Modelling resources such as dough, clay and sand are widely recognised as a valuable resource to develop fine motor skills as well as foster creativity and sensory awareness in children across the world. More recently, there has been a drive to include clay in play-based environments. There has been a lot of research to suggest that clay is even more beneficial than other modelling resources. But why is clay so brilliant?
Using clay creates a multi-sensory experience. It provides opportunities to touch, see, smell and discuss what children are experiencing. Clay can take different states – wet and cold, or put into a kiln to make it solidify. Children may choose to create objects or just enjoy the sensory experience of moulding, shaping and manipulating clay. When used during play, children will develop communication skills as well as creative and imaginative skills.
Communication Skills
When using clay, children will often talk to one another or an adult. They may talk about the way clay feels and what they are doing with it. They will use a range of vocabulary, especially verbs and adjectives – pushing, pulling, squeezing, patting, poking, moulding, rolling, cold, wet, dry, grey etc. They have opportunities to respond to peer and adult questions such as ‘What does your clay feel like?’. ‘What are you learning to do?’, ‘What are you creating?’.
Coordination And Motor Skills
Using clay requires manipulation and hand/eye coordination. Children will need to use their hands and fingers to construct models and mould the clay into the shapes they require. Here, children practise their fine/gross motor skills and develop the muscles in their hands, which in turn helps with dexterity required to complete other tasks such as cutting and writing.
Emotional Regulation
Clay can be very therapeutic and calming for people as the cool, smooth texture and earthy scent of clay can be relaxing. Creating clay objects and models of their choice can be rewarding and this results in feelings of achievement and positivity, contributing towards improved mental health. Making time for regular play with clay may help children develop their emotional regulation skills and allow them time to relax.
Imagination And Creativity
The wonderful thing about clay is that including it within a play-based setting provides an open-ended activity which fosters creativity and curiosity. Children can create what they want, using their own methods and in their own time. They can use solely clay or can add in other resources such as straws, buttons and beads to add to their creation. Clay is so versatile and can be easily transferred to the outdoors where children can use sticks, leaves, branches and stones to create a partially transient piece of artwork. The use of clay supports a Froebellian approach: ‘as the play material becomes less tangible so there is a greater advance in creative expression’ (Froebel in Lilley 1967:113).
Attention Span And Problem Solving
Clay can help children develop their attention span. The adaptability of clay means that when working with it, children can make mistakes and correct them with less frustration and less desire to give up. The sensory experience means children may play for longer periods of time independently. As with any design activity, there will be opportunities for children to problem solve using clay. Another brilliant clay is its malleability – a snag in the design of a model can easily be solved by the child without adult intervention.
Self-Esteem
As we already know, clay can be therapeutic and calming for many people. There are no limits when using clay and children can create something imaginative or just experience clay without adult involvement, resulting in feelings of accomplishment and pride. Working independently is a great self-esteem booster. The child is in control and is not reliant on an adult to guide them.
Stella Brown, a nursery head teacher in Edinburgh, stresses the importance of ‘ensuring that the child is at the centre and leading the curriculum rather than the curriculum leading the child’.
Tips For Learning Facilitators
Avoid making suggestions, just observe what the child is doing so you know what interests the child. This will allow you to extend and support their experience.
Provide cutters and a range of natural and collage materials within reach – beads, pebbles, lolly sticks, straws, sticks etc.
Provide some visuals for children who are not familiar with using clay yet, such as these:
Loose parts are natural and human-made objects that can be carried, moved, stacked, combined or taken apart by learners as part of their imaginative and creative play. Through construction and combining a range of materials, learners can use their brain and hands to think, imagine, solve problems and play creatively. Free play with loose parts provides a wide range of developmental opportunities – enhancing skills such as communication, teamwork, risk assessment and both gross and fine motor skills.
Loose Parts Play Theory was first developed in the 1970s by Simon Nicholson, an architect. He suggested that children should be provided with materials and objects that can be carried, transported, combined, stacked, dismantled and reused; and given time to explore, experiment and create using them without adult direction or instruction. He theorised that this would provide children with opportunities to develop their imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills.
In modern educational settings, loose parts play is a commonly heard term and many environments include loose parts play without labelling it as such. Activities using building blocks, junk materials to create models and counting using small objects such as buttons are all examples of loose parts play.
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How Does Loose Parts Play Support Child Development?
While some consider play to have little place in educational settings beyond nursery, academic studies overwhelmingly support the idea that play provides many benefits for learners in terms of their development.
One of the biggest benefits of loose parts play is the opportunity for learners to develop strong creative skills. Whilst many toys have a fixed purpose, the beauty of loose parts is that they provide endless imaginative play possibilities. A loose part can become whatever the learner says it is. A row of stacked stones can be a wall, a pine cone can be a person and a den made with piping and blankets can be a house. Play using loose parts is entirely open ended and with no rules to follow beyond basic safety, learners are free to engage with them however they choose. Developing imagination skills like this makes being creative in other contexts easier and in turn helps improve problem-solving skills required for curricular areas such as Science or Mathematics.
