The new cohort of HeadStarters at Linthorpe Community Primary School have only been in post since October 2022 but they’ve already been able to make a positive impact on the school community.
The group of 12 pupils from Year 5 are passionate about being HeadStarters and wear their yellow lanyards with pride. They have been working hard with James from HeadStart South Tees and the school’s emotional wellbeing practitioner Sarah Dale. They have engaged positively and enthusiastically in the weekly sessions to learn about mental health, how to look after it and how to support their peers.
They have helped the school’s EWP to devise a lunchtime timetable for The SHACK. The SHACK, which stands for Super Happy and Calm Kids, is an outdoor summer house in the playground for one-to-one and small group work and is also used as a safe space for children at lunchtimes.
After discussing the challenges faced by the number of pupils wanting to gain access to the clubs and wanting to make it to fair to everybody, they made a timetable. Years 3 and 4 use it on Mondays and Tuesdays for either a mindful colouring session or a Lego and games club whereas later in the week, the Years 5 and 6 can attend a mindful colouring group on Thursdays and a Lego and games club on Fridays. They have kept Wednesdays free for their own HeadStart meetings. They have also helped to devise a timetable for themselves to run the groups fairly and efficiently.
Published: December 12