“What do you want to do after?”
School students go through a whole array of emotions on a daily basis, some of which they are experiencing for the first time. Tackling a mountain of subject revision and the loom of exams would be tough on anyone. Then add hormonal changes, social pressures and new experiences to the mix. It truly is everything, everywhere all at once. Especially during exams, with the focus on plans for the future…life can be pretty daunting.
This Mental Health Awareness Week, we wanted to draw attention to the importance of mental health support for pupils, particularly during hectic exam periods. Everyone experiences anxieties at different points, but sometimes these can develop into something more serious. Big life moments and decisions are something that schools and families can help with, especially when given the right tools.
MindSafe is a multi award-winning service offering unique mental health and wellbeing tools for schools to support pupils effectively, all year round. Pupils who use MindSafe have shown indicators of improved wellbeing within 6 months of using the tool.
Looking towards the future
Exams hold a lot of weight, especially for students, but also for teachers and families. This can build up a lot of new emotions that make studying, friendships, hobbies and interests harder. Our goal is to give children and young people the tools to express their feelings in matters that affect their lives.
Implementing a whole-school wellness system
The Ofsted framework requires inspectors to routinely assess and report on pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Ofsted looks at how the school is developing a whole-school approach to this.
Pupil wellbeing is different for everyone, and it can be hard to track individual students’ wellness without a system in place. MindSafe offers this framework, giving schools the necessary resources to support pupils throughout their mental health journey. With regimented support in place, children and teens can properly handle big feelings as they grow.
More about MindSafe
At MindSafe, we offer a digital mental health support service to help students understand their experiences and seek help when needed. We can help you develop a whole school wellbeing approach that is responsive to Ofsted and suits your bespoke needs. Your school will have an integral dashboard to manage real time data and provide reporting on your school’s overall wellbeing.
Empowering students to speak up
Every pupil is different, particularly when it comes to speaking out. MindSafe offers PupilVoice surveys, allowing schools to quickly and simply get in depth analysis of pupil wellbeing. Asking pupils to share ideas is an effective step to building stronger connections.
MindSafe includes Optional Anonymous Concern Reporting, empowering students with more ways to speak up if they don’t feel that they can safely approach a family member, friend or teacher directly.
Creating an emotional outlet
Journaling is a recognised ‘grounding technique’ for times of high intensity emotion and stress. MindSafe has a Journal feature to explore thoughts in a private way. It is recommended that students ‘brain dump’ whatever comes to mind.
Mood Diaries allow students to register their moods and feelings in real time, giving them the knowledge that someone is there to help if you need it. Especially during exam season, it is good practice to clear the mind ahead of big periods of study or the night before exams.
A new way to safeguard
MindSafe allows students to “talk” to a chosen adult, so relevant support and advice can be shared. The tool has an integrated Red Word Alerts system for enhanced safeguarding, meaning that the school can take control if an issue needs to be addressed quickly.
Our dashboard shares direct links to local support providers such as Shout, Childline, Samaritans, YoungMinds, and local emergency services to help teachers and students reach out if further action is needed.
Quick and easy set-up process
Our digital tool is simple to set up for your school through your MIS system. It can be ready within 20 minutes and is NHS and Data Security Protection Toolkit certified. You can review your school’s wellbeing on an individual and holistic level, to gauge areas for improvement.
Coming out the other side
A supportive framework throughout exam periods makes all the difference. By providing wellbeing support, students will be able to tackle their exam anxieties at ease and take a more active approach towards their revision. At the end of the day, we want students to be happy and healthy, and exams should not control them.
To learn more about MindSafe and get set up, you can visit: https://mind-safe.com/Home
We are on hand to eradicate the taboo around mental health and make sure our pupils are feeling good, especially in the biggest moments of their school careers.
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