Loose parts play also provides opportunities for learners to build their interpersonal skills, including teamwork, communication and compromise. Using a shared set of resources involves countless opportunities for learners to interact with each other through discussions and negotiations. Even for those who choose to play independently initially, you will often find that the curiosity of other learners leads to interactions that then provide collaboration to further develop the play or materials being used. Fun is very contagious and as soon as one learner seems to be enjoying themselves, others will quickly want to join in.
Additionally, learners have opportunities to develop motor skills thanks to the play materials having a wide variety of shapes and sizes. It’s recommended that learners have the opportunity to choose from a broad range of both natural and human-made materials such as pine cones, pots, tyres, planks of wood and more. These provide the chance to stack, build, transport, carry and balance different shapes or weights which in turn means that learners can build their gross and fine motor skills. This is particularly important when you consider the availability of digital entertainment, as many learners will now prefer screen time to more active play.
Loose parts also provide opportunities for risky play. Developing an understanding of what is safe and what isn’t is an exceptionally important learning experience for young people. Before engaging with loose parts play, practitioners should ensure that resources are safe to be used by removing any hazards such as badly splintered wood, sharp edges or weaknesses. You should also discuss what is safe to do and what is not safe, providing the learners with age-appropriate examples and information on what they should do if they think something is unsafe or if somebody gets hurt. Beyond this though, learners should be free to experiment in a way that explores safe boundaries. Having the opportunity to build and test bridges or shelters provides learners the chance to understand which materials are strong enough for activities like this as well as whether or not they’ll be stable enough to function. Whilst our first reaction may be to stop a learner considering a risky move, you could use the opportunity to engage them in risk assessing through questioning and discussion.
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Isn’t Loose Parts Play Just for Early Level Learners?
Whilst many people consider learning through play a vital part of most Early Level and some First Level learning environments, it’s often the case that very little time is dedicated to play in Second Level and beyond. However, there is little evidence to suggest that play would not benefit our older learners. Anecdotally, the impact of imaginative play on older learners can be just as significant.
Whilst working with Second Level learners, I was lucky enough to receive an hour per week block of loose parts play enabled by a local charity who provided all the equipment we needed. Whilst some learners took a little encouragement, by the end of our 8-week block all of my class adored their loose parts play time. Learners who found social interactions challenging had blossomed into confident young people who could connect with others through the various games they created. The beginnings of new friendships emerged and the widest grins I’ve ever seen could be found on nearly all of their faces.
Admittedly, this is only one instance showing benefits for older learners, but I often feel we forget that our Second Level learners are still children despite being the ‘grown-up ones’ in a primary school environment. Some of these learners might never experience play in this way, preferring instead to use games consoles or other digital technologies. We owe it to them to provide new environments to learn in, and loose parts play can be exactly that.
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How Can I Incorporate Loose Parts Play Into Our Learning?
Like the idea of introducing loose parts play but not sure how to go about it? We’ve got you covered.
Pretty early on you will want to conduct a review of what loose-parts you already have available and what space you have for play. Auditing what equipment and space you have will allow you to see how practical it will be to start loose parts play sessions – you may need to look into sourcing further materials to really enable the play. You might have all the loose parts you need, but you also need a safe space for outdoor play. Concrete playgrounds and grassy spaces are both suitable for play, but ideally you would have access to both to allow the learners to explore fully.
You will also want to conduct a risk benefit assessment to analyse what could go wrong and how you can minimise that risk. However, by completing a risk benefit assessment you will also be able to identify what learners can gain from risky play. As we have already discussed, introducing learners to risky play can help them develop a broad range of skills that they can employ to keep themselves safe. The risk benefit assessment acknowledges the challenges, encourages practitioners to mitigate them and allows them to identify learning opportunities that can come from outdoor loose parts play.
Having taken account of both of the above, you will also want to consider engaging with parents, guardians and other relevant stakeholders to introduce them to the concept of loose parts play. In my experience there can be some hesitancy from parents around play as part of the curriculum, but by discussing the learning opportunities and benefits play has for all learners you can help to settle any concerns. You might consider hosting an information evening or even a loose parts session for parents and guardians to attend, allowing them to see the joy that free play brings to learners.
Once you have ticked these off the to-do list, you are ready to facilitate your first loose parts play session! Remember that you are there to observe and to enable the learners to play. It might feel tempting to get involved and show the learners how they can use the materials, but allowing them to engage as they choose opens them up to a world of discovery. You could consider using questioning to help learners engage, but try to take a step back when you can. If you’re not able to fit loose parts into your class schedule, you could consider an after-school session or a lunch session to engage learners.
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Loose Parts Play Resources
Starting something new can be daunting, so we have a range of resources to enable loose-parts play regardless of your setting.
Introducing adults to the concept of loose-parts play is a great place to start, and to help with that we have created presentations for educators and for parents. We also have this Loose-Parts Play Adult Information Leaflet as well leaflets on learning through play and outdoor learning that you can use to help engage adults. We also have a presentation and leaflet all about creating an outdoor learning environment that may be particularly helpful if outdoor learning is new to your setting.
Thinking of risk benefit assessments, we have created this great adult information presentation to introduce the concept to staff along with this template you can use to complete your own assessment.
