools – MH Awareness Week Toolkit
Download a free toolkit of resources exploring the ‘power of community’.
Empathy Day Festival is coming soon and there is lots on offer.
Register Now for the Empathy Day Festival 2nd – 12th June 2025
And access some excellent, FREE, empathy resources, training and online events for pupils.
News from Pooky Knightsmith
The latest resources from Pooky are about Caring Connections.
Schools aren’t just about education—they’re about people. And people thrive in a culture of care, connection, and belonging.
This presentation explores small but powerful shifts that help staff build a more connected, compassionate school environment, where wellbeing is at the heart of everything.
It covers key themes like:
- Self-Reflection – Understanding our own mindset to strengthen relationships.
- Empathy & Active Listening – Building trust by truly hearing others.
- Behaviour as Communication – Seeing challenges as signals of unmet needs.
- Creating a Culture of Care – Embedding connection into everyday interactions.
As ever Pooky is happy to share and for people to use / adapt as you see fit – with a credit.
Happy Maps UK website
A quick reminder of one of our favourite websites / wellbeing directories about wellbeing for parents and carers / children and young people and professionals. It’s just had a makeover with a new A-Z listing of topics for easier navigation.
Be Happy Resources – free weekly downloads (always worth checking out)
My Anger Volcano is a visual, child-friendly anger management tool that helps children and teens explore the triggers and emotions that fuel their anger and the behaviours that erupt when it overflows. With its calming design and simple prompts, this multi-use, one-page printable encourages self-awareness, healthy expression, and emotional growth, making it the perfect resource for any emotional well-being toolkit.
Free / low-cost wellbeing resources for schools
Some other excellent free 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
ELSA Support Again, lots to love with a terrific bank of free downloads and low-cost resources
Any others you are aware of and would recommend?
Wellbeing Book of the Week
Weaving a Web of Belonging by Dr Lisa Cherry
MH Awareness Week and the themes of community and belonging made this a good choice of for book of the week. Weaving a Web of Belonging explores the idea of cultivating belonging as an antidote to trauma. It is a mix of an exploration of research, lived experience and thoughtful suggestions for developing a model of belonging (including schools) that is firmly embedded in a trauma informed culture.
I found it heavy going at times (not helped by the small, grey font and dense pages! grrr). Although this was helped by a summary of key takeaways at the chapter alongside the references for that chapter. I also found the end of chapter reflections worth doing and helpful when finding the going a bit tough.
There is a thread of lived experience of C&YP in the care system which is powerful and mostly provides a sense of unbelonging that contrasted with the overall message of belonging and emphasised how far we still must go.
There are excellent chapters on leadership and belonging (echoing the work of Professor Kathryn Riley at UCL), the power of language and exclusions.
Dr Cherry does offer a conceptual model of belonging that arose from her research FACES, SPACES, and PLACES (again echoes of Professor Riley’s work) which offers much to think about in terms of belonging, but it wasn’t given sufficient attention coming right at the end of the book.
Overall, I do not think this was the book on belonging I was hoping for from someone who is an outstanding authority in trauma informed practice.
I will look forward to any subsequent development of FACES, SPACES and PLACES.
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.