Includes free module on Restorative Practice

Emotional & Mental Health Fitness

 for Well-being in the Classroom

Learn how to teach about good mental and emotional health in a way that children can relate to and understand. You and the children will learn why it is important to look after emotional and mental fitness, what feelings are and what they mean how to be assertive and confident and finally, how to cope with life’s difficulties. Mindfulness tools are built into the course and can be used very effectively both in the classroom and personally. This CPD course combines enjoyable activities with games, music, art and videos providing you with lots of interactive tools to use in the classroom.

A teacher’s needs and well-being are paramount to the quality of teaching in the classroom. If the teacher can learn strategies to improve personal emotional and mental health fitness and implement the additional strategies for children, improved teaching and learning will be experienced by all.  The goal of a mentally fit classroom can be achieved if children have a better awareness of mental well-being and are given skills to improve resilience, moderate feelings, increase assertiveness, confidence and practice mindfulness. The course aims to achieve this goal and in turn, lead to better quality teaching and learning.

Join us this summer and let’s start to lay some foundations of well-being in our schools.

All summer courses are approved for EPV days.

Overall Course Aims:

This summer cpd course aims to give an understanding of why emotional and mental health fitness is important. Learn a new range of tools which can be used personally and implemented in the classroom. Use the skills gained to complement the SPHE curriculum. Explore how to engage children in an interactive way to learn about their mental well-being. Develop creative skills that nurture emotional and mental health fitness. Learn about resilience and its importance in lifelong coping skills. Discover how to encourage children to moderate their feelings, e.g. anger, fear. Learn how to develop assertiveness skills in children in a positive manner. Find out how to help children identify their support networks and how to access and augment them. Learn to provide children with some tools to cope with bullying and cyber bullying. Familiarise yourself with mindfulness and how to implement it into the classroom and everyday life. Ultimately become a more effective classroom teacher and support your class in becoming more effective learners.

Module Learning Outcomes:

Module 1 Introduction – What is Emotional and Mental Health Fitness?

Why is it important? Why start at a young age?
Importance and relevance of teacher’s role in good mental health development.
Building resilience.
Difference for boys and girls.
Identify the qualities of a mentally fit person.
Practical application in the classroom.

Module 2 Feelings – Introduction to feelings

Building knowledge of range of emotions & how they interact.
Mental well-being versus mental problems or issues.
Learn why it is important to be able to name feelings.
Stress: How to recognise it, its effect on us and how to deal with it.

Module 3 Communication

Good clear communication.
Understanding passive, aggressive and assertive communication styles.
Learning good communication skills.
Challenges to being assertive.
Managing anger (personally and in the classroom). Learn how to stay calm.

Module 4 – Coping skills

Positive and negative self-talk.
Using creativity to manage and express emotions.
Physical fitness to help mental fitness.
How to cope well with teasing and bullying.
Strategies to cope with cyber bullying.
Support networks.
Building a personal toolbox – music, writing, art, friends, family, games, etc.

Module 5 Mindfulness & Conclusion

Why mindfulness? Introduction to its benefits and relevance to life.
Learn mindfulness skills to teach and use in the classroom.
Accumulating positive experiences in the long term.
Knowing when to get help and where to go.
Recap and conclude.