We have also created a checklist full of loose parts you can include in your provision. The checklist includes both indoor and outdoor materials, gives suggestions for safely storing materials and reminds practitioners to consider safety when checking the suitability of materials. The checklist is by no means an exhaustive list, but could be a great starting point for your own materials audit.
We also recognise that maintaining your loose parts is vital to ensure that play is safe and hygienic, and have created this Loose-Parts Play Resource Cleaning Checklist. The checklist includes suggestions of how to clean things as well as a rota to ensure everyone is taking care of the materials.
Finally, we have created a set of activity ideas to help kick-start your sessions if your learners need some inspiration. This set of activities is tailored to Early Level learners but can easily be adapted to suit older learners too. The suggestions include ways to integrate mathematics skills like estimation or measuring, as well as things such as den building or potion creation.
Easter is upon us again. Soon we will see eggs and images of Easter on social media and in the shops. It’s a time when learners may have questions about traditional Easter activities and about the tradition of egg rolling in Scotland in particular.
What Is Egg Rolling?
Egg rolling has been a long standing Easter tradition in Scotland since the 19th Century. The act of painting eggs in various designs and then gathering to roll them down a hill or grassy lawn on Easter Monday is an activity many Scots still enjoy to this day. The aim is for your egg to roll the furthest all while staying intact!
Sometimes the eggs are made with a decorated empty shell or they may be hard boiled before applying decoration, the weight of which could help them roll further. The incline of the hill is also very important – too steep and the eggs will break, too flat and they won’t roll.
Why Is the Easter Egg Symbolic?
The rolling of the egg is said to have different meanings. One being the Christian belief of it symbolising the stone moving from Jesus’ tomb at Easter. The other being the rolling depicts the movement of the sun.
How Can I Engage My Learners in Easter Activities?
By exploring Easter, learners will understand more about the Christian Easter story along with specific traditions that take place from Easter egg rolling, Easter bonnet parades, egg decorating and Easter egg hunts.
Resources for Easter
The following links are a selection of the resources available from Twinkl Scotland to help with teaching about Easter in your school setting:
We all have women in our life that we look up to, idolise or aspire to be like. These women might be mothers, grandmothers, sisters, celebrities, or even complete strangers. Nevertheless, the qualities we admire in them help drive us to be the best we can.
What Is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is a day to honour, celebrate and recognise the achievements of inspirational women around the world. It is celebrated on the 8th March each year and it also highlights the ongoing journey towards eradicating inequalities.
History of International Women’s Day
The movement began on 19th March 1911, where over one million people participated in demonstrations with women demanding the right to vote and protesting against discrimination. By 1914, demonstrations had started to be celebrated on the 8th March and this date has stuck ever since. In 1975, the United Nations adopted International Women’s Day which is now recognised as a rallying call for support in women’s participation in society, politics and economics.
Today recent protests such as the #MeToo movement continue to help push for progress in intersectional women’s rights.
Why Is It Important for Our Young People to Recognise IWD?
In all honesty, we should be celebrating the achievements of women every day. However, International Women’s Day provides achance to truly shine the spotlight on some of our most inspiring sisters. It’s a great opportunity for our children to acknowledge women around them as well as their achievements. Many schools across the world mark this day with special events, activities or workshops. But why is a teacher’s place to champion gender equality and commemorate the successes of memorable women?
Well, for young girls there are few things more important than having a strong female role model to look up to and when we as teachers bring stories of inspiring women into the classroom, we help our young people see the opportunities that they can pursue throughout their lives. Celebrating the achievements of all women helps break down the gender based stereotypes that still exist, and that benefits everyone (not just the girls). Its important to make sure the women you’re discussing come from a variety of different backgrounds, work in a range of different fields and truly represent a diverse range of ethnicities, abilities, beliefs and identities so that our girls can look up to somebody like them.
How Can Twinkl Help You Mark International Women’s Day?
Here at Twinkl, we want to help teachers feel confident in delivering lessons and facilitating discussions. We have created a wealth of resources that can help you mark International Women’s Day, helping you to deliver important messages on gender equality and respect.
This First Level Resource Pack has a broad range of resources within in that would be ideal for creating a short unit of work for your P2-P4 learners. This IDL Topic Web links in to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and can be used to exploIDL Topic Web linksre gender equality.
For Second Level learners we have resources covering a number of significant Scottish women including Jane Haining and Mary Slessor. You might also want to look outside of Scotland to some of the women who helped to build NASA such as Dorothy Vaughan or Katherine Johnson. This resource pack is full of resources that look at ‘Global Goal 5: Gender Equality’ and would be perfect for planning a larger unit of work.
What is Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood?
Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) is an element of Health and Wellbeing within the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland. The Scottish Government highlights that the purpose of RSHP education is to equip learners with the knowledge and skills to help build and maintain positive and safe relationships, allowing young people to make informed decisions as they grow and develop. (Scottish Government, 2014) The Health and Wellbeing syllabus within Curriculum for Excellence provides practitioners with a key platform for delivering this education to children at an age-appropriate level. Local authorities, healthboards, Education Scotland and the Scottish Government have worked collaboratively to produce age-appropriate RSHP materials to support the implementation and delivery of a comprehensive and progressive RSHP education for all learners in Scotland from age 3 to 18, including those with additional support needs. In this blog, we will discuss the importance of sexual health education in the Scottish curriculum (rshp.scot).
