Hello and welcome to our Emotional Support and Wellbeing page.
We are pleased to be able to share information with our parents/carers and children that will help and support everyone’s wellbeing, not just during uncertain times, but at any time. The below sections contain links to stories, videos, websites and other information that may be helpful for your child and in supporting your child’s mental health. There are lots of amazing free resources and activities included too.
The Cosmic Kids website contains stories, yoga and mindful fun.
Childline’s calm zone includes breathing exercises, yoga exercises and games.
Let’s not forget how important exercise and moving is to our wellbeing. The Go Noodle website has numerous fun videos to get children moving.
In addition to this, there are calming, meditative videos on the Go Noodle site. This one is lovely.
The smiling mind website has information specifically relating to these difficult times and promotes tools for adults and children to support healthy minds and develop good mental habits, such as meditating and mindfulness. This webpage includes activities that kids can enjoy at home.
A fantastic website containing lots of videos that provide a welcome wellbeing break, encourage movement and help to develop coping strategies. They cover topics such as building resilience, building better relationships, growing hope and optimism, improving self-worth and building better self-care. There are also videos of experts giving advice on how adults can help children to develop in these different areas.
There are many free downloadable resources and activities on this Partnership for Children website specifically designed to support children’s wellbeing, including dealing with change, coping with the death of a loved one, going back to school and starting a new school.
A guide to the top wellbeing apps for kids
This webpage on the very informative Internet Matters website contains an up-to-date list of the top wellbeing apps for kids, split into appropriate age ranges. There are some great suggestions here and some that may be beneficial to your child.
Reading a book together with your child provides a wonderful opportunity for reflection and to encourage talking about thoughts and feelings together. Please see below a list of websites that recommend many fantastic books that can be used to support your child’s mental health and wellbeing.
This website has ideas for picture books more suitable for Foundation and KS1, including many topics such as starting school, anxiety and death.
This website has ideas for books more suitable for KS2, including some to explore feelings, worries, and dealing with tough times.
This website has ideas for books of all ages, and some more suitable for older readers, covering topics such as worries, mindfulness, sadness and hope.
Bee Here Now: A story about anxiety and mindfulness
This short story can be viewed on a computer online or printed off. It is beautifully written in a way to help younger children to understand anxiety, how it can have a physical effect on the body and how deep breathing and mindfulness can help ease anxieties by being more present in the moment. Some valuable lessons to be learnt from Bee-linda the Bee.
BBC Bitesize – starting primary school
Top tips to prepare and support your child before and during the start of primary school.
BBC Bitesize – starting secondary school
Emotional and practical support to help with moving from primary to secondary school.
Pupil Transition to Secondary school Booklet
Are you a year 6 pupil and worried about going to secondary school in September? Are you a parent/carer and not sure how best to support your child through the transition at this difficult time? Working through this booklet together will enable you to reflect on moving up, reference useful online information, give ideas for coping with the change, explore any worries or feelings you may have and start to find relevant information and plan for the changes.
A useful page dedicated to transitions on this Nottinghamshire County Council website.
There are lots of things that you can do to stay positive and have some mindful, calm moments in your days. Mindfulness is a grounding technique and a calm focus that distracts us from negative thoughts. This helps support your mental health and wellbeing. It is advantageous to keep practising, as the more you do it, the better you will get at it, and the benefits will be plentiful.
‘Be the brightest star’ poster
Here are some mindful colouring-in posters, with positive quotes. You could pop them in a window to cheer up a neighbour or passer-by (please check with an adult first). Maybe you could create your own inspiring poster?
30 ways to express yourself through drawing
Use this sheet for ideas of interesting drawing and colouring activities, which are wonderful ways to allow children to express themselves, inspire creativity and relax.
Print and colour in these bookmarks as a reminder to take a mindful minute if you are feeling worried, anxious, angry or sad. Maybe you could design your own mindful bookmark?
A simple art activity to print and think about and explore 6 different emotions. Could you show an adult and talk through what you have created and why your art represents the different emotions? Maybe you could create your own wheel with other emotions on?
Focus on the positive by writing or drawing things that make you happy and fold up the paper to show a happy emoji face. Maybe you could make your own flip-flops with different emojis on?
A worry monster to print and make out of just paper
Write your worry and get the monster to eat it.
A die to print, colour in and make
Includes helpful suggestions for calming down techniques (if you are feeling angry or anxious).
