Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood

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:

1. Let’s Learn About My Body PowerPoint 

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. 

2. The Boss of Your Body PowerPoint 

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. 

3. Keeping My Body Clean PowerPoint 

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. 

4. RSHP Safe and Happy Online Blether Stations

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.

5. What Is Love? PowerPoint 

This First Level PowerPoint provides an excellent introduction into love and relationships. It helps promote inclusion by discussing different relationships, including LGBTQ+ ones. 

6. Understanding Sex PowerPoint 

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.

7. RSHP Consent Blether Stations 

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. 

World Mental Health Day 2023

“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 10^th 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 First Level, use this What Is Mental Health? Powerpoint to guide the discussion about mental health and how learners can look after their mental health. These Thoughts and Emotions Blether Stations also give learners the chance to talk about feelings with their peers.

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.

This Mindful Moments Yoga Stretches Powerpoint helps learners at all levels to develop mindful habits and relax.

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?

For your Early Level learners we have this fantastic Let’s Learn About Children’s Rights Fact File that helps introduce them to what their rights are. You might also use this UNCRC Children’s Rights Child-Friendly Language PowerPoint to help explain their rights in an age appropriate way.

First Level learners will love these Children’s Rights Child-Friendly Flashcards and used alongside our All About the UNCRC PowerPoint they’ll help ensure your learners understand what they can expect from the adults in their life.

For Second Level learners we have created this Understanding the UNCRC for Learners – Podcast and Script to help introduce learners to the background of the the UNCRC and what the Conventions mean for them. We also have this An Introduction to the UNCRC PowerPoint to help you discuss rights with yout learners.

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?

Preparing for the New School Year

This blog gives some useful advice to teachers, particularly those in the early stages of their career, to prepare them for the new school year. It gives practical advice on the types of things teachers can do to get organised for the first few weeks back with links to useful resources to download.

As the summer break draws to a close, many teachers are now beginning to cast their minds ahead to the new school year looming in a few weeks’ time. Not before long, the panic sets in and many teachers begin to wonder if they have forgotten how to teach altogether, whether their classroom will be set up in time, or if they will have forgotten to print and laminate those all important labels.

The first term and few days back are always a little frantic no matter how organised you are, so it is important to make the most of the remaining time you have, while you can. Relax and recharge your batteries for the academic year ahead; it is certainly well deserved after one of the toughest years in education for a generation. 

So, what should a teacher be doing during their summer break before returning to school? There is no right or wrong way to spend your summer break and everyone will have individual circumstances but here are some hints and tips to help you feel prepared for the year ahead.

Take Time for Yourself

It has been an incredibly challenging year for all involved in education so this is an important time to focus on YOU and your wellbeing. Look at the summer break and the remaining weeks you have as a time to recharge, ready to go again. You do not want to return to school feeling like you have never been away so make sure you make time to read a book, see friends, spend time with family, go for a walk or whatever it is that you find relaxing and helps clear your head. You will be grateful for the nice memories when you are busy and focussed on work.

Some people will stop here and make sure their summer is a work-free zone and why not? Teachers have earned it! Others prefer to do little bits of work to help them feel organised for the year ahead, ensuring they are prepared. If this is you, then the following hints and tips might be useful.

Classroom Setup and Display

It is always worth making a list of what you already have and can reuse from the previous year if you can. If you are just starting out on your teaching journey, it can be worth checking with your mentor or school headteacher if there are resources or displays in the school that are required and if any teachers in the school have things they could share. This can be such a great time saver and more environmentally friendly.

You then need to think about the wall space and furniture you have in your classroom and decide which walls will be used for different curricular areas. You might find some curricular area banners useful for this. It is worth remembering that working walls are preferred in most schools. These are used to support learners in their learning and created alongside them so at the beginning of the year less can be more, allowing your walls to grow with the learning of the learners in your class.

If you have your class list already, then getting your classroom labels printed, cut out and laminated can be useful before the session. What each teacher needs will depend on their classroom setup and the furniture available but here are a few popular resources:

1. Nessie Themed Tray Labels 

These beautifully designed tray labels can be edited to add in learner names or resource names for labelling trays in your classroom.

2. Scottish Wildlife Peg Labels 

These editable peg labels are useful for your cloakroom area, to give all learners their own space for coats and jackets.

3. Welcome to Primary 5 Desk Mat

These desk mats are available from Primary 1 to Primary 7 and are an excellent tool to support learners in their learning.

