The Positive Mental Health Class

This class provides a thorough and integrated approach to understanding and nurturing children's mental health and wellbeing. The class begins by defining mental health and wellbeing, equipping you with the skills to have sensitive conversations and help children articulate their feelings. It progresses into the fascinating world of neuroscience, explaining how positive experiences trigger beneficial chemicals in the brain, and offering strategies to cultivate these positive responses in children. 

As you advance through the lessons, you'll learn to identify both positive and negative mental health indicators, ensuring you can recognise behavioural changes and support children effectively. The class also introduces the Leuven Scale, a valuable tool for assessing emotional wellbeing and engagement, which can be seamlessly integrated with your existing tracking systems. Additionally, the lessons emphasise the importance of helping children recognise and understand their emotions, fostering a positive relationship with their mental health. Practical techniques for co-regulation are provided, ensuring you can guide children to manage their emotions both independently and with support. 

By the end of this comprehensive guide, you will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to create a supportive environment that promotes robust mental health for both children and staff, laying a strong foundation for lifelong emotional wellbeing.

Skills you'll learn:

• Develop the ability to have sensitive and effective conversations about mental health with children and staff
• Help children express their feelings and emotions clearly and understand their individual mental health
• Understand the brain's chemical responses to positive experiences and how to foster these responses in children
• Identify signs of both positive and negative mental health in children enabling timely intervention and support
• Strengthen relationships with families to ensure comprehensive understanding and support of children's behaviours and mental health
• Use the Leuven Scale to assess and track children's emotional wellbeing and engagement effectively
• Teach children to recognise understand and navigate their emotions fostering a healthy relationship with their mental health
• Implement techniques to co-regulate with children helping them manage their emotions both independently and with support
• Create and maintain an environment that promotes mental health and wellbeing for both children and staff
• Integrate various techniques and knowledge to support overall mental health and wellbeing in your setting