‘Mindful Moments’ Launched By Woodbridge School Prep To Help Students & Adults

With England in its second COVID-19 lockdown period, Woodbridge School Prep has launched a new ‘Mindful Moments’ campaign. The School will be making a range of ‘Mindful Moments’ videos publicly available on its YouTube channel and across social media – featuring simple-to-follow Mindfulness techniques, such as breathing and reflection – to promote health and wellbeing during lockdown, not just amongst its pupils, but also parents and the wider community.

Nicola Mitchell, Head of Woodbridge School Prep, said: “The ability to be calm and ‘in the present moment’ is such an important ‘life skill’, and we want to share how our Mindfulness practices at Woodbridge School Prep may be able to help many more people, as we all prepare for the challenges of the second lockdown that we are facing this year.

“From Reception and throughout the School, Mindfulness is embedded into our curriculum to support the wellbeing of both children and staff. We also know that our parents have benefitted from the workshops that they have attended with us. We hope that, by sharing our regular ‘Mindful Moments’, the wider Woodbridge community may also benefit during this difficult time.”

Mindfulness, as taught at Woodbridge School Prep, for pupils aged between 4 and 11, is about ‘learning to direct our attention to our experience as it unfolds, moment by moment, with open-minded curiosity and acceptance. Rather than worrying about what has happened, or might happen, it trains us to respond skilfully to whatever is happening right now, in the present moment’.

At Woodbridge School Prep, Mindfulness practice is a core part of its curriculum and culture. Teachers refer to Mindfulness practice in the classroom and around the school, and pupils know how to access this skill, wherever they are and whenever they find it necessary. They use their own Mindfulness practice in school and at home, and share their experiences of ‘best practice’, learning from each other.

Children at Woodbridge School Prep practice Mindfulness as a whole school, led by Head of Wellbeing, Kirsten Theobald, every week in assembly (either in the Hall or virtually), and Year 3 pupils follow a curriculum designed by the ‘Mindfulness in Schools Project’. The programme has been carefully crafted by classroom teachers and Mindfulness experts to engage young children, and is taught with striking visuals, film clips and activities that bring Mindfulness to life, without losing the expertise and integrity of classic Mindfulness teaching. This is followed up with a refresher programme in Years 4, 5 and 6, to revisit the curriculum and consolidate the learning.

The benefits of Mindfulness are far-reaching, and children at Woodbridge School Prep use it to:

• feel happier, calmer and more fulfilled
• communicate more effectively with others
• concentrate more fully, focus and make good decisions
• cope with stress and anxiety
• prepare for sleep and benefit from a better rest
• support performance, such as music and sport

To view Woodbridge School Prep’s ‘Mindful Moments’ videos, visit the YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/woodbridgeschool.