4. Our Class Timeline Under the Sea Themed Display Pack 

This timeline display pack is an excellent visual tool to share the learning for the day with your class. Other versions of the class timelines and display packs are available too. Check out all of our Back to School resources here, in one handy place.

Classroom Management

Taking the time to consider the classroom management strategies you might want to put in place can also be a good use of time if you are thinking about the year ahead. This might include the behaviour management strategies, how learners register in the morning, groupings and where and how you will store resources in the classroom.

A well-organised classroom can help with overall classroom management and after years of teaching there are things that you will pick up naturally: they will become second nature. However, for those starting out their teaching career, it can be worth giving consideration to these things before you begin. Your management and organisational style can change throughout the year and will evolve depending on the needs of the learners in your class, but the following resources might help to get you started:

1. Early Level Classroom Setup Resource Pack 

2. First Level Classroom Setup Resource Pack

3. Second Level Classroom Setup Resource Pack

These tailored resource packs are suitable for each Curriculum for Excellence classroom and contain lots of great classroom display ideas.

Lesson Planning

This first few weeks back should be used to ensure smooth transitions for your learners, particularly at the key transition stages. It has been a long break away and learners will need time to get back into the school rules and routines. Spend time getting to know the learners in your class, who they are, what motivates them, what their interests are and where they are in their learning. Building this positive relationship in the beginning can help build a positive ethos and mutual trust in your classroom. We have plenty of Back to School activities for all stages here.

It is also worthwhile spending time on establishing classroom rules and routines and reinforcing and referring to these frequently. Building a class charter can be an effective way of establishing rules with the learners in the class. Learners become actively involved in setting up the rules of the classroom, making them aware of the rights they have alongside their responsibilities. Find out more about creating a class charter in relation to Rights Respecting Schools and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) here. 

The health and wellbeing of our learners will be vitally important as schools return, ensuring learners are equipped mentally for the return to school. Spending time developing their emotional literacy, building resilience, confidence and self-esteem and establishing positive relationships is key in the first few weeks back so it might be worth considering some lessons in this area. 

Top five lesson planning resources:

1. Our Adventure Begins Here Collaborative Colouring Activity Pack 

This is one of many collaborative colouring resources. It can be a great activity for the first few days back, allowing learners to express themselves, and creates a very effective whole class display.

2. All About Me Step-by-Step Art PowerPoint 

This resource is great for finding out more about the learners in your class. It can be used with Second Level and some First Level classes.

3. Back to School Blether Stations 

These Back to School Blether Stations have been created to help you welcome in the new school year and get to know your learners better.

4. Our Class Charter PowerPoint 

Use the handy Class Charter PowerPoint to teach your class about the purpose of a classroom charter: a set of rules, promises or guidelines that learners and school staff all agree on for the classroom.

5. My Positive Affirmations Journal 

Build self-esteem in your learners with this lovely package of positive affirmations for writing a positive affirmations diary or journal.

However you choose to spend your summer break, make sure it is one that works for you and your own mental wellbeing. For education to thrive, we need teachers to thrive and teachers thrive when they look after themselves. You’ve got this!

Supporting School Staff Wellbeing

How can you support your school staff mental health and wellbeing? This blog looks into some mental health statistics for education staff and ways in which members of the Senior Management Team can support their staff wellbeing.  

Teaching and working in education can be extremely rewarding, however, many school environments are considered stressful and demanding. While there is a clear effort for schools to support children’s health and wellbeing, there is still a lot to be done to support and improve the wellbeing of staff. 

The Numbers

According to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive, school staff and education professionals report the highest rates of work-related stress, depression and anxiety in Britain. The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2020 reports that in the UK, 62% of education professionals have described themselves as stressed, while 32% have experienced high levels of depression. More than half have considered leaving the sector due to pressures on their health and wellbeing, which are caused by long working hours, increased workload, lack of support and staff wellbeing resources. On top of that, more than half (57%) of education professionals do not feel that they can share mental health concerns with their employer. All these factors have a detrimental impact on staff wellbeing, resulting in burn-out and forcing professionals to leave their jobs.  

