WAVE is a multi-academy trust looking after:
- 13 schools and around 800 pupils KS1-KS5 (5-18yrs). Most of the schools are Alternative Provision Academies, educating children who are permanently excluded or at risk of permanent exclusion, or whose health means they cannot attend their school.
They also provide education in:
- A Tier 4 CAMHS unit, a residential unit for children with significant mental health and hospital inpatient education for pupils. They are growing provision across the trust and through outreach to the mainstream schools they serve in:
- Cornwall, Devon and Somerset
- Around 500 schools in a 6,500 sq. mile reach.
Rob Gasson, CEO, describes the work that they do in his talk at the MiSP conference.
“Our journey is to assess quickly . . . the needs of young people and work with them in a really heartfelt way to ensure that we can put together, with them, the steps they need to be successful not just in terms of their education but in terms that ensure that their lives are as successful as they can be.”
We’ve taken a strategic approach to putting mindfulness across the school and working with our entire populations, our families and our staff, as an entire organisation to ensure that we live this in terms of our ethos . . . and we’re growing through outreach across the mainstream schools that we serve.”
(Family Worker is) a big job and Ceri has done an absolutely amazing job in working with the young people and leading this across the trust and really enthusing all of us . . . it didn’t need a lot of work because, if you are in this field, hopefully you are connected to the understanding of how we connect in proper relationships with young people and with families.
I hope what we’ve done in this organisation is taking that, in terms of the strategic approach, to another level and we continue to do that in the next piece of work we are doing.”
STAFF WELLBEING
Rob Gasson CEO recognises the importance of staff wellbeing and shares WAVE MAT’s approach:
“We talked about recovery curriculum in schools for children and I think in alternative provision PRUs recovery curriculums are always recovery curriculums, but now we’re moving into recovery curriculums for staff because although we have fantastic colleagues, with a retention rate of 97% and average sick days of only 2 days a year, which is unprecedented in education and certainly unprecedented in our field, actually we know, I know, people’s journeys over the course of the last months have not been easy ones.
We’re deliberately looking now at how we can use mindfulness, how we can use other techniques around health and wellbeing and how we can bring supervision in . . . and yoga . . . to actually allow our staff to be able to centre themselves so they continue to give to our young people because in our organisation young people come first but of course our most valuable resource are my colleagues . . . and they absolutely need to be able to be in a place where they can self-soothe and where they are in a position to continue to give in a way that is healthy.”
Ceri has experienced the benefits first hand:
“For me I was first introduced to mindfulness through .b Foundations, run as part of a Health and Wellbeing initiative and what it gave me was a fantastic support and toolkit during my day. I found I became a lot better at being aware of when I was becoming dysregulated.
Invariably we do meet incidences of high level behaviour and I found in those moments that I was given a tool I could use . . . and in turn I was much better at helping to regulate the students I was with.
Within WAVE we do a lot of training, Team Teach Training and . . . Trauma Informed Schools and central to both of those approaches are a regulated adult and what I found mindfulness has really helped me do is to be that regulated adult. It gives me a set of things to do to support myself and then be better at supporting the students.
Something that has been discussed in the MAT, looking at when we’re developing our own in-house Team Teach, is can we look to use these mindfulness-based approaches to help staff to support themselves during those times when they are dealing with these more highly charged incidents.”
Ceri ran a workshop for staff talking about MiSP, the use of mindfulness at her APA and introducing some of the Paws b practices. She hopes this will encourage more staff across the whole MAT to try mindfulness and maybe implement it in their APA.
She has since taught the 8-week .b Foundations course to 17 colleagues across the MAT. To support trained staff with ongoing mindfulness practice, she has also set up a regular sitting group.
PAWS b AT NINE MAIDENS: Our journey so far summary, highlights and positive feedback...
Ceri Skilton
Family Support Worker & School Mental Health Lead, Nine Maidens Alternative Provision Academy (APA), WAVE Multi Academy Trust (MAT), Cornwall.
Route to teaching:
- .b Foundations
- MBSR
- Teach Paws b
- Teach .b
- School Mindfulness Lead
What drew Ceri to mindfulness?
Working in an APA can be intense at times with moments of high stress and daily interactions with high numbers of dysregulated students can lead to burnout.
What were the benefits?
I found the .b Foundations highly beneficial, I learnt new ways to recognise and deal with my own stress levels which in turn have helped me to better care for and regulate the students I am with. I have also become better at self-regulating and taking care of myself during and after high level incidents which has improved the quality of my life both in and out of work.
What inspired Ceri to introduce mindfulness in her school?
