Wellbeing Matters

Thoughts, comments, ideas and pause for thought from members of our school and extended community.

Page 13

From the Base

Published 25/06/21, by Angela Slater

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Recently, I underwent a refresher course on Youth Mental Health First Aid, as I am a certified instructor with MHFA England. During the morning, something caught my attention that I thought was worth sharing.

From the Base
Published 18/06/21, by Angela Slater
Optimistic bias part 2

Last week I talked about the benefits of optimistic bias. A lot of my words are based on the work of Tali Sharot, Professor of cognitive neuroscience in the department of Experimental Psychology at University College London. Her work has revealed these benefits, but also highlights problems.

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From the Base
Published 11/06/21, by Angela Slater
Optimistic bias

Optimistic bias is when we think things will be better than they probably are. For example, when going to a job interview optimistic bias will lead us to believe we are 'likely' or have 'a good chance' of getting the job. In reality, it might be 20% or even 10% likely. But our bias encourages us to think we are certainly a good bet.

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From the Base

Published 29/05/21, by Angela Slater

See the forest despite the trees

It was my privilege to umpire and take a cricket team at the weekend. It was a very exciting game; earlier in the term we had been well beaten by our opponents, but this time it came down to the last over. A great game, enjoyed by boys and parents alike. The team showed remarkable levels of improvement all a coach can ever ask.

From the Base
Published 21/05/21, by Angela Slater
The Pilgrims' community - good mental health

A few months ago we focused on Children's Mental Health Awareness Week. For the last few years we have chosen that week to be our opportunity to ensure the message is child centred, accessible to students and parents alike.

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From the Base
Published 16/05/21, by Angela Slater
Learned Helplessness vs Learned Optimism

Last week I spoke about resilience. This week, Mr Cuyler has expanded further on this idea.

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From the Base
Published 07/05/21, by Angela Slater
I thought it might be helpful for you know some initiatives going on within the school to help develop the pupils' wellbeing, self-regulation, personal growth and happiness.

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From the Base
Published 30/04/21, by Angela Slater
Manners

When my children were young my wife and I, when they were really annoying us, would say, 'They might be devils at home but at least they are angels at school.' I don't think they were ever angels, but they knew their pleases and thank yous, always behaved and didn't speak out of turn. And so do many children.

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From the Base
Published 26/03/21, by Angela Slater
A life well lived

In an especially touching lesson with Year 3 this week, we discussed having a pet and what you have to do to look after one. The boys spoke passionately about their love of animals, from dogs and cats to ducks and rabbits. One of the points of the lesson was to introduce the concept of loss and how it might make someone feel, how to talk about it, and what it all means. Tricky but worthy stuff.

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From the Base
Published 19/03/21, by Angela Slater
Is talking all it's cracked up to be?

When things are tough, we're encouraged to talk about it. Got a problem? Open up. Feeling rubbish? Call a friend. Struggling with life? See a therapist.

Question is, does it help? Well, depends on who you talk to - but often the answer is based on someone's own experience.

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