2020 was a challenging year for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, a considerable impact on our mental health and wellbeing and education professionals are not exempt from this. As well as trying to balance their personal and work life, they are also trying to meet even higher school demands and expectations. You might think that the pandemic is solely responsible for these high levels of stress and poor mental health, but if we look carefully at the Teacher Wellbeing Index of the year 2019, we notice that the levels were high even before the pandemic. Long before the education system was faced with the challenges of school closures, back in 2019, more than half of education professionals had considered leaving the profession. 72% had described themselves as stressed and 33% had worked more than 51 hours per week. Sadly, half of them thought their organisational culture to have a negative effect on their wellbeing.

What do these statistics show us? 

They show us a very simple fact: that school leaders, teachers and other school staff need to be supported, with their mental health and wellbeing prioritised. We must always keep in mind that a significant way to support our children’s wellbeing is by safeguarding our teachers’ mental health.  

What Is Wellbeing?

Wellbeing is generally defined as the state of being healthy, calm and happy. The term includes aspects of our physical, emotional and mental health. When our wellbeing is good, we feel better prepared to deal with life’s difficulties; we experience a more positive outlook, feel motivated and our life feels balanced.

Why Is School Staff Wellbeing Important?

Good staff wellbeing means that teachers and those who work in an educational setting feel good in their day-to-day work. A school that shows high levels of staff wellbeing is a mentally healthy school. Staff feel motivated, productive and inspired. They show improved performance and job satisfaction and have fewer absences. Last but not least, good staff wellbeing is responsible for motivated and mentally healthy pupils with higher attainment, enhanced wellbeing and better coping mechanisms.

How Can Schools Support Staff Wellbeing?

There are a variety of ways schools and education settings can support staff wellbeing, and the following list is not exhaustive. School leaders are responsible for major changes for their schools, but in order to lead well, they too must get the support they need.

School Ethos and Culture

The main questions that school leaders should ask themselves are ‘What is our school culture?’ and ‘How do we want to be perceived by people in and out of school?’ School ethos and culture contribute to how a school functions and what is significant in the day-to-day life of the staff and pupils. To support those who work for the school, the Senior Leadership Team may reflect on the following questions:

• How does our school look after staff? 
• What’s the environment like in our school? Is it a supportive, welcoming and inclusive environment? How can we make our school more healthy? Even having a bowl with fresh fruit in the staffroom for staff to help themselves to shows that someone cares.  
• Do we promote an environment of trust where staff feel open and encouraged to speak about their health and wellbeing and share concerns? Are we open to discuss mental health and wellbeing issues? How approachable are we?
• Do staff feel appreciated and respected? How do we know? How can we show that we appreciate all that they do for the school and their pupils? There are a number of ways to show appreciation, and these Teacher Wellbeing Postcards are brilliant for saying a wee thank you and brightening someone’s day. 
• Do we encourage staff to take breaks, finish on time and ask for support? Is there a culture of  expect them to work harder and longer? 
• What do we do to ensure that staff are listened to? Even providing them with space where they can go and take time out if they need to will show that the school respects their feelings and needs. Why not create a time-out room and place these Mind Your Mind Mindfulness Colouring Pages there? This will encourage staff to take some time out and relax their mind.  
• How do we promote human connections? Are there any social events we could run to facilitate team building and help our staff to get to know each other at a more personal level? It’s important to keep in mind that school staff are human beings first and foremost. 
• Last but not least, do we, as the school leaders, model good behaviour and look after our own wellbeing? How do we model good mental health and behaviour in practice?

Policies

When reflecting on policies, it is a good idea to think about the following:

• What’s our school wellbeing strategy? Has it been created taking all stakeholders into account? Is it shared with everyone in and out of the school?
• What are our school policies and procedures for staff wellbeing specifically?

How does our school support staff wellbeing in practice? Consider whether your school can invest in mindfulness, relaxation, managing stress and resilience workshops for its staff. These will give staff important knowledge, will teach them techniques to manage their emotions and will help them feel valued. Less workload and more teacher appraisal would be a very good way of supporting wellbeing in practice. Why not use these Scots Staff Shout Outs and these Fun End of Year Staff Award Certifications to praise staff? Another good wellbeing strategy would be to give staff the opportunity to have discussions with the Senior Leadership Team for whatever reason. All these strategies will promote a sense of belonging in the school community, resulting in happier and appreciative staff.

Help and Support

When we’re talking about help and support, we’re talking about appreciating that staff are not machines but people with lives, challenges and dreams. Consider the following:

• Are the Senior Leadership Team knowledgeable about how they can support their staff? 
• Do staff know how to access support if they need it? Is there clear information about this? 
• Does the school offer strategies to prevent the escalation of mental health issues?

