How did you get into wellness/ wellbeing? 

Originally, I was a teacher in a Sixth Form College before moving to a local secondary school. During my time in the classroom I was most interested in the wellbeing of the students as this always seemed fundamental to students either reaching their full potential or not.

By the time I left teaching I was in a pastoral role, with a long list of students struggling with their mental health, I remember googling ‘ how to support teenagers with anxiety’ – the one thing that kept coming up was mindfulness. At that point I signed up with The UK College of Mindfulness and trained in MBSR and MBCT as a mindfulness coach. 

What is your role at the school/ what activities do you put on? 

Currently, I support students from all senior school year groups, mostly 1-1, sometimes in small groups, and provide simple techniques to manage and reduce anxiety. I also deliver skills for life sessions.

 Top tip for wellbeing in current times: 

Acceptance is key, we cannot change the challenges we all face at the moment, but we can change our attitude to them. Remembering that this time will pass, finding balance and ensuring we spend some time every day on activities that allow us to take a break from worries is a simple first step to improved wellbeing.