Wellbeing

The Well-being of students at Ripplevale is paramount and we are committed in raising the profile of Mental Health issues within the school.  Mindfulness is daily drop-in open sessions for anyone who maybe struggling with a range of Mental Health, emotional or personal struggles.

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We also cover emotional check-ins, be it daily or weekly as needed. We understand that even before arriving at school anxieties can be heightened, and that the process of coming through the school gates can be daunting for some. 

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Our aim is to 'pick up' issues or problems before they become overwhelming.  This can sometimes be as easy as a positive meet and greet at the gate and walking with them into school, seeing a student alone and engaging them into conversation, or, sometimes it can be helping to resolve issues that have happened on the way to school, or the previous day. Every child’s voice should be heard.

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Well-being uses a range of techniques, bespoke packages tailored to each students needs, this can be in the form of Mindfulness, meditation, self-understanding and raising self-esteem.

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The concept of Mindfulness is fundamentally paying more attention to the present moment, to your own thoughts and feelings and the world around you.  An important part of Mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience.  This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment.  It can be as simple as feeling the banister as we walk up the stairs or concentrating on the taste, texture or smell of something we eat.

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Mindfulness allows us to become more aware of the stream of thoughts and feelings that we experience, and that in turn can help us to understand negative feelings that entrap us, by practising mindfulness we can build up techniques to allow us to let go of the negatives and brooding feelings that we all carry around.  Using Mindfulness can help relieve anxieties and stress and can also help us to control our reactions to everyday life.

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We can combine Mindfulness and meditation by using simple breathing techniques, learning to adapt out breathing can help bring a sense of Well being, can bring down our stress, and can give us the time to adjust to how we may react to situations that we find difficult. At Ripplevale we teach and practice mindfulness both individually and in class settings.