'How could we do this when most staff and students were at home?'
My mind goes back to my meeting with a lone teacher sat in an empty school. We met virtually and silence surrounded him. It was a couple of woks into lockdown, and he was missing human contact.
My role as lead for the Compassion in Schools project at Bootham School involved enhancing the compassionate culture there - helping to improve the wellbeing of all school members: student, teacher or parent. The initial two-year project, prior to Covid 19, involved training key staff, developing a positive relationships policy, and facilitating support sessions. This led to some off-the-peg resources.
Compassion-focused therapy is the driving force behind this project, developed by Paul Gilbert as a means of addressing psychological difficulties. In recent years there has been a growing evidence base for the approach, and the application of compassion-based initiatives.
The big challenge to such a project was: how could we do this when most staff and students were at home? Here are examples of the ways we worked creatively. When a beloved student died suddenly, and students needed support, the deputy head was able to contact me by email. An online teaching session focusing on grief took place. This followed an online teaching session from the school's GP, which helped students to understand what had happened to their friend. Later, a session allowing students to offer tributes helped to facilitate mourning. Then, as students returned to school and Covid 19 restrictions lifted, there was an opportunity to reflect on how they were feeling. The project was able to deliver teaching sessions that incorporated exercises such mindful-based compassion, managing our critical voice, and how to
be supportive of ourselves and each other.
The National Academies of Science report that resilience among kids rests on the wellbeing of their primary care. At Bootham, staff engaged in similar sessions to the students. Surveys identified that staff found the training in compassion-focused approaches helpful.
'The University of Berkeley reported that twenty percent of staff in the US were experiencing pre-pandemic burn out, rising to seventy per cent after the pandemic. Researcher Suniya Luthar says that 'Actions by teachers and students matter a lot... students who are doing well at school mention teachers who are important to them.' It felt important that a whole-school approach to mental health be available at this challenging time.
Suniya's research into 14,000 schools in the US identified that a child's relationship with their parents also has a powerful influence on mental health. Our project was able to offer parents training in the same compassion-focused approach that students and staff had engaged with.
We hope that further projects of this kind may be made available in more schools.
Maria is the project lead for the Compassion in Schools project at Bootham, which is funded by The Retreat, York.
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