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Don’t fear the call – tips to get your PE Ofsted ready

teacher helping child play hockey in PE lesson

If your school has a strong PESSPA programme, your headteacher might put it forward for a ‘deep dive’ as part of the inspection visit. While this may cause a sharp intake of breath, you don’t need to be afraid. 

We have spent many years helping PE leads, teaching staff and head teachers prepare for Ofsted visits and reviewing PE in schools. Here are our top tips to make sure your PE, school sport and physical activity is Ofsted-ready whenever the phone call comes.

Have a long-term plan 

Set out your long-term vision for PE, school sport and physical activity within your school. This is a helpful tool to share with an Ofsted inspector and can help guide your discussions. 

Your plan is also extremely useful within your day-to-day work. It should be a working document, not something gathering dust on the shelf. Review it regularly and track your progress; make amendments as challenges or opportunities arise. This will show inspectors how you are actively monitoring your PESSPA and ensuring it is on track to achieve your vision.

When putting together your long-term plan make sure you involve all stakeholders – staff, children, parents, and governors. Be ready to talk about how you consulted and involved these groups and incorporated their suggestions and ideas. 

Some questions to answer when putting your plan together:

  • Why you have designed your curriculum in the way you have (what is it based on)?
  • How are you ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum?
  • How have you used the National Curriculum aims in planning your curriculum?
  • How does your curriculum meet the needs of different pupils – SEND, most able, disadvantaged?
  • What do you want children to know, understand and be able to do by the time they leave in Year 6 and why?
  • How does your curriculum link with your school’s values?

This vision will demonstrate clear ‘Intent’ and allow you to discuss this in a way that is bespoke to your individual school setting and your children’s needs. Being able to discuss how you construct your curriculum and why, what works well, how adaptable it is will show the “implementation” of your vision.

Chronicle staff development

Keeping your skills and knowledge up to date is important in ensuring your pupils enjoy high-quality progressive PE, as is making sure your colleagues are confident to deliver sessions independently. 

A staff and self-development plan is useful evidence for Ofsted and will mean your PESSPA continues to progress and improve. 

  • Undertake a skills audit of teaching staff in your school, identify what could be improved and how
  • Keep a record of what CPD you and your colleagues have received – this includes INSET training sessions, externally-led CPD, membership of organisations such as AfPE and reading their magazine.
  • Capture what difference training has made – both to teaching staff and to pupils.

Monitor the impact

You have a plan but how do you know if it is working? Regular reviews and assessments, formal and informal, will help you understand the impact your plan (and PESSPA) is having on your pupils.

You need to know where you are starting from and where you would like to get to. Don’t just collect data for the sake of it. Make sure it connects with your vision and will give you meaningful information on which you can base decisions.

  • Set a base, benchmarks for progression and a goal
  • How are lessons differentiated? Is this effective?
  • How do you monitor progression? When do you know that children are ready to move on?
  • How do your results compare to national averages?

Being able to discuss the ‘Impact’ of the curriculum and wider offer in place and evidence this is key.

Further help

We run bespoke training to help schools prepare for a deep dive into PE. Our PE specialists spend half a day working with the subject leader, either virtually or in school, to build confidence and prepare for PE to be an inspection focus. This support ranges from ensuring all paperwork is in place, analysing statistics, a mock Q&A following the trail of a child’s development within the subject or looking at how your PESSPA is impacting other curriculum areas.

We also offer a supportive visit to audit your PESSPA and identify areas for development. This service includes a one-day visit to your school from one of our Education Team who will talk with your subject leader, Head Teacher and children regarding PE and observe PE taking place. You’ll receive a report detailing the strengths of PE and areas for further development. Our PE Health Check can be used as evidence of Sport Premium impact. 

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How to encourage children to be active

It was disheartening to read that just 53% of six-year-olds are doing 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. The figures for girls are even worse – fewer than half of six-year-old girls meet this target.

