At Leesons, a trained practitioner and the pastoral support team are delivering the primary school mindfulness scheme Paws b.  This will start from year 3 upwards.  Mindfulness is a mind and body approach which is aimed at calming the mind so that situations and experiences feel less stressful and are easier to be dealt with.  Mindfulness can help children to manage difficult situations, to make good and wise choices and to meet their full potential.

Paws b is a classroom-based curriculum for children aged 7 -11 and is offered formally as a series of lessons which often sit well alongside  National Curriculum subjects and in the children’s everyday lives. The Paws b course was created by experienced primary school teachers, mindfulness experts and research scientists.

During the course they will be learning about many things, including:·     

• Specific areas of the brain and how these affect our ability to focus, make good choices, recognise  when we need to steady ourselves when our body or mind is busy or out of balance
• Ways that mindfulness can support them in many day-to-day activities, including concentration and memory, behavioural self- management, and in relationships with family and friends
• Ways to respond rather than react – and therefore make better choices and take best care of themselves and others.

The feedback from children who have previously taken part in Paws b is very positive. They report enjoying the lessons and find the learning supports them in a broad range of situations from being able to concentrate and focus more easily in school to helping them feel calmer in exams and competitions. Many have described sharing the learning with other family members and finding it helps them with their relationships with family and friends.

You can see a summary of feedback about Paws b from over 1500 students here:  https://mindfulnessinschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Website-Feedback-for-Paws-b-NP-1.pdf

Should you be interested in reading further about the body of research evidence around mindfulness for both young people and school staff, you may find more information here: https://mindfulnessinschools.org/the-evidence-base/