A very useful guide you could share with your staff is this amazing Teacher Wellbeing Toolkit created by Twinkl, which aims to support school staff to look after their wellbeing in a number of ways. 

The above information sets out only some of the many ways that schools can reflect on how to support the mental health and wellbeing of their staff. It’s important to keep in mind that education staff are humans too, and that teachers who feel valued and appreciated can care for their pupils better than those who don’t.  

Further Reading

Teacher well-being at work in schools and further education providers, by Ofsted, July 2019 – GOV.UK

Ten ways to support school staff wellbeing – Anna Freud National Centre for Children and FamiliesStaff Wellbeing in Schools video – Anna Freud NCCF

Teaching Self-Compassion in Schools

What is self-compassion? What are its benefits to health and wellbeing? How can you teach your learners to be self-compassionate? Read the blog to find out the answers to these questions and more. 

An explosion of research has shown that self-compassion is strongly linked to good mental health and wellbeing. Evidence shows how a self-compassionate approach can lead to feelings of happiness, joy, fulfilment and satisfaction as well as reducing stress, anxiety and depression. But what is self-compassion? And how can we teach children such an abstract skill?

A Compassionate Approach

To understand self-compassion, we first need to understand what compassion means. Compassion is defined as the concern for the suffering and misfortunes of others. When we are compassionate, we acknowledge others’ struggles and we try to help them by offering them understanding and kindness. 

The difference between compassion and self-compassion can be found in this small word at the beginning: ‘self’. Self-compassion is commonly defined as the ability to treat ourselves with concern and love. It’s the ability to acknowledge our struggles with kindness, without judging and beating ourselves up. 

While children are taught in school to be kind and compassionate towards others, it is not as common for them to be taught to have the same approach towards themselves. They offer support and kindness to their loved ones but when times are tough for them, they can be hard on themselves, not knowing how they can approach a difficult situation in a different way. Some will grow up to be adults alienated from their inner self, sometimes experiencing feelings of self-hatred. Of course, it can be challenging to adopt this approach and choose love and kindness over self-criticism. However, we can teach our children the importance of this approach, helping them to prepare themselves for when they face struggles in their lives.

Why Self-Compassion?

When we demonstrate compassion towards others, we help them feel connected and cared for. They know that they can count on us because we are kind and supportive. When we know that we are not alone, we have more chances to overcome our struggles and worries. But what happens when this source of support comes from within? While receiving care from other people is extremely important, especially for babies, children and young people, it is important to remember that we can’t rely on others forever to give us the care we need; it’s crucial to learn to fulfil our needs and take care of ourselves.

Being self-compassionate helps us ask ourselves “How am I feeling?” and “What do I need?” We don’t act from a place of selfishness or self-pity but of concern and love. We acknowledge that we struggle and we accept our feelings. This acknowledgement and acceptance will help us tend to our needs and soothe ourselves – and ultimately become our own best friend. Consequently, when we practise self-compassion and look after ourselves, we are more ready and better placed to care for others too.  

The Benefits

Based on numerous resources studying the benefits of self-compassion, scientists have found that self-compassion helps our health and wellbeing by reducing anxiety and depression and increasing joy, contentment and satisfaction. The emotion of compassion is linked to oxytocin, known as the ‘love hormone’. Oxytocin promotes bonding, closeness and trust. When we direct compassion inwards, we release this hormone and the benefits it brings. We feel loved, content and nurtured. 

Self-compassionate people have a better quality of life and fewer relationship problems. They follow a positive lifestyle and sleep well. Their heart rate is steady and this leads to a stronger immune system.

Another benefit of self-compassion is increased motivation and resilience. According to research, self-compassion is positively associated with mastery goals – the motivation to learn and grow – and negatively associated with performance goals – the desire to enhance one’s self-image. When you fail and adopt a self-compassionate approach, you give yourself room to try again. Think of this that way: if you are self-critical and punish yourself for your failure, you will feel miserable and without the energy or motivation to try again. 

Moreover, self-compassion makes us more resilient in the face of hardship. Instead of pitying ourselves for our struggles and misfortunes, we can approach the facts with self-compassion and the knowledge that we did our best. This approach will help us accept the situation, move on and bounce back. Rather than avoiding the situation, we’re looking at it in the face, building our resilience.