The Chief Medical Officers recommend that children are physically active for on average 60 minutes per day across the week. Being active every day provides a foundation for a healthier and happier life. Regular strength and balance activities are as important as cardiovascular activities. Being strong makes all movement easier and increases our ability to perform regular daily tasks. 

This 60 minutes doesn’t need (and shouldn’t) all be achieved at school. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity in school (Active 30) and encourage your pupils to be active for a further 30 minutes outside of school This approach means being active becomes part of daily life.

Though it is important for children to minimise the amount of time spent sitting or being sedentary – long periods of not moving should be broken up with at least light physical activity. And children should also take part in a variety of different types of physical activity. This helps to develop movement skills, muscular fitness and bone strength.

What does moderate to vigorous physical activity mean?

Being active in any way provides health benefits however the more intense this activity is, the bigger the benefits for the same amount of time. As the intensity of the activity increases our heart rate, breathing rate and energy consumption increase further.

To understand if an activity is moderate or vigorous, try the ‘talk test’ – if you can talk but not sing whilst doing the activity, it is a moderate-intensity activity. If you have difficulty talking without pausing, this means it is a vigorous activity.

Moderate activities include walking and cycling. Vigorous activities include playing football, dancing or skipping. Sprinting, weightlifting, and press-ups are classed as very vigorous activities. 

What can I do to encourage children to be more active?

As we head into the autumn and winter, with darker nights and colder weather, it can be more challenging to be active every day. Here are five ideas to support and encourage children to move more:

  1. Active travel – encourage pupils to walk, scoot or bike to school (the first week in October is Cycle to School Week). This is an easy way to incorporate more activity into the standard day.
  2. Go for a swim, play football, dance, climb – many pools have fun or social swimming sessions and there are multiple sports clubs and groups in your community, share details of these with your classes or put posters up on your PE noticeboard. 
  3. 10 minute shake-up – Start the day with a Change for Life 10 minute shake-up game or encourage pupils add it to their day when they get home from school. 
  4. Take part in our 10th anniversary Deathlon – try out 10 different sports or activities over the course of a month, spending at least 30 minutes on each activity.
  5. Introduce active bursts – break up the school day with bursts of activity (before lessons, during lessons, at the end of lessons…). We created Fit for Life to give schools everything you need to make being active part of the whole school day.

Remember, you don’t have to start big. Small changes can make a big difference over time. Help children to gradually increase their activity levels so it becomes something sustainable rather than setting up plans and goals that no one will stick to or reach.

You always feel better for being active. We want as many people as possible to protect their future health and start their journey to a healthier life now.

More information on encouraging physical activity:

6 ways to integrate physical activity into the school day

Active Ted can help schools and parents achieve Active 30:30

The benefits of having PESSPA at the heart of the school

Chief Medical Officers Physical Activity Guidelines

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How to choose an external partner for your PESSPA programme? 

Sports coaches on playing field

People tell us that a lack of confidence is the biggest challenge they face when teaching PE. Trainee primary school teachers receive just six hours of PE training before embarking on their teaching career. Using external specialists or coaches can be the perfect solution. A good school sports specialist or coach will help build knowledge, understanding and, most importantly, confidence. To get the most from this kind of support, it is important that you find a delivery partner that works WITH you and helps you to reach your goals. 

Here are three things to consider when selecting a school sports partner or coach:

Set out what you want to achieve

What are your goals for PE, school sport and physical education (PESSPA) in your school? What support do you want your school sports provider or coach to provide? How will this support help you achieve your goal?

Be as specific as possible eg. I want to increase pupil activity levels across the whole school by introducing regular daily active bursts to make being active a normal part of everyday life. I need support to help my colleagues understand the importance of physical activity and how active bursts can support their non-PE lessons.

Knowing your goals will help you to choose the right partner, it will also help your partner understand where you are and where you want to get to. They will then be able to advise on the best approach or the best solution. You will also be able to keep track of how you are progressing towards your goal.