Why Teach RSHP?
Sexual health education is essential for children’s overall health and wellbeing (Scottish Government, 2014). It equips them with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their sexual health and wellbeing, including healthy relationships, contraception and sexual consent. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has reported that comprehensive sexual health education contributes to lower teenage pregnancy rates and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, in addition to other broad sexual and reproductive health outcomes for young people. (UNESCO, 2021). High-quality relationships and sexual health education has also been found to help protect young people from abuse and sexual violence while also fostering equality and respect (Commissioner for Human Rights, 2020).
In addition to promoting physical health, sexual health education can also foster positive social and emotional development. It can help children develop a positive sense of self and body image, understand the importance of consent and boundaries and build healthy relationships. Health Protection Scotland (2020) reported a rise of sexually transmitted infections at a time when 78.8% of senior learners pupils agreed that it was easy to source information about sexual health and only 59.4% of senior phase learners found it easy to seek support on sexual health issues (Scottish Government, 2023). With these figures in mind, it is important that the Scottish curriculum delivers high-quality RSHP education to help improve the health and well being outcomes for all young people in Scotland.
Safeguarding
One key aspect of RSHP in Scotland relates to equipping learners with the knowledge to help recognise positive relationships and protect themselves from harm. National guidance on child protection in Scotland highlights that practitioners have a responsibility to ensure learners understand how to keep themselves and others safe as well as how to seek support (Scottish Government, 2021). RSHP education has an important role to play here in developing this understanding in young people through exploring healthy relationships, consent, bodily autonomy and confidence in an age appropriate manner. Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that children should be protected from violence, abuse and neglect. The Scottish Government (2014) recognises that effective RSHP education can be proactive in safeguarding young and be delivered within the wider context of wellbeing and child protection.
Equality and Inclusion
Guidance on RSHP education in Scotland (Scottish Government, 2014) recognises the diversity of human sexuality and this is reflected in the Curriculum for Excellence Second Level Benchmarks, where it states that learners should “identify different kinds of friendships and relationships” and “demonstrate an understanding of diversity in sexuality and gender identity”. In addition, the rshp.scot supporting resources also reflect diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity.
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to discriminate against others with identified protected characteristics and sexual orientation is one of those protected characteristics. Therefore, it is important that RSHP education does not discriminate, but instead provides a broad and inclusive knowledge and understanding of relationships and gender identity. This inclusive approach to RSHP education can help to foster an inclusive environment for all and combat homophobia and transphobia at school and beyond (Commissioner for Human Rights, 2020)
Support and Resources
Twinkl have been creating our own resources to help support RSHP education in Scottish schools at all levels of primary education. These resources are inclusive and include age-appropriate information for learners. Our full collection of primary RSHP resources can be accessed here.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the excellent resources Twinkl has to offer:
This excellent review resource helps learners to understand the different parts of their body, including the correct anatomical terms for genitals. The colourful design makes it appealing to Early Level learners, making it ideal for teaching this sensitive topic.
This Early Level resource sensitively introduces learners to the concept of consent at a young age. It is a great way to begin the journey to understanding bodily autonomy.
This PowerPoint resource provides an excellent introduction into personal hygiene for First Level learners. The content, design and illustrations has made it popular with our users with excellent reviews.
Many of the Twinkl RSHP themes include listening and talking resources. These blether stations are excellent prompts to help First Level learners discuss online safety.
This First Level PowerPoint provides an excellent introduction into love and relationships. It helps promote inclusion by discussing different relationships, including LGBTQ+ ones.
Our Second Level resources are excellent for teaching sensitive RSHP topics and this Understanding Sex PowerPoint is no exception. The presentation has been written to be informative, objective and inclusive, making it a brilliant resource for P5-P7 learners.
These Second Level Consent Blether Stations are an excellent resource for promoting classroom discussion on the topic of consent, helping learners to develop their knowledge and understanding of consent and body autonomy.
This resource contains links to external websites and/or external apps. Please be aware that the inclusion of any link in this resource should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind by Twinkl of the linked website and/or app, or any association with its operators. You should also be aware that we have no control over the availability of the linked pages and/or apps. If the link is not working, please let us know by contacting TwinklCares and we will try to fix it although we can assume no responsibility if this is the case. We are not responsible for the content of external sites and/or external apps.
Storytelling is a super power in the maths classroom. With the right resources, it has the capacity to reduce anxiety and stimulate interest in a subject area that many learners find intimidating. Children effortlessly enter the world of storytelling, opening their imaginations as they anticipate and settle down for a period of joy (and learning).
There’s an art to telling a good story and a maths story is no different. It needs to tap into a learner’s natural curiosity and take them on an adventure, a maths adventure. Characters overcome obstacles and listeners think ahead, predicting where the story is going and how it will end, cementing and reusing maths concepts explored in the book.
Maths Tales
At Twinkl we have developed Maths Tales for First Level Primary learners to bring literacy into the maths classroom and all the benefits that come with this interdisciplinary learning approach. The Maths Tale ‘No Time to Clip’ brings learners into Pixi’s Pet Parlour to meet her quirky customers and explore the maths concept of time.
