Carmarthenshire County Council, in collaboration with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, has established a ground-breaking programme to bring mindfulness training to schools in south west Wales …
We are delighted to have been invited to provide bespoke group training to teachers in Carmarthenshire to introduce more young people to the benefits of mindfulness. Of 110 teachers already trained in our adult mindfulness curriculum, ‘.b Foundations’, we were able to train 20 of these participants to ‘Teach .b’, in St Clears last month. Carmarthenshire County Council aim to have a mindfulness teacher in each of the 117 schools in Carmarthenshire over the next few years to give as many of their young people as possible an opportunity to learn our .b curriculum in the classroom.
UWTSD Lecturer in Mindfulness, Heather Fish, who has delivered the adult training as well as co-ordinating arrangements for the MiSP teacher training in March, said: “It is an honour to be a part of this important project, and to bring the teacher training directly into this area thus saving on time and cost. Most importantly, this creates a sustainable model whereby those involved have the relevant training to now deliver this curriculum in-house, with the greatest integrity in mindfulness teaching.”
Bethan James, Head of Corporate Parenting and Child Welfare, Carmarthenshire County Council, said: “We are embracing mindfulness as a proactive approach that will not only support the well-being of pupils but also our school staff. All staff that have participated to date have found the mindfulness programme helpful. It is exciting to work in collaboration with UWTSD on this important project and we are looking forward to monitoring its impact.”
Our CEO, Chivonne Preston, hopes that other county councils can follow Carmarthenshire’s lead and establish similar programmes for schools across the UK: “We know from experience that embedding mindfulness in schools can have a hugely positive impact, on teachers, on the children and on the whole school community.”
If you would like to learn more about bringing mindfulness to your school visit our information pages or email enquiries@mindfulnessinschools if you would like specific guidance. You can find details of our upcoming courses here.