Evaluate the different options

You will likely find a number of different solutions to what you want to achieve. Take time to look at the provider/solution to understand the support that they can provide and how it will be delivered (eg online, face-to-face, mentoring, session delivery, idea sharing etc). Talk to schools that have used the provider previously. Check staff qualifications – how up-to-date are they with their training, for example.

Review the contract

Don’t get caught out by the small print. Make sure the contract outlines what service will be provided, who will be responsible for what, what does the sports provider/coach provide and what do you/the school need to make available? Check payment terms are in line with school/academy payment terms. What would happen if the provider/coach is unable to attend a session for some reason? 

Further information

Take a look at the services and support that we provide for schools

Guidance and advice on how to spend PE and Sport Premium for primary schools

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Is variety the answer to a lifelong love of being active?

children in playground climbing

Think back to your most successful PE lesson. The chances are it was when all children were engaged and involved, working together, supporting each other and having fun. Successful PE is when everyone takes part and learns something to aid their progress. 

Making sure all pupils have a positive experience of PE can sometimes be a challenge. Children who are good at sports can get frustrated with those less able, and those less skilled can resent being made to take part. 

Our enjoyment, or not, of PE can have a long-lasting impact on our lives. 

What difference does enjoying PE make? 

A report from Youth Sport Trust highlights that a positive experience of PE, school sport and physical activity at school lasts a lifetime. Parents who have happy memories of PE and school sport are more likely to be active as adults and encourage their children to be active. This is the latest in a long line of research looking into the long-term impact of PE at school. 

A study by Middlesex University also found that bad experiences of physical education at school can put some adults off exercise for decades. It also found that it can lead to some people experiencing ‘corporeal dissociation’ – a state of physical detachment which potentially results in adult inactivity and making particular life choices such as opting for sedentary jobs and hobbies. 

How can I ensure all children enjoy PE?

We are all different; finding out the kind of activities that your pupils enjoy will help you create a broad and balanced PESSPA programme that the whole class wants to take part in.

Letting children try out different sports and activities can significantly increase the chances of them finding something that they enjoy, succeed in and/or that interests them. Children who have good balance might realise they enjoy climbing, cycling, dance or gymnastics. Those with good hand-eye co-ordination could find they shine at games – frisbee, cricket or tennis, for example.

Including a variety of traditional and more modern sports and games will keep your children excited about moving. Trying out different activities means they can discover and develop new skills. It keeps them interested, stimulated and challenged too.

How can I add variety to my PE lessons?

Go back to basics. Look at your PE curriculum and make sure it includes different activities, sports and games that focus on developing different skills – running, jumping, throwing and catching, balancing, agility and co-ordination. 

Provide opportunities for children to have a go at both competitive and cooperative physical activities. 

You can also use external providers to boost your curriculum offer. Our Coaching Days can broaden children’s experiences of different sports and activities by providing exciting taster sessions in the chosen activity. This could spark a half-term of engagement in the activity on your playground or inspire pupils to join community clubs.

Providing a platform for children to realise their sporting potential in a safe environment will help them to remain active throughout their life. 

Further information

Get in touch to find out more about our Coaching Days

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PE – more than keeping fit

Children doing PE with teacher

Do you find PE, school sport and physical activity generally come off ‘second best’ at your school? Lessons or activities are cancelled to make way for school photo shoots, plays, exams or tests…

While many people understand the benefits of being active in terms of our physical health, less well understood are the wider benefits and how PESSPA can be used to help children to develop key skills and values. These wide-ranging benefits are often overlooked and there are few schools that capitalise on the full potential that PE offers as an educational tool.

What are the wider benefits of PE?

A subject frequently dominated by traditional sports such as football, netball and athletics; teams and fixtures, there can be a limited understanding amongst the school staff team as to the wider benefits of PE.

PE can support all-round development, from intellectual to emotional. Children learn how to negotiate, collaborate, compromise, make decisions, lead and communicate. PESSPA also supports resilience and determination. 