Research
Researchers across the world have contributed to the growing evidence that highlights the transformative power storytelling can have in teaching and learning maths. Dr Trakulphadetkrai at the Uinversity of Reading has worked in the area and developed the popular website Maths Through Stories, allowing adults to become familiar and more confident of using this super power in a learning environment.
Storytelling is at the heart of Scottish tradition. Scotland’s past, culture, language and folklore is ‘learnt’ through stories. TRACS (Traditional Arts Culture Scotland) recognises the benefits of storytelling to bring the Curriculum for Excellence to life. Creative learning does not need to stop when a maths class begins. Read more about the power of storytelling in education from the Scottish Storytelling Forum here.
Benefits of Storytelling
Whatever the subject area, storytelling will always benefit the situation. We are all storytellers and hunt out situations to be entertained by other storytellers. Why? They’re engaging, they’re full of emotion and characters that intrigue us or we can identify with. Overall, a story helps anyone learn new information and recall that information, as it has been presented to you through a narrative you’re not going to easily forget. It is a powerful, natural learning experience.
Specifically, these aspects of storytelling can create a unique maths learning experience:
Listening – When a story starts, children settle down and listen intently. The brain even begins to release chemicals like endorphins that are associated with pleasure, connecting the maths experience with an emotionally positive moment.
The whole brain – Areas of the brain light up when a story is told, and not the usual ones you’d associate with a maths lesson. Children are connecting with the characters of the story on an emotional level, their language centres are activated as well as the critical thinking and problem solving areas.
Imagination – Maths is no longer just external or numbers on page. Each child uses their imagination to build on the story they hear. Within that story is the maths seamlessly intertwined with the unique experience playing out in their minds.
Recall – Encasing key maths concepts within a story gives learners a narrative to recall rather than seemingly unrelated facts. Maths experiences presented within a story become more meaningful and easier to remember.
Communication – Often learners can find it difficult to express how they have deconstructed and solved a maths problem. Presenting the problem within a story will help them to communicate how they solved it, by explaining their steps and answers through the characters and incidents presented by the story.
Not Just a Story
Yes, using stories in maths is a great way to kick off a new topic, check for understanding or reinforce previous knowledge. However, it can also be the key focal point of a lesson and be supported by linked resources. ‘No Time to Clip’ is just this story. Available to support learning through this Maths Tale are numerous resources for different classroom scenarios.
No Time to Clip Maths Tale: Race to Clip Game is a fun game to help learners understand the passage of time, requiring them to move a clock on 5, 10 or 15 minute intervals. It is also a great resource to help learners explore their learning of time within a group.
These No Time to Clip Maths Tale: Dog Grooming Schedules are a fantastic resource to add to a roleplaying area of the classroom. Differentiated to suit all learners, they support the learning of annotating an analogue clock as well as creating appointment times in order to fit the opening times of their own pet parlour.
Great for early finishers, soft starts or even as a golden time activity these No Time to Clip Maths Tale: Dot to Dot Activity Sheets are so much fun. Learners can pick their favourite dog from the story to help them practise counting in different time intervals. It’s also a great resource to link digital and analogue time.
Every learner deserves a reward after an intense maths workout and these No Time to Clip Colouring Pages are perfect. As both a colouring page and a mindful colouring activity, these are the ideal way to wrap up learning about about time.
So, make some space on the maths trolley between the hundred squares and Dienes cubes to start building your Maths Tale library today.
The No Time to Clip Maths Tale and all accompanying resources can be found together as a pack here. More First Level maths resources can be found here:
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Buddha
After what could certainly be considered a tumultuous few years, this quote commonly attributed to Buddha has never been more appropriate. We need to look after ourselves. The need to understand our feelings and make sense of these feelings as we live our daily lives is vital to our wellbeing. The UK charity YoungMinds reports that nearly half a million young people are being referred for mental health problems every month, with many not being able to get the support they need. As teachers, we are in a prime position to help open up and develop the discussion on mental health and wellbeing, so that our learners learn the habit of talking openly about mental health and learning how to cope with their feelings, or how to seek further help.
What Is Mental Health?
Mental health is how we feel, think and behave – based on our thoughts and emotions. Our mental health affects how we function in our world, how we relate to other people and the choices we make in our lives. However our mental health can change according to the circumstances we find ourselves in at home, at school or at work. The Mental Health Foundation Scotland states that mental health problems cost the Scottish economy at least £8.8 billion annually and that 72% of this is due to the lost productivity of people living with mental health conditions and costs incurred by unpaid informal carers. When our physical health needs attention it’s quite acceptable for us to talk about it and, without hesitation, we visit a nurse, doctor, dentist, optician or other health care professional. Taking care of our mental health, talking about it and seeking out the correct help and advice needs to be equally acceptable.
Why Do We Need a World Mental Health Day?
World Mental Health Day takes place on the 10th of October every year to raise awareness about mental health and to support anyone experiencing issues with their mental health. Every year since 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) has organised a global campaign for World Mental Health Day. The theme for World Mental Health Day 2023, is ‘Mental health is a universal human right’. Public Health Scotland agrees that mental health and wellbeing should be a priority and that this would have a positive effect on so many different aspects of society.
