Our curricula are written and designed in order for children and young people to learn about mindfulness. They are not written with the intention of meeting inspection frameworks or national curriculum criteria.
Nonetheless, our materials do meet many national and international curricula inspection guidelines. This is because:
- Our curricula are based on rigorous research in clinical psychology and neuroscience.
- Our curricula have been taught extensively in the UK and beyond as part of both formal curriculum and extra-curricular programmes.
- Our content is supported by well-researched theory and practice from the spheres of mindfulness and social and emotional learning.
- The skills which we teach children and young people provide solid foundations for their approach to learning in general, such as being present, curious, reflective, critical and creative.
- The application of these skills can underpin all other learning, helping them to self-regulate, identify challenges, plan, communicate, collaborate, and manage their own experience.
- The application of these skills is also increasingly recognised and valued as ‘life skills’: developing confidence, making choices, building relationships, recognising difficulty, developing self-care, and learning how to connect with, and care for the world and each other.
- The skills we teach also support physical health and mental wellbeing which is increasingly a feature of national education guidance. Schools are increasingly encouraged to deliver content that enables an understanding of wellbeing, factors that contribute to poor wellbeing, and positive strategies to improve wellbeing. They are also asked to develop self-awareness, self-regulation and resilience in children and young people, as well as provide language and a safe environment to talk about anxieties and concerns. Our curricula support this work and deliver much of this content.
- We require teachers to be suitably trained and sufficiently experienced to teach with integrity and authenticity so that children and young people can learn.
- The lessons include discussion and time for feedback, so that children and young people can learn from each other’s experiences as well as their own, broadening their views within a framework that promotes respect, collaboration, kindness and gratitude.
- We have spiralling curricula which build on previous experience and skills across year groups and facilitates lifelong learning.
- Our materials have been written by teachers for teachers, reflecting pedagogical best-practice and years of extensive experience of ‘what works’ in the classroom so that the class is engaged and able to learn.
- Our curricula are designed to be inclusive and to address learning diversity. They have been used successfully in a wide range of educational contexts and taught universally to children and young people with varying capabilities, experiences, expectations and backgrounds. Read MiSP case studies.
You can find examples of how our curricula can meet inspection guidelines in the following pages which we will continue to develop and add to:
At MiSP, we will continue to develop and improve the materials we provide to teach mindfulness in schools (and other educational contexts) based on research evidence and real-world experience rather than to meet any inspection guidelines.
If you would like any further information or have questions about specific aspects of a curriculum or inspection framework and how our curricula sit within that, please do get in touch with us at: enquiries@mindfulnessinschools.org