How to overcome challenges, plan, set goals, adapt, assess and manage risks can all be learned, developed and practised through PE.

3 ways to use physical activity to support personal development 

Here are three activities that you can use to support personal development in your school:

Teamwork, collaboration and leadership: Divide the class into groups and give each group the task of creating their own game, physical activity routine or exercise session. As well as working together to decide on the structure of the game or activity, they would need to decide on rules, what equipment is needed and plan how they will explain and deliver the session. 

Empathy and kindness: Have the group form a circle (or two circles if a large group), players must pass the ball across the group to someone. The person throwing the ball must say something kind about the person they are throwing to. Everyone must be passed the ball and the ball must continue to move so there is limited time to think. 

Self-motivation, determination and resilience: Set a series of short challenges or activities eg squats, burpees, lunges, torso twists. Start a timer and each child counts how many of each activity they can do in 3 minutes. They record their results and repeat the challenges weekly to see if they can perform more repetitions in the 3 minutes. 

Further information

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Could gamification help more children be active?

Children running and playing games

As teachers and coaches, we are always looking for new ways to engage children in learning and activity. How and the way we teach is constantly evolving, even in PE. 

While we don’t want to jump on to every new bandwagon that comes along, there are some trends that are worth exploring further, such as gamification.

What is gamification and how does it work in PE?

Rest assured, it isn’t about sitting playing video games! Gamification is an educational approach that looks to motivate students by harnessing the elements of video games that make these games so engaging, and applying them to learning. The intention is to capture interest and inspire children to get involved.

Some children thrive on traditional games such as football, netball or cricket, but there are many who struggle to enjoy PE or physical activity. Gamification could be a way to capture their interest and inspire them to be active.

How can gamification of PE lessons help your students?

Children are spending increasing amounts of time gaming. Rather than competing with this, incorporating elements of video games into your PE lessons and physical activities can help make these sessions relatable, it can help your pupils make connections. They are also more likely to get excited about something that replicates an area of their life that they enjoy. 

Studies have shown that gamification can greatly increase motivation and engagement. It can reduce disruptive behaviour and encourage children and adolescents to be more active.

How can you introduce gamification into PE and physical activities?

Setting a challenge where players (pupils) need to make choices to overcome the challenge, collecting items, exploring, achieving mini-goals, these are all ways to introduce gamification into your lesson. 

At the simplest level, gamification includes games such as throwing bean bags at a target or ‘tag’ running games. For a game to feel satisfying it needs some sort of challenge – a goal or objective. More complex games could have players constantly re-evaluating the best choice for any given situation or basing activities on popular video games such as the Marvel universe of superheroes.

A great example is our exciting new PE Escape Room coaching day. During the event, children will need to solve mental and physical puzzles to be freed.

Adding tech to PE and physical activity

Tech aimed at exciting pupils and encouraging them to be active is another way to introduce gamification to your lessons. 

Wearables, smart technologies etc can provide new opportunities to keep children engaged. Our new OAA activities and Wellbeing Walks incorporate dynamic QR codes. When scanned, these codes will unlock an additional piece of information, a task or an activity for children to complete.

Gamification can be an exciting way to reimagine physical education in a post-pandemic world and could help support and encourage more young people to lead healthy and active lifestyles.

Get in touch to find out more about how our programmes can help engage even the most reluctant of pupils in PE and physical activity. 

More information

Research: Exploring the benefits of using gamification and videogames for physical exercise

TES article: Can video games help to boost PE engagement?

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Why should PE be a core subject?

Children enjoying PE lesson at school

Think back to 2012; what comes to mind? The chances are it’s the London Olympics. The last time we had held the Games before this was in 1948. It really was something to celebrate – remember Super Saturday? It seemed that the whole country had gone sport crazy.

Conversely, 2012 is also the year that funding for school PE was slashed. Worried about the future of PE and the pressures teachers were facing, we set up a social enterprise to work with schools to help inspire children and to build healthy active futures. 