I recognised how useful these practices could be for the students at our school who so often struggle with self-regulation. As a teaching assistant I was often the one who would be out of the classroom supporting students, so often we say to a student “Take five minutes out to go and calm down” but how do you do this if you have never been effectively taught?
I thought mindfulness could offer our students a set of practical tools that could help not just with situations like this but also generally in their daily life and interactions at school. I also thought that it would offer students the opportunity to experience moments of quiet during the day, something that many rarely, if ever experience.
What was Ceri’s experience of training with MiSP?
I was initially unsure as to how our students at the APA would respond to mindfulness; I was slightly concerned that our sessions were not going to look like the pictures or videos on the MiSP website! I had many questions for the Paws b trainers and they were fantastic in their support, advice and encouragement and I left the course feeling confident to give it a go.
I would like to thank MiSP as all of my places on the Paws b and .b have come through the supported school places scheme that they offer, without the discount offered to the school I would have been unable to do the training and introduce mindfulness to the students at our APA.
What was Ceri’s experience of delivering Paws b?
The students and staff responded positively to its implementation and the Paws b curriculum appeared to have a positive impact on behaviour for many of the students taking part.
One teacher commented to me afterwards that she felt that for one very high level and challenging student taking part in the Paws b sessions was the turning point in his more positive change in behaviour at school.
What feedback has she had from colleagues?
“Paws b is really enjoyable and aimed at an age-appropriate level. Our Nurture class understand Paws b and they enjoy taking part in the weekly sessions and developing their knowledge of mindfulness. The students use Paws b on a daily basis throughout the school day. This has helped them to better understand themselves and develop their self-control. We have seen a positive and effective impact on self-management and self-regulation since implementing the Paws b curriculum and practices into our classroom. We will continue to use the Paws b techniques we have learnt as part of our school day.” Primary Nurture Class Teacher
“Our class have embraced the Paws b sessions as part of their curriculum. They are beginning to understand the benefits and look forward to their daily practice. Staff have been able to encourage pupils to use the practices they have learnt during or before they become dysregulated. We have noticed that pupils are gaining a better understanding of their mood and ways in which they can maintain focus. With further practice we hope that they will be able to independently use a more mindful approach in times of distress.” Primary 3 Class Teacher
“A fantastic impact! The class use Paws b a lot often encouraging each other to use the practices when they are having a hard time. It gives the students a focus when they are stressed and the students are even quoting neurology at me now!” Primary 1 Class Teacher
What do Ceri’s students say?
When taking part in the 30 practice challenge I ask the students to record what they noticed during the practice, here are some of their recordings:
- Petal Practice – I noticed it was beautiful.
- FOFBOC – I noticed it was calming even when people were shouting.
- Torch Practice – I noticed that I could see the torch light.
- Finger Breathing – I noticed that it calms me a lot especially on the first day of school.
- Torch Practice – I noticed you can take your attention anywhere.
OUR JOURNEY SO FAR: Training, implementation and impact...
Ceri’s training
I am a Family Support Worker & School Mental Health Lead at an Alternative Provision Academy (APA) in Cornwall which is part of the WAVE Multi Academy Trust (MAT).
I was first introduced to mindfulness in 2017 when our Health and Wellbeing Champion organised for the .b Foundations course to be run at our school.
Twelve staff members took part and several have since commented to me how useful they found the course.
I was so impressed with the mindfulness practices and their benefits taught on the .b Foundations course that later in the year I signed up and took part in a local 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course.
Following my 8 week MBSR course I continued with my own personal practice and joined a monthly local mindfulness sitting group.
In April 2018 I attended the Paws b training course in London
Implementation
What support did Ceri have?
I was lucky enough to be given a bursary from WAVE MAT to run a small research project into the impact of the Paws b curriculum on our students’ behaviour.
I have been incredibly lucky to have received much support and encouragement from the APA’s Principle my Headteacher John Stocker and staff at Nine Maidens and also from the CEO of WAVE MAT Rob Gasson and the executive committee, without which the introduction of mindfulness in our APA would have been impossible.
How did Ceri approach delivering Paws b, what helped and what was the impact?
Introducing Paws b
In the summer term of 2018 I taught three out of the four Primary classes the Paws b curriculum as part of my research project.
It helped that several of the staff members had taken part in the .b Foundations and that they were already familiar with the concepts and practices I was introducing.
The students and staff responded positively to its implementation and the Paws b curriculum appeared to have a positive impact on behaviour for many of the students taking part.