How Can I Raise Awareness about World Mental Health Day with My Learners?
According to Mental Health Foundation Scotland, there are no quick fixes for good mental or physical health. It goes on to say what works is developing healthy habits in our daily lives, that help us to feel ok and able to cope with whatever life throws at us. We can encourage and develop healthy habits and resilience in the classroom with the help of the activities listed below.
At Early Level, these Managing My Emotions Worksheets give learners suggestions for strategies to cope with different feelings and asks them to think about strategies of their own. Drama is a great way to explore emotions in the Early Years and these Emotions Drama Challenge Cards give the opportunity to talk about feelings and how we might deal with these feelings – as well as having some fun!
At Second Level, An Introduction to Mental Health Powerpoint introduces the topic and suggests ways to cope with some mental health problems. These Managing Emotions and Conflict Blether Stations provide learners with situations involving traditional tale and nursery rhyme characters so they can discuss how feelings and emotions could be coped with in these situations.
Since this year’s theme is ‘Mental health is a universal human right’, we wanted to highlight some of our resources focusing on human rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Why not check out our Scottish Events Calendar with Global Goals and UNCRC Overview 2023-2024 to help you plan how you can incorporate human rights into your teaching?
At Twinkl there are many more resources available at Early, First and Second Levels that help promote good mental health and wellbeing. Why not spend some time on World Mental Health Day developing good habits and making mental health and wellbeing the priority in your school or classroom?
It’s spooky season! Traditionally in Scotland this has been the time of year for fires, fortune telling and folklore.
Halloween in Scotland is constantly evolving and the Halloween we see on the cold, shadowy streets of October 2022 is a little different from the beginnings of this ancient festival which marked the end of the season of plenty and the beginnings of the long, dark nights of winter.
Learning about Traditions
There are many traditions for All Hallows’ Eve, as it has been known in the past. Common ones include many fun ‘no hands’ party games like dookin’ for apples or trying to eat sticky scones on a string but as this was a time to think and hope about the new seasons ahead, fortune telling has also been a big part of traditional gatherings. Scotland has a wealth of foolproof ways to foresee whether relationships will blossom or are doomed to failure. From kale picking to nut burning to rummaging around for a surprise in a bowl of porridge, there are a variety of traditional techniques to answer any young person’s questions on the quest for long-lasting love. Twinkl has just the resources to help children learn about the legends of a truly Scottish Halloween, including the Samhuinn festival held every year in Edinburgh. These presentations will ignite the class’ curiosity and they will realise Halloween in Scotland is about much more than dressing up and collecting sweet treats.
This presentation is ideal for first level learners
and this one for second level.
Guising
Dressing up has been a key component of a child’s Halloween for many years. A generation ago we called it guising and to earn sweet rewards from the houses you visited, it was necessary to tell a joke, recite some poetry or even tell a short ghost story. This tradition is ideal to rekindle in the classroom. To prepare your class for their guising performance, use this guide to Scottish poetry or help children create an engaging ghost story using this story mountain. To prompt ghostly story themes, read on for tips to stir up some eerie tales.
Outdoor Learning
One thing every generation can agree on is that Halloween is best celebrated outdoors. Safety is the uppermost priority so follow our adult guide to making a fire outdoors and show children the Fire Safety at Halloween presentation. A fire is not only a great centrepiece but is also a fantastic way to cook up some yummy outdoor snacks. Bannocks were traditionally cooked on a stone on an open fire at this time of year and offered to the souls of ancestors.
Storytelling
No fireside Halloween is complete without the seasonal tradition of telling ghost stories, and Scotland has an abundance to choose from. Every corner of Scotland is bursting with tales of hauntings, witches and unexplained mysterious happenings. A good ghost story is often passed down the generations and so this is the perfect time of year to quiz older family members about local legends. If you had a granny from Port Glasgow, they may tell you of the unusual reports in 1864 of a ghost throwing potatoes from under a bed. If you have a grandpa from Aberdeenshire, he may tell you of the terrifying day in 1920 when bones were discovered in the walls of one of Scotland’s most haunted buildings, Fyvie Castle.
If you have a great uncle in Glasgow, he may whisper about the strange happenings in the old, narrow streets of the Gorbals when faces would appear in attic windows. Or, if you have a distant relative from Edinburgh, they may send shivers down your spine recounting the tale of the ghost monkey of North Edinburgh.
If no members of the older generations are available to pass down their spooky wisdom, stories are just waiting to be unearthed. Take Sir Walter Scott, who always said his home, Abbotsford House, was haunted. Just looking at his eerie, vacated study can trigger the appearance of ghostly figures and an abundance of bumps in the night.
Setting learners off on a quest to unearth spooky images and build a story is a great way to create a few more local legendary tales. Then, just like generations before, the class can settle around the fire and let the storytelling begin!
Halloween in the Classroom
If your celebrations are classroom bound, here are our top six Halloween classroom resources for all ages:
It may all be about pumpkin carving these days but in the past Scottish children persevered to carve turnips.That is no easy feat! So, why not bring in some turnips and use these Pumpkin Faces to decorate some truly spooky neeps or use this Design a Neep Lantern Activity Sheet.
