To complain to the school.

[runforthesun]

Dd has had a letter from school to say that they will be having an hour long session in mindfulness every week when they return to school. Dd is fairly bright but does struggle a bit with maths. AIBU to complain to school that at this point in her education I would rather she was getting up to speed on academic subjects ? I don't think IABU but am prepared to be told I am. If it makes a difference they are 8 and 9 year olds.

[SuperRainbows]

Showmeislands, that is really informative and interesting. Would you have expected a school to inform parents they were doing this, as my dds school didn't. She does about 20 minutes once a week and hates it. I've tried doing night time relaxing with her to help her sleep and she doesn't like this either, so one size doesn't fit all.

[showmeislands]

I'm a psychologist working with children and would not advocate the blanket use of mindfulness in schools. Contrary to popular opinion, the research evidence for benefit is not currently that conclusive or consistent. It affects people differently. It can work very well for some children, but others find the experience unhelpful, and others still, unpleasant. It is often missold as a relaxation technique to reduce anxiety, which it is not. In fact it can make people more aware of difficult emotions/experiences etc. While enhanced awareness of such things can be good, it isn't always the most helpful thing to be happening during the school day - some children may find themselves more anxious or upset. I think it's good to make mindfulness available as an option for those who want to try it (and are made aware that it can affect people differently) but it shouldn't be seen as the only, or go-to option for improving children's mental health in school, or assumed that it will necessarily help.

[Heatherjayne1972]

My son is in yr4. No way could he sit through an hour of this
His sitting still record is not great
I wouldn't be happy with this either

[GilMartin]

if life wasnt so shit we wouldnt need MH services

What a daft over simplification.

[ohlittlepea]

Did they explain the purpose because resilience is a pretty useful life skill to have. If it's done properly with someone well trained and good at delivering it/connecting with the pupils then it could help them with any subject. There's a good evidence base behind mindfulness. Think its especially important for the screen based lifestyle we live now.

[randomeragain]

if life wasnt so shit we wouldnt need MH services. Kids could cope if Mr x or MrsY was there every day loving them.

[38cody]

A good idea but an hour is too long - 20 mins st that age. I'm sure the school will be meeting the curriculum requirements for maths - they do need a variety.

[nemoni]

Really interesting discussion- I'm a big fan of mindfulness and it has helped me manage my own stress and I also use some aspects with DS to help him relax in the evening. But, if he was going to do it at school I'd want to know it was being done well, by suitable qualified members of staff etc.

I think lots of this thread highlights how schools have huge part to play in promoting and improving public health, both physical and mental health, but typically education and the NHS are terrible at working together to make sure what schools do is based on good evidence (both safe & effective and good use of public money)?

[Olympiathequeen]

Good idea but far too long.

[noblegiraffe]

deliverdaniel Thanks for that link. My google searches had suggested that the evidence wasn't there, and that link just highlights that once again stuff is being foisted on schools where the evidence is poor. Small trials, no controls, twisted interpretations of the data, cherry-picked results.

It may well be that 'mindfulness' turns out to be a useful technique for schools, but at what age, and what 'mindfulness' actually involves is currently unclear. What is clear is that there's plenty of marketing going on despite the lack of evidence, and one is always tempted to follow the money.

In the meantime, what we know works for improving the mental health of children is fresh air, exercise, time with friends, and probably restricted access to social media.

[ScrambledSmegs]

An hour long seems way too much - surely it's split over days rather than in one chunk? Our primary has mindfulness sessions for all classes apart from the nursery but as far as I can tell they're pretty short, 5 minutes a day at the most for the ones up to Y2. I don't know how much the ones in KS2 do but probably not that much more.

To be honest it's little more than a few minutes to calm down and focus, done in a way that is easy for little ones. I know some of the parents think it's a waste of time and would rather get rid of it, but this is the third school DD1 has attended before Y2 and quite frankly I think it does help her focus on her work (in conjunction with some rather wonderful teaching, of course).

[pippitysqueakity]

Not sure if good or not idea, but just from my experience, the training not a PowerPoint but a fairly intensive 8 week programme and we are not allow d to pass on to learners without 6months self practice and a further intense course.

[SuburbanRhonda]

It won't be done well. Schools don't have the expertise and systems to teach this sort of stuff well

Not necessarily true. We are lucky to have a BACP-registered counsellor working in our school. She's also trained in mindfulness so if we decided to go this way we already have someone on the staff who could deliver it. I think it's a great idea done properly.

[tinytemper66]

I was on a course recently. The course leader stated that in the next few years will see cuts in MH provision across all authorities in England and Wales. This will mean teachers and schools picking up the pieces. If this can be addressed early on the children will know what to do and who to turn to if they need to seek help. So, whilst you may feel that Maths is a priority so is MH.

[EstelleRoberts]

deliver I can't comment on the quality of the evidence for the efficacy of mindfulness when taught in school, but there is a wealth of evidence for its efficacy in the adult population, particularly with respect to preventing recurrence of depression. This is thought to be because it teaches the ability to regulate emotions, which will be of enormous benefit to children.

[Fresta]

I don't know how on earth the school has time for this sort of stuff? I wish schools could teach academic subjects, more art, more playing for the younger ones and more P.E.

[randomeragain]

god its so sad....very minute planned for. cant they just play, make things, dance

[randomeragain]

up until fairly recently little uns used to have a nap on day beds.

What a sad state we have created......thanks Maggie

[Newbrummie]

Oh well something that works then if not mindfulness

[Newbrummie]

I wish they'd do this with teens. My DD and her friends are up the bloody wall over GCSEs

[Mistigri]

Is it an hour all in one go or perhaps 4 x 15 minute sessions?

Either way, I'd want to know

• what is being proposed
  
• how it is being taught
  
• what evidence there is for teaching this stuff to small children (none, I suspect)
  
• how it relates to the curriculum
  

My 15 yo signed up to a mindfulness class with her biology teacher. Turns out that it's a waste of time and the main threat to DD's mental health this year is the very same mad biology teacher who frequently loses it in class ... So much for mindfulness lol.

[EweAreHere]

Our primary school does this. It's ridiculous. The children aren't impressed.

[deliverdaniel]

YANBU. the evidence for the efficacy of mindfulness training, especially in schools has been hugely overstated. See:

blogs.plos.org/mindthebrain/2016/11/16/unintended-consequences-of-universal-mindfulness-training-for-schoolchildren/

[GhostOfChristmasYetToCome]

In the 'olden days' children would have time in the afternoon to chill, the afternoon lessons would be less structured and less academic.

Children have so little time to just 'be' at school now that I think this is a really good idea.

I'd like to think it would be broken down in to daily bursts rather than one hour long weekly session though.

But this is an incredibly positive thing to be brought into the classroom.

Children only struggle with 'academic' subjects now because they have ever increasingly demanding expectations made of them. Children are not machines or vessels to be filled with stuff.

I would much rather see schools abandon an 'intervention' session in favour or mindfulness, tbh.

[FearandLoathinginLasVegas]

Google mindfulness - absolutely masses of research to say that it is doing young children loads of good in loads of different subjects. Sounds great. I wish we could get it.