The fantastic HeadStarters at Hummersea Primary have created their very own space for pupils to ‘hangout’ and give the opportunity and space to talk to a HeadStarter when they need to
The Hangout is ran and looked after by the HeadStarters who clean and tidy and a nice welcoming, calming space where pupils can talk to HeadStarters who are present every breaktime on a rota basis
The Hangout has now been going for a couple of months. The HeadStarters have made a sign identifying which one is present on each day to give the pupils the choice to speak to a particular HeadStarter if they wish to. There is a maximum of 2 HeadStarters and 2 pupils present in the room at any one time, and a teacher is always in the room outside
Fidgets, stress toys and sensory toys are available in the Hangout, which pupils can use whenever they wish to, and they have decorated it with posters conveying positive wellbeing messages
The Hummersea HeadStarters have loved setting up this space to help pupils in their school and find it helps add to their sense of belonging
“Helping to run the Hangout has made me feel happy and excited to be helping people” – Will
“It makes a big difference to people as sometimes they think they don’t want to talk about how they are feeling, but they like a HeadStarter being there if they want to talk” – Imogen
“We have paper so pupils can write down how they are feeling if they don’t want to talk. We tell them it’s ok to be sad or angry as we all have different emotions at different times” – Scarlett
“It’s a safe space and no one should be embarrassed to be here as it’s normal to feel all these emotions” – Isabel
“What’s said in here stays in here, it’s a safe place to talk to us. It’s made me more empathetic towards people and I feel happier and more resilient being a part of this” – Lena
“Everyone has issues but often the different issues can all link together – for example if someone is anxious about a football competition it’s a similar feeling to someone who is worried about SATS – we talk to pupils and advise them that hiding their emotions only make things worse” – Peyton
Hummersea Primary is a school with a great sense of community, and pupils are supported and encouraged to help each other. They have fully supported their pupils in creating this space and then giving them ownership of it. A lovely example of how their HeadStarters have not only learned about their own mental health and wellbeing but have used their knowledge to help their whole school by pupils supporting pupils
Published: May 27