Combine numeracy, art and Halloween with this super differentiated Spooky Fingerprints activity.
Calling all witches and wizards! Set up this Potion Workshop in class and see the power of play in action.
The traditional Celtic Samhuinn Fire Festival marks the transition of summer to winter through the battles between each season’s king. Revisit hot and cold colours and represent this festival through individual art or capture its spirit by completing this Sun and Moon activity.
How Your Class Can Celebrate European Day of Languages
A recent survey found that there are 149 languages spoken in Scottish schools. That’s worth celebrating!
The 26th September is a day just for that. It is European Day of Languages, the day many people in Europe celebrate the diversity of languages spoken on our continent. All European languages are celebrated; the widely spoken ones such as English, French and Spanish, to the lesser-known ones like Calatan, Maltese and our very own Scots and Gaelic, as well as British Sign Language and its European counterparts. In addition, the many languages brought to our continent through migration are celebrated in equal measure.
We may all smile and laugh in the same language but how do we celebrate the assortment of languages we hear in our communities every day?
Embrace Many Different Languages Throughout the Whole Day
This is a day to celebrate many languages, not just the one on your term plan. This may sound daunting but with a little tweaking your usual lesson plan can become a Language Celebration Plan.
Pick a language to start your day, perhaps French. Just like the teacher in this Education Scotland video, spend those first moments of the day discussing the date and weather in French.
Do your register in German. The register is a really comfortable space to learn a few key words in a different language. Doing so in German will also show how similar some words are to English, therefore helping us all to feel confident as we step outside of our comfort zone. If the children usually answer ‘here’, they simply need to answer ‘hier’ in German, as demonstrated by Peppa Pig in this video.
This German Word Posters resource is great for helping to incorporate other greetings and some more basic German vocabulary.
Lesson starters are a great way to squeeze in some new vocabulary without intruding on a lesson’s core learning. We can’t all boast perfect pronunciation in other languages but there are many experts just waiting to be unleashed in the classroom. Children are amazing listeners and can mimic accents a lot better than adults. Why not try this maths starter on European Day of Languages below?
Show the class these resources for simple 2D shapes and colours in Gaelic:
Have a go at trying to pronounce some of the words.
Gaelic pronunciation can be tricky, so now listen to this short video.
Once it has finished, see how well the class cope with the pronunciation of the colours and shapes. They may have also picked up some other Gaelic from listening to the video too.
A day of celebration is not complete unless it involves singing and dancing! European Day of Languages is no exception. At the end of the day, make a dance floor, crank up the volume and as a class enjoy some classic music in its native language. Why not start off with Abba’s Dancing Queen in Swedish?
Learn About Your School’s Languages Throughout the Day
Over the course of the day, your class can become language detectives. How many languages are spoken in your school? Where do people have family around Europe? Which countries have people visited in Europe? Do they know any words from these countries’ languages? There is so much language data just waiting to be collected. You may choose to incorporate these detective activities into your maths lesson, for example, gathering data and displaying it for the whole school to see by making a large pictogram using flags.
Alternatively, use a literacy lesson to write about what was discovered. Design and write postcards from different European countries, display all the words collected in different languages in speech bubbles or write a non-chronological report.
Diversify Classroom Displays
Look around your classroom displays. Can you change the titles, information or labels to be a different language? Change your classroom resource labels toSpanish. If you have a human body display, change the labels toItalian. Challenge the class to translate their maths working wall to Ukranian using this handy Numeracy Word Mat.
Don’t Stop Creating Language Fun
Only your class’s imagination will limit the fun you can have exploring and celebrating language discovery and learning on this special day. Here are ten more ideas to incorporate into your classroom:
Ask a native speaker from your community to share some of their language and to have a question and answer session about their country.
Invite a learner who speaks another language to tell or read a story to the class in their native language.
Have a go at some digital language learning by exploring different apps or websites.
Have an online lesson from a specialist language teacher in your learning community.
Watch a cartoon in a different language.
Take language flashcards outside and see how many items you can label.
Use a parachute to introduce colours in different languages.
Record today’s weather report in as many different languages as possible.
Research the European language Esperanto, its history and why it was invented.
Make a pledge to have a bilingual or multilingual classroom. Decide as a class which activities you’d like to do to keep celebrating languages all year.
Celebrate All Week
European Day of Languages falls on a specific day each year but the celebrations do not need to stop on that day; after all there are so many languages to discover! By the end of the week, your class may have discovered a new language they love, a language many of them are familiar with or simply a language they may want to learn more about. Take this opportunity to celebrate this discovery and reward your Stars of the Week in this language. Twinkl’s Whole School Star of the Week Certificates are editable and so can be written in any language you wish. Why not have an assembly takeover and reward the whole school’s stars in the language(s) your class has discovered.
Incorporating Spanish into an assembly
Overall, the European Day of Languages is all about experiencing the different languages and cultures that make our continent so unique. Doors will be opened to new opportunities of learning and awareness, just like when we have days of trying a variety of new sports or new musical instruments. Ultimately, this is just another day of wonder on our learning journey through life. So, embrace your growth mindset and create a day to remember. Bonne chance!