Repeating Paws b
At the end of the summer term I had finished teaching the Paws b and wasn’t really sure what I was going to do next. I provisionally thought that I could maybe teach the Paws b sessions to each Primary class once a year. However in October 2018 staff from the year 5 and 6 class (Primary 3) asked if I would come back to teach the Paws b sessions again.
One of the students in particular was really struggling with regulating himself and they felt that he wouldn’t engage in a one-on-one session but would take part if the whole class did so too. I began teaching the Paws b curriculum again to Primary 3. Classes at our APA change quite frequently, as new students arrive and other students leave and are re-integrated back into mainstream, so at least half of the class had not done the Paws b sessions.
It helped having a few students who were already familiar with what to do as the new students just followed suit and took part in the practices with little fuss.
There is always some resistance to any kind of learning activity at an APA but in general the students seem to enjoy engaging in the Paws b, it is run as part of our PSHE curriculum it is not optional and they are expected to take part as they would with any other learning activity. I have had students have to leave the room due to disruptive behaviour but in general it has been well received.
I sell it to them that there is no reading/writing and all they have to do is sit and watch, the students particularly enjoy the questioning nature of the curriculum. It offers them the opportunity to reflect and think about things we don’t often think or talk about such as what makes you wobble and what do you find difficult.
Most of the students find this interesting and engaging and enjoy sharing their experiences; often if they are not engaging at the start are by the end.
Phase 3 Embedding the learning
Lunchtime Club
I wanted to encourage the students in Primary 3 to continue practicing throughout the week between sessions so I set up a daily lunch time club. I go to the classroom after lunch every day and those who want to can come and sit in the corner of the room and do a Paws b practice with me.
Student Mindfulness Ambassadors
In October 2018 I did the .b training course and was introduced to the idea of a 30, 60 and 100 day challenge and the creation of a ‘Student Mindfulness Ambassador’. Several students are taking part in this award scheme, recording their daily lunch time practices and ultimately I would like one or two ‘Student Mindfulness Ambassadors’ who will then go into the other three classes and lead short Paws b practices with the younger students.
Impact
There is one student in Primary 3 for whom the Paws b has been particularly helpful. At the start however he absolutely hated Paws b, leaving the classroom during the first two sessions shouting “I hate Paws b I don’t want to train my mind.” However over the weeks that the sessions and lunch time club have been running he has been joining in more and more. He now joins in all the Paws b sessions and is a regularly attender at the lunch time sessions and was one of the first students to gain the 30 practice bronze award. He is working towards and is keen to become our first ‘Student Mindfulness Ambassador.’
Primary 1 is a class for students in years two and three. In November the class teacher informed me that one afternoon when the class was particularly lively she had stopped the students and asked them what they could do to help themselves settle down. One of the students, who had taken part in the Paws b sessions with me during the summer term and whom had just moved into her class, put up his hand up and said “We could do a Paws b.” He then led the whole class to do a sitting Paws b practice, the teacher was really impressed!
Phase 4 Repeating Paws b
With this in mind and the fact that many of the students had changed in our classes I decided to run the Paws b curriculum again for the two classes Primary Nurture and Primary 1. We started in January, as the students are younger I will only teach the first six half hour sessions.
Impact
The teacher has since commented to me that since taking part in the Paws b sessions she has noticed the students from Primary 1 being more supportive of one another at times of difficulty suggesting Paws b practices that the student in need could use to help calm down.
Embedding the learning
During the week between sessions once a day I try to do a Paws b practice. This might be before breakfast, at circle time or before an activity, we do a Paws b most days.
I have also noticed the students from Primary Nurture starting to use the Paws b practices independently, with one student who loves to play football at break time pausing for five breaths before practicing his big football kick.
I leave a Paws b display in each classroom building it up week by week with each session. It means once the curriculum is over the students and staff still have a visual tool box of practices that they can remember and use.
Running the Paws b sessions has even helped staff further support one another, with one of the staff members from Primary 3 doing one of the Paws b practices with another staff member who was very nervous prior to their job interview.
What’s next?
Ceri is now a Family worker for WAVE.
She has trained as a School Mindfulness Lead and taught .b Foundations to her colleagues. Three of these colleagues have trained to teach .b through the MAPS project.
Ceri hopes to continue teaching .b Foundations to staff and that they can get a community of people who are teaching and practising across WAVE.
She hopes to work towards gaining the MiSP School Award.
Ceri is doing wonderful work at the WAVE MAT and offers inspiration to other new and established MiSP trained teachers. We are so grateful to her for sharing her experience.
HUB members have access to some fantastic tips from Ceri about delivering Paws b and embedding mindfulness in her APA.
Hub members also have access to the full conference talk by Rob and Ceri.