Mindfulness
At Leesons, we are aiming to achieve Level 5 Beacon Status with MiSP (Mindfulness in Schools Project). We have staff trained in Dots, Paws b and Dot Breathe. These are all targeted at different age groups and the aim is build on the skills progressively throughout the years and ensure children are able to find different ways to support their emotional needs and well-being.
The number of research projects investigating mindfulness has grown exponentially over the last decade, and there is now good evidence demonstrating its benefits and applications.
https://mindfulnessinschools.org/research-papers/
We teach mindfulness through individual class sessions with one of our qualified staff and also embed this throughout day to day school life with children being reminded of their techniques through 'have a go' sessions and staff support.
Dots
dots is a new mindfulness curriculum for children aged 3 – 6 in schools and pre-school settings. dots has been developed by MiSP in collaboration with experienced teachers in a range of schools and settings.
Paws b
Paws b [pause be] is a leading mindfulness curriculum for children aged 7 -11 in schools and was initially developed in collaboration with experienced primary school teachers at Pen y Bryn school and senior mindfulness teachers and researchers at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University in Wales.
.breathe
In particular, .breathe explores issues around:
- Working with the capacity of attention; exploring how we can work with a wandering mind.
- Why humans worry, and how to support ourselves when we do so.
- Sleep – why it is important and what to do if we struggle to sleep well.
- Being with others – the opportunities and challenges of working skilfully with friendships and other relationships, both in person and online.