Education
In this episode, Claire talks over the internet with Georgia Hibberd, well-being consultant and founder of The Happy Child Agency. Georgia talks about how she began her teaching career a little later than usual following work in science, marketing and sales. Having been involved in the Brownies organisation and then seeking work experience in a school, Georgia found that she loved working with children and went on to gain her teaching qualification at Manchester University. After working at several schools, and following some upsetting experiences in her life, Georgia discusses how she became increasingly involved and interested in mental health and well-being, and supportive roles within schools. This led to her taking a lead role for well-being within her cluster of schools and then working for a local authority. Following a move back into teaching in schools, Georgia felt she still wanted to work in a more supportive role for children and their families, so she founded The Happy Child Agency which offers a range of supportive services for both children, families and schools. Along with discussing her journey through education and founding her own company, Georgia also shares ideas and approaches for supporting mental health and well-being, considerations around supporting year 6 pupils as they transition to secondary schools in the midst of the coronavirus restrictions, and how schools could prepare for children returning after losing family members. KEY TAKEAWAYS Look for opportunities to add well-being to other areas. Along with everything else that teachers need to cover each week, it can be difficult to find time for mental health and well-being in the curriculum. However, looking for opportunities to teach it alongside or as a part of other curriculum areas can mean that it doesn’t end up being missed. For example, teaching personal safety or being aware of strangers could, perhaps, be taught within units on fairy tales. Talk to each other. This is just as important for adults as it is for children and communicating with each other, especially when we might be finding circumstances challenging, can be really important. Also, as we all react differently, knowing how we each prefer to handle situations can help to make sure we can care and look after each other effectively. Transition anxieties. This year’s move to secondary school will be very different to normal. For some year 6 pupils, they might not see their primary school or meet with their class again which will add to their worries. Pre-visits to new schools will either be hugely reduced or will not be taking place at all. Strategies that might help could be to focus on self-esteem and self-confidence. For those children who are especially anxious, encouraging them to relate to times in their life when they were resilient (for example, riding a bike for the first time) could help them to reduce their pessimistic outlook. Also, looking for times where children can change their thought patterns: turning negative thoughts to positive thoughts and working together to role play as negative and positive views can be beneficial. Some children might be worried about making new friends so developing strategies ahead of time might alleviate worries. For example, having three topics to talk about ready in their minds means that they could be prepared when they first meet new people. Senses and memories. One way to help children begin to handle worries is using senses to link back to things which have positive associations for them. Having objects which relate to meaningful smells, tastes or images that they can interact with and which hold special significance (such as a photograph of a place they really enjoy) can mean that they have something to turn to if they find themselves becoming anxious. BEST MOMENTS “Sadly, we go through all sorts of different things that affect our feelings and affect our mental health. Had I not had the various networks and various things in place, I don't know where I would be. But I did and I was really lucky.” “I want to be that person… I want to be a teacher that helps that child get through the tough times.” “Ultimately it's about what you do for yourself, isn't it? It's about how you are able to actually say, ‘Do you know what? I really need to look after my mental health at the moment because I know I'm struggling.'” “I think teachers, from what I can see, from what I've read, are doing a brilliant job at the moment. Massive round of applause and standing ovation for those school staff. I think we have to trust the fact that they know the children.” “Who have you made smile today? I say that every week, I think who have I made smile today?” “Try to do things that make you happy as well and actually say to yourself, look I can't do it all. I can do my best, but that list never does get completed. Put on your list 'have a break'.” “If you're not in a good place, who's going to look after those children in school? You need to look after you so then you are in a good place to look after your children.” “If a child is happy then they're more likely to learn, and a happy teacher is more likely to do a better job. Somebody who feels valued puts in so much more than they would do. So I would say it's about being kind to each other to get most out of everybody.” “You know what I really hope as well? I hope that parents really value teachers again. I think it's got a little bit lost. I think sometimes we're kind of mud on their shoe. I don't know why. They have some conversations with us… they probably would never question their doctor or their dentist, and yet they question teachers.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Classroom Secrets Kids website: https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk/ The Happy Child Agency: https://www.happychildagency.co.uk/ Action for happiness: https://www.actionforhappiness.org/ The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/ Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/ Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/ ABOUT THE HOST Claire Riley Claire, alongside her husband Ed, is one of the directors of Classroom Secrets, a company she founded in 2013 and which provides outstanding differentiated resources for teachers, schools, parents and tutors worldwide. Having worked for a number of years as a teacher in both Primary and Secondary education, and experiencing first-hand the difficulties teachers were facing finding appropriate high-quality resources for their lessons, Claire created Classroom Secrets with the aim of helping reduce the workload for all school staff. Claire is a passionate believer in a LIFE/work balance for those who work in education citing the high percentage of teachers who leave or plan to leave their jobs each year. Since February 2019, Classroom Secrets has been running their LIFE/work balance campaign to highlight this concerning trend. The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.