The Science of Self-Compassion

One of the most important benefits of self-compassion is the stimulation of our soothing system. Humans have three emotional regulation systems: the threat system, the drive system and the soothing system. 

The threat system exists to protect us from dangers. When the threat system is activated, we feel stressed, scared or anxious, a useful feeling if we are threatened by a lion for example. Our modern society might not have lions walking in the street but it has many things we can feel threatened by: mistakes, lost opportunities, perceived flaws in our abilities, appearance and social skills. 

The drive system energises us and keeps us motivated. For example, a project can make us excited, pushing us to achieve our goals. The soothing system has the most calming effect on us. It is activated when we feel safe, nurtured, calm and content. 

We need all three systems in equal measure to be able to survive and evolve. If the threat system takes the lead, then we will be seeing threats everywhere, feeling anxious or depressed. If the drive system takes the upper hand, we will constantly be chasing the next goal, trying to achieve even more. The soothing system helps quieten the other two when they become overactive. Self-compassion helps with this because kindness and care towards others and ourselves can activate the soothing system, just like a hug we give a loved one.

Self-Compassion in Schools

Now that we have looked into the science and benefits of self-compassion, how can we as educators help children develop a self-compassionate approach?

Educate Yourself

First of all it’s important to educate yourself on this topic. There are plenty of training and workshops on the Internet, such as this Self-Compassion for Educators or this video on Self-Compassion, both led by Dr Kristin Neff, associate professor in educational psychology at the University of Texas and pioneer in the field of self-compassion. Check the ‘Further Reading’ section at the end of this blog to find out more about self-compassion. Being educated on self-compassion will not only help you support your learners but will also help you practice self-compassion.

Be a Role Model

We all know that children learn by example. Like all things in life, self-compassion can be learnt by mimicking behaviours. Teach them by modelling the behaviour you want them to replicate. For example, when you make a mistake in front of your class, instead of saying ‘Silly me’, acknowledge that you made a mistake and that this is okay – teach your learners that criticising yourself is not the way to achieve. With this kind of behaviour, you teach them to accept the situation and still stay kind to themselves.

Explain Self-Care

Teach them the importance of self-care and how it’s different from selfishness. Self-care is attending to our needs; it’s doing things that we love and that nurture us. Teach them that we can still be kind and loving towards others when we are kind and loving towards ourselves. Use this amazing Being Kind to Yourself Worksheet to encourage your learners to think about ways they can look after themselves.

Demonstrate Acceptance

Teach them that self-compassion doesn’t mean that we ignore our feelings – quite the opposite: when something bad happens that upsets or angers us, we acknowledge these feelings but instead of saying how bad we are or that we will never achieve, we choose to be kind by thinking that it is okay, it is hard but next time it will be better. Bad things will happen – that’s for sure. Our learners, like all of us, will face difficulties at some point in their lives: they will encounter frustrations, losses will occur, they will make mistakes. By teaching them that these things are part of life and that they happen to all of us, you will help them set the roots for a resilient life. Self-compassionate people accept that they are suffering and are kind towards themselves in these moments. Twinkl has created this lovely Feelings Folder to help you support Early Level learners to acknowledge and express their feelings.

Incorporate Self-Compassion Practices in Lessons

Incorporating self-compassion practice in the classroom is a very good way to support your learners to become more self-compassionate. A simple self-compassion practice is looking into the way they would treat a friend. This will help them consider how they treat others as opposed to how they treat themselves in challenging times. Hopefully, through this practice, they will start seeing themselves as an inner friend, an inner ally. The point is to treat themselves in the same, kind way they would treat a friend. 

Another practice you can use in your classroom is the supportive touch practice. This one asks your learners to place their hands on the heart and notice the sensations. Touch has a soothing effect when we feel stressed or upset and learning to offer this to ourselves can help lessen the impact of challenging emotions. 

The common element in all self-compassion practices is mindfulness. When we take the time to slow down and relax, we show love and kindness to ourselves. Why not use this Mindful Moments PowerPoint and these Mindfulness Breathing Exercises to teach First Level learners how to take a break and relax body and mind? 

“Be nice to yourself. It’s hard to be happy when someone’s mean to you all the time.” – Christine Arylo

Further Reading

Mindful Self-Compassion UK

Self-Compassion, Dr Kristin Neff

Self-Compassion for Students – Greater Good in Education

Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens – Center of Mindful Self-Compassion