It was a really tricky time, but we survived. In fact, our service grew and we now work with schools across England, helping to engage thousands of pupils in sport and physical activity every year.

Fast forward ten years; we’re celebrating our 10th birthday; the House of Lords has recommended that PE becomes a core subject in its National Plan for Sport and Recreation and former children’s minister, Edward Timpson has led a Westminster Hall debate on the subject. 

How times have changed!

Physical education is just as important as any other school subject

We firmly believe that PE should have the same status in schools as English, Maths and Science. Why? 

High-quality PE is more than ‘just playing games or running around’. It impacts on a child’s physical, moral, social, emotional, cultural and intellectual development. While it can be a stress-reliever and provide respite from classroom-based learning, it also provides pupils with meaningful learning experiences. 

PE squeezed from the curriculum

Department for Education guidance recommends that schools provide pupils with a minimum of two hours PE per week. However, as this is only a recommendation. It is up to schools to determine how much time should be spent teaching PE. This means we often see PE being squeezed from the curriculum. Pressures on schools to hit academic targets means that PE can be marginalised for additional Maths and English support and PE space is often compromised and made inaccessible for school plays, exams etc. 

The many benefits of high-quality PE

Elevating PE to core subject status would increase appreciation of the subject, ensuring it is valued as much as reading, writing and maths. Another benefit from regular high-quality PE lessons is that it helps children to develop an interest in being active, which is essential for ensuring long-term active lifestyles, which in turn will reduce the burden on the NHS.

Alongside these, there is evidence that regular physical activity raises academic performance as following a bout of physical activity you are more alert and open to learning new things, problem solving and retaining information. 

Looking to the future

We are delighted to be celebrating our 10th birthday and are so thankful to all the schools we have worked with over the past decade for putting their trust in us. While no one can predict the future, we are hopeful that the importance of PE and the need to help children to build healthy active futures will continue to grow. 

One thing we can say for certain is that we will remain committed to creating and delivering innovative educational programmes that improve wellness and inspire children to be more active more often.

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Why are Fundamental Movement Skills so fundamental?

children balancing PE

Fundamental movement skills are the ‘building blocks’ for more complex and specialised skills that will help children take part in different activities, games and sports. The common fundamental movement skills are running, jumping, throwing, catching, skipping and hopping.

Fundamental movement skills are grouped into three broad categories:

  • Locomotion: Anything to do with movement – walking, hopping, running, swimming, skipping, jogging, running and so on in different directions.
  • Stabilisation: Skills that show how you can control your body – balancing, stretching, twisting, landing, bending, pivoting, hanging.
  • Manipulation: These are skills that involve moving something that isn’t attached to you – throwing, catching, pushing, pulling, bouncing.

Recent research has indicated that decreasing activity levels are impacting on children’s ability to develop these skills and that this will have an adverse effect on their long-term health and wellbeing.

Why is it important that children develop their fundamental movement skills?

As well as being the building blocks for more complex skills, if children develop a wide range of fundamental movement skills whilst they are young, it increases the likelihood that they will continue to take part in sports and activities as they get older. This means they are more likely to be active adults. They will also feel more confident in having a go at different sports and activities and their risk of injury will be substantially reduced.

So, developing robust fundamental movement skills (FMS) is crucial to ensuring lifelong healthy habits. However, all too often children can be pushed into playing sports before they have mastered their FMS. If a child has not yet developed FMS they will have difficulty in performing well and/or progressing in the sport which in turn, can put them off sport or exercise for the rest of their lives.

5 simple activities to develop fundamental movement skills

FMS aren’t naturally learned through free play. It can take hours of high-quality PE teaching, with appropriate practice, instruction and opportunity, for a child to become proficient in each FMS. Here are five simple activity ideas that you can use in your PE lessons to help your pupils develop their FMS:

Run or walk on uneven surfaces – running on different surfaces (grass, bark etc) strengthens muscles in the feet and legs and engages core stability for better balance. Try to travel in different directions, changing directions regularly.