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation describes poverty as resources being well below minimum needs. Living in poverty can make it difficult for families to heat their homes, provide food and fully participate in activities considered to be ‘normal’ for 21st century living.
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 outlines four measures of poverty across Scotland: relative poverty; absolute poverty; combined low income and material deprivation; and persistent poverty.
Relative Poverty
Relative poverty is based on a household’s net income falling 60% below the median income for a household in that financial year.
Absolute Poverty
Absolute poverty is based on a household’s net income falling 60% below the median income for a household in a base year, currently the financial year beginning April 2010.
Combined Low Income and Material Deprivation
Combined low income and material deprivation refers to households that fall 70% below the median household income that year and cannot afford specific goods or services for their children, such as, one holiday a year or a separate bedroom for children of different genders aged 10 years or over.
Persistent Poverty
Persistent Poverty includes households living in relative poverty for three of the last four years.
Child Poverty in Scotland
From figures obtained for the Child Poverty Action Group, in the year 2019-20 one in four children in Scotland were living in poverty and 68% of children living in poverty in Scotland lived in a household where at least one person worked. In addition 38% of children in lone parent households live in poverty and 29% of children with a dsiabled parent also live in poverty. Health Scotland reported in 2019 that relative child poverty was increasing in Scotland.
The Scottish Government passed an Act of Parliament in 2017 outlining their plans to eradicate child poverty in Scotland. By 2030 the Child Poverty (Scotland) 2017 Act aims to reduce the number of children living in households in relative poverty to below 10% and those children in households living in absolute poverty combined with low and material deprivation and persistent poverty to less than 5%.
Poverty and Education
Research has shown that children living in poverty are at an educational disadvantage in their learning. A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation demonstrated that the attainment gap in Scotland in literacy and numeracy, between low and high income families, begins early and is apparent by the age of five. At this time there can be between a ten to thirteen month gap. Children from low income families are more likely to leave school earlier, impacting on longer-term job prospects.
Parent socio-economic status has a greater influence on learner attainment than the school they attend (source: JRF). Arguably, learners are beginning their educational journeys from an uneven starting point based on the income and circumstances of their families. This can lead to families being stuck in a generational poverty cycle. Schooling should be equitable for all learners, allowing learners to fully participate in their education to achieve the best possible outcomes, regardless of family circumstance.
The Scottish Government recognises that there is a poverty-related attainment gap in Scotland and has set up ‘The Scottish Attainment Challenge’ to try and help achieve equity within the education system. The focus of the The Scottish Attainment Challenge is to improve literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing across targeted areas of Scotland through the distribution of the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) and other targeted interventions.
Poverty Proofing Schools
The Child Poverty Action Group found that schools can be expensive places, particularly for low income families and launched the Cost of the School Day campaign to help raise awareness of the barriers to learning and participation facing some learners. Many schools in Scotland are being encouraged to consider the cost of the school day for their learners and develop action plans to help target inequality, mitigating the effects of child poverty.
Uniforms, school trips and events, travel to school, homework, after-school clubs and lunches can all have a significant impact on families and learners’ participation in the full life of the school. Does the learner that gets the free school bus miss breakfast club every morning because it doesn’t arrive in time? Does that same learner miss out on the opportunity to attend after-school events because the bus home is their only means of transport? Are there learners that are often absent from school when there is a school fundraiser or charity event because they can’t engage? These are some of the challenges facing families in Scotland and impacting on the participation in whole school life and it is important that schools examine their practices to reduce or even eliminate these barriers for families. Doing this in a discreet, sensitive and non-stigmatising way is also essential.
Some of the elements that impact the cost of the school day to families can be outwith a school’s control, such as, the cost of lunch and transport to school. In Scotland there has been a roll-out of free school meals for learners up to Primary 5 regardless of family circumstances. Schemes like this have helped mitigate some of the challenges families face, however, there are many things schools themselves can do to try and support low income families. Schools could consider sharing information about grants for uniform or meals regularly and could develop a yearly financial calendar in order to help families plan for costs during the school year.
Some schools offer subsidised places on school trips or residentials, supported by fundraising activities led by parent councils. The learning involved in trips outside of school is often deep and extremely valuable, so making these events accessible to all learners should be considered a priority. It’s also worth checking if there are any local charities or organisations that might help fund school trips or help purchase things for extra-curricular clubs, such as sports equipment or craft materials.
Many schools in Scotland are now making great use of uniform recycling schemes to help support families as well as protect the environment. This could be expanded to incorporate a winter clothing drive, a ‘swap shop’ to help meet the clothing needs of families or the collection of costumes and other specialist clothing that can be used to support school events. Engaging and communicating with families is vital to developing strategies that work best for your school community.
With the ongoing increases we’re seeing in the cost of living, it’s possible that even more families will start to face difficult financial choices in the coming months. Schools must do what they can to minimise the impact on learning, participation and attainment for all learners. Not all families will ask for help and not all poverty is evident, so developing accessible policies and practices in your school that address the cost of the school day could be what keeps your community thriving.
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