Sleepy mobile and bedtime tips
Struggling to get to sleep at bedtime? How about printing or creating one of these sleepy mobiles to hang in your bedroom? There are also lots of tips on the link that tell you how you can get a better night’s sleep. How many of these would you like to try? Talk to an adult and they might be able to help you.
A drawing exercise that can be printed, or created yourself, to visualise your happy place. This can be real or imaginary and encourages positive reflection. Maybe you can imagine going to your happy place when you are feeling sad, worried or unable to sleep?
A wellbeing activity to encourage self-esteem and positivity (designed for younger children). Maybe you could create your own monster and shield?
A wellbeing activity to encourage self-esteem and positivity (designed for older children). Maybe you could design your own shield?
20 relaxation and calming down exercises for children
These cards contain ideas for ways to relax and calm down and as a result improve general wellbeing.
Select your favourite-coloured breathing exercise wheel, print it, and use it as a prompt for trying different breathing techniques to help calm and relax. If you practise a little each day, you will have an amazing calming strategy to use whenever you need it. Which breathing technique is your favourite?
What can we do when we are feeling worried? The first page is a poster that reminds us of all the things that we can do when we are feeling worried. Have you tried any of these? After this, there are pages that may be printed (or you could create your own) to encourage you to make a plan to deal with your worries. It may be difficult to spend time with friends at the moment, but maybe you could find a way to talk to them over the phone instead?
Use this worksheet as a guide whilst taking a walk and use all your senses to think about or write about things that you are feeling grateful for. Appreciating what you have could make you feel happier. Perhaps you could pass on the happiness by saying or writing a thank you message to someone that you are feeling grateful for?
A weekly diary that can be printed and filled in to encourage reflection on, amongst other things, your achievements, happiest moments and relaxing moments. Maybe you could create your own diary and reflect on whichever parts of the week that you choose?
Daily or weekly reflection sheets to be printed and filled in
These could be used a bit like a diary – thinking about what went well, or not well, setting targets, reflecting on mistakes and learning from them.
Kindness to yourself challenge
This kindness to yourself challenge can be printed, or you could create your own. It contains 5 days’ worth of activities to reflect on, which include compliments you can give yourself, forgiving yourself for mistakes and what you have learnt from them, what you and others think is special about you, things that have gone well and coming up with a positive affirmation about yourself. This pack also contains a checklist and a certificate at the end, to enhance that feeling of achievement that you get when you have completed a task.
This self-esteem challenge can be printed, or you could create your own. It contains 5 days’ worth of activities to reflect on things you like about yourself, things that make you feel happy, things that you are grateful for, things that you wish for and your strengths and talents. This pack also contains a checklist and a certificate at the end, to enhance that feeling of achievement that you get when you have completed a task.
How should I talk to my child about scary world news?
Some helpful advice about how to talk to your child about world news that may be worrying or scary for children.
The CBBC Newsround website contains BBC children’s news programmes which are targeted at six to twelve year olds and the stories and language used in their bulletins reflects that. There is a daily bulletin of the headlines and the option to view other topical videos (for example, there is a short video called ‘How to spot misleading stories online about Ukraine crisis’).
How to recognise and manage behaviour when anxiety is the fuel
Some helpful advice on the excellent Hey Sigmund website which will help you to understand what your child’s behaviour is telling you, when anxiety doesn’t look like anxiety and how to recognise and manage anxiety fuelled behaviour.
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
The Anna Freud website provides advice and guidance for parent/carers to help support a child experiencing poor mental health or wellbeing.
Young Minds Parents Helpline and webchat
If you’re worried about your child’s anxiety, YoungMinds is a charity dedicated to children’s mental health. They have a parents’ helpline for confidential, expert advice and emotional support, and a webchat and email service too. They can be contacted on 0808 802 5544 from 9:30am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday.
A new local website has been launched called NottAlone. It is accessible to schools, families and individuals alike. The site provides advice and information on a range of mental health issues and with specific content aimed at young people, parents/ carers and professionals. Visitors are directed to where to go to get help locally.
This Nottinghamshire County Council website is designed to help people find information about a whole range of organisations and services (for example, support for children with an a special educational need and/or disability and links to charities that may be able to help).
The Department for Education provide many links to mental health resources and websites on their website called The Education Hub.
If you feel you need someone to talk to, you can phone Childline on 0800 1111, or have an online chat 1:1 to Childline (click on the link above to access the Childline Support 1-2-1 counsellor chat page, scroll down, and click on the words ‘Enter the waiting room’ in the large green box). You can talk to them about anything. It is free and confidential.