Target practice – while children naturally begin to throw objects at around 18 months of age, these skills can be further encouraged and developed by providing targets. To progress this skill, remind children to point their finger and throw overhand as though they are high-fiving.

Activity trails such as Hop, Skip and Jump with a Kick at the end – lay a trail around the school grounds: skip over a pile of leaves, jump over a bench, hop from one point to another. Include a goal at the end where pupils need to kick a ball into the marked space before completing the activity trail.

Balancing activities – Try balancing on different body parts, taking body weight on hands and feet or other large body parts, for example front support or rear support positions. Ask children to get into front support and use their hands and feet to ‘walk’ along the edge of the playground. See how far they can go without falling over.

Use movement games such as Fast Cars – mark out a space/area in the school hall or playground. The children run around the space without bumping into each other (crashing their cars). Gradually reduce the size of the space so they learn how to control their speed and be able to stop, twist, turn and start again.

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What is the best way to teach PE?

PE teacher giving instructions to children

There is no one perfect way to teach PE. Your lessons should incorporate different learning styles that help stretch and support pupils. You need to be able to provide challenge and progression at an appropriate level for the individual.

How can you support and challenge all pupils within one PE lesson?

You have a class full of individuals all of whom will be at different stages in skill development and understanding, so how can you ensure there is differentiation in your lesson?

There are many different teaching styles – from ‘command’ to ‘inclusion’ to ‘guided discovery’. In fact, Mosston and Ashworth identified 11 different teaching styles for teaching physical education. Their Spectrum of teaching styles is a flexible framework of approaches to help teachers meet the needs and interests of each pupil. This framework can help you to differentiate how instructions are given and modify the curriculum to meet different educational goals.

The framework forms a continuum based on the degree to which the teacher or pupil assumes responsibility for what is taking place. At one extreme, the teacher is giving all instruction and direction, and at the other end is a pupil-centred approach and the teacher is a facilitator.

There is no single perfect teaching style. To provide a progressive experience, you can incorporate more than one style in each PE lesson. Doing so will mean you can best accommodate diverse learning styles and meet specific learning goals.

The 11 teaching styles for PE

A: Command
This is where you, as the teacher, make all the directions and decisions. Pupils copy and comply with decisions and instructions.
Good for: Copying practice. When time is short and/or safety is paramount

B: Practice
You demonstrate the task/activity. Your pupils practice the task, working at their own pace. You provide feedback to each pupil.
Good for: Repeating and improving performance

C: Reciprocal
Pupils work together in small groups on a skill/activity and provide feedback to each other. You circulate amongst your class giving groups pointers for areas for feedback.
Good for: Performing and peer assessing

D: Self-check
You demonstrate the activity/skill and set the criteria for success. Pupils work individually on the task/activity/skill and reflect on their own performance.
Good for: Self-assessing and evaluation

E: Inclusion
You set a variety of tasks/activities at different levels of difficulty. Pupils select which task or activity is most appropriate for their abilities and/or motivations.
Good for: Making choices, understanding capabilities, challenging oneself

F: Self-guided discovery
Using questions and tasks/activities, you gradually direct your pupils towards a pre-determined learning target or solution to a problem.
Good for: ‘Uncovering’ – questioning, problem solving, developing tactical thinking

G: Convergent discovery
You set a challenge or problem and your pupils try to find the best solution.
Good for: Finding out, discovery

H: Divergent discovery
You set a challenge that has multiple possible solutions and when the problem is solved, another problem arises that needs to be solved.
Good for: teaching tactics, creativity

I: Learner designed
As pupils develop their knowledge and understanding, you set an area of focus and pupils set their own challenges and try to find solutions, working with you.
Good for: Independent thinking and learning, initiating

J: Learner initiated
Your pupils decide what to focus on and what challenges to solve. They can ask questions of you and draw on your support as needed.
Good for: Decision making

K: Self-teach
Pupils take full responsibility for their own learning and the learning process.
Good for: Self-development, self-determination

Further information

Mosston & Ashworth – Teaching Physical Education

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Six Dimensions of Wellness – pt 2: Emotional Wellness

children exercising

It is International Stress Awareness Week and therefore, a very relevant moment to return to the Six Dimensions of Wellness.

A number of studies over the past year (since lockdowns began) have noted that people are experiencing significantly more stress, anxiety and depression. Women and young people have been found to be the most affected.

Understanding wellness and the different elements of our lifestyle that contribute to it, will help you make healthy choices each day and support your pupils to do the same.

Six areas, or ‘dimensions’, make up overall wellness – physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, emotional and occupational – these complement each other to provide a well-balanced, vital and prosperous life.

What is ‘emotional wellness’?

In our first blog we looked at physical wellness – eating well, sleeping well and exercising regularly. In this blog, we will explore emotional wellness; the awareness of, and the acceptance of a wide range of feelings in yourself.

We all experience emotions. Successful emotional wellness is your ability to recognise, accept and manage your feelings. To do this, we need to reflect on how we feel, accept these feelings rather than deny them and know when to ask for help.

Being aware of and understanding your emotions and also respecting how other people feel is crucial to being ‘emotionally well’. This empathy and understanding will help you to develop relationships with other people that are based on a foundation of trust and respect. You will be able to take on challenges, take risks and recognise that conflict can be healthy.

Emotional wellness follows these two principles:

  • It is better to be aware of and accept our feelings than to deny them.
  • It is better to have a positive, rather than a pessimistic, approach to situations and challenges.

How can you support your pupils to develop emotional wellness?

Teach healthy ways to relieve stress.

  • Take a deep breath – stress often causes us to take short shallow breaths. Take a moment to slow down and breathe in through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth as you count to 10.
  • Find a friend – a good way to beat loneliness, sadness or boredom (all of which make us stressed) is to be with someone else.
  • Talk about it – bottled up emotions cause stress. Sharing how you feel with someone else can help clear your mind. Make sure your pupils know who they can go to if they need to talk; either a teacher or teaching assistant, or maybe a nominated buddy in an older class.

Teach children that positive thoughts can make a difference.

Approaching a challenge or problem with a positive mindset means you think the best is going to happen, not the worst. What can we do to help develop a positive attitude?

  • Surround ourselves with positive people – negative people can increase our stress levels and make us doubt our ability. Make sure we have positive, supportive people who we can depend on for helpful feedback and advice in our lives.
  • Follow a healthy lifestyle – exercise positively affects our mood and reduces stress. Aim to exercise for about 60 minutes a day, this can be broken up into shorter chunks e.g. 6 lots of 10 minutes each day.
  • Practice positive self-talk – here are some examples of how to change the language we use:
    • I’ve never done it before / This is the chance to learn something new
    • It’s too complicated / I’ll try looking at it a new way
    • This won’t work / I can give it a go and see if it will work
    • It’s too difficult / I will try
    • No one talks to me / I will talk to them
    • I’m not going to get better at this / I will try again

Include social and emotional learning in your teaching.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) aims to improve how pupils make decisions, interact with others and manage their emotions. SEL helps children to:

  • Identify and manage their feelings and behaviour and reach out for help where necessary
  • Build and manage healthy relationships
  • Have self-control
  • Resolve conflict
  • Be self-aware
  • Handle and overcome difficulties
  • Make good decisions
  • Build resilience, self-esteem and confidence
  • Think positively about themselves and how they perceive the world around them
  • Recognise and prevent poor mental health

Further information

Read our last blog on Physical Wellness

You can find out more about the Six Dimensions of Wellness from the National Wellness Institute

See the Education Endowment Fund for examples of social and emotional learning interventions

Chilton Academy, Chilton, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 0PT

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