This episode is a recording of an online conference on Well Being held on 29/06/2021.It contains presentations from national leaders in the field of mental health, well being, trauma informed practice & psychology inc Prof Barry Carpenter CBE, Dr Tina Rae, Sharon Gray OBE & Laura Purser, as well as 5 school based practitioners from a wide range of settings - Alison Wheeler, Alex Tomkins, Jeanette Scull, Jonah Stancombe & Tom Thatcher. Visit episode webpage to watch full video of...

In this episode, Prof Barry Carpenter CBE OBE discusses the topic of Active Recovery with a panel of guests including Vicci Wells, Ali Erskine, Vicci Wells, Jon White, Nathan Nwenwu, Shona McCann, Alistair Crawford and Billy Ellerington (a student). They discuss the presentation provided in Part 1 of this series - Episode #22. It is highly recommended that you listen to the first part (Episode #22) before listening to this episode. Visit episode webpage for this & video slideshow.

In this episode, Prof Barry Carpenter CBE OBE introduces Vicci Wells who is the National Manager at the Youth Sport Trust, as well as an ex-teacher. At a time of much debate as to how we support our children & young people to recover from the impact of the pandemic, Active recovery is a positive approach to rebuilding the mental well-being & emotional resilience of our children. Particular interventions described are Sports & Sensory Sanctuaries. Visit episode webpage for the...

In this episode, Prof Barry Carpenter CBE OBE discusses the topic of Family Centred Practice with a panel of guests including Vijita Patel, Jo Williams, Maria Schultz & Sadia Mahmud-Marshall. They discuss & explore how schools can work with families of children & young people with SEND to create a genuine bridge for family centred practice. There are a number of accompanying resources on the episode webpage, including videos, presentations, articles and guides. Visit episode...

Alex Revens combines the pedagogy of Engagement with the assessment processes offered through the Evidence for Learning app.His rich insights show how the combination of both reach out to the child w/ complex needs & meet them at their point of learning need;wrap around the child as active learner;capture their attainment;celebrate their achievement.His systematic & deductive approaches generate a high quality curriculum, with some significant outcomes.Visit episode webpage for video...

In this episode, Prof Barry Carpenter CBE OBE discusses the topic of Engagement with a panel of guests including Vijita Patel, Cheryl Gaughan, Vicci Wells, Ali Erskine, Gemma Alldritt, Martin McKenna. They discuss the presentation provided in Part 1 of this podcast series - Episode #17. It is highly recommended that you listen to the first part (Episode #17) before listening to this episode. Visit episode webpage for this & video slideshow

In this episode, Prof Barry Carpenter CBE OBE and Bev Cockbill discuss the topic of Engagement with a panel of guests including Vijita Patel, Cheryl Gaughan, Vicci Wells, Ali Erskine, Gemma Alldritt, Martin McKenna. They share & discuss innovative ways in which they’ve each applied & incorporated the use of Engagement into practice within their own settings.It's highly recommended that you listen to the first 2 parts (Episode #17 & #18) before listening to this episode. Visit...

In this episode, Prof Barry Carpenter CBE OBE and Bev Cockbill explore the genesis of Engagement, its relevance and application to vulnerable children with a whole range of learning needs... asking the question, of all children, of all ages and abilities, “how does this child learn?” They look at the research evidence for Engagement, and its contribution as a fundamental building block in child development; to pedagogy and to assessment. Visit episode webpage for the video slideshow and articles

This episode is a recording of the online conference & webinar that was held on 15th July 2020. The event & this recording contains presentations & talks from Prof. Barry Carpenter & Dr Tina Rae, as well as a 65 min discussion and Q&A session with a panel of educational leaders from a wide range of settings & contexts. Panellists: Sharon Gray OBE, Vijita Patel, Sally Apps, Martin McKenna, Ali Erskine, Polly McMeeking plus Dr Tina Rae. Visit episode webpage to watch...

Alex Tomkins raises some challenging questions in this exploration of teacher led inquiry in Social Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH). SEMH is now a key part of curriculum for children with SEN, yet we do have a strong background in this area. It’s certainly not a strong pedagogy. Alex also considers the opportunities presented by current circumstances to reflect on how inquiry can become a more significant & ubiquitous feature of formative assessment systems.Visit episode webpage for...

Katie Fielding details the Recovery Curriculum response of Kingsbury Primary School- their “Rainbow Experience”.Covers the journey so far & how they’ve used the 5 Levers & trauma-informed practice models to create a carefully planned, personalised & gently phased recovery programme for children with Complex Needs.Family partnership is key & touches on the needs of Staff too.Lots of detail & examples that can be generalised by other schools.Handbook Available.Visit episode...

This episode reports the development work & outcomes of a school-based Inquiry Project from the charity, Books Beyond Words.Leigh Blakeman(Chadsgrove College) & Amy Hockey( Chadsgrove School) in Worcs, review the value of these wordless books for the emotional development of their students.Leigh & Amy apply their findings to the new context their learners will find themselves in & how they can explore a range of feelings & losses outlined in the Recovery Curriculum.Visit...

Governors have a unique perspective to bring to our thinking around a Recovery Curriculum.Polly McMeeking, Chair of Governors at Chaddesley Corbett EPS, asks if your school Governors can pass the Covid test?Is their response compassionate governance?She discusses the strategic responsibility of Governors in the current crisis.Please make sure your Governors have an oppty to listen to this thoughtful & reflective message to inspire them in these challenging times. Visit episode webpage for...

Cabot Learning Federation is a Multi Academy Trust in SW England comprising 20+ schools. Members of the Senior Leadership share a brilliant presentation outlining the Trust’s deeply considered response & approach to recovery. They frame this within the broader context of the trust’s values, curriculum aims & some of the trust’s strategic approaches and systems. It’s a very thorough session full of practical advice. Visit episode webpage for video slideshow + links to resources from...

Amanda Mordey, OBE & her (2) schools' community developed SMILE, an ethos-based approach to promoting positive mental health & well being for children with special educational needs & disabilities (SEND).The approach took the NHS 5 Ways to Well Being & adapted them into child speak with powerful imagery. The approach was holistic & included all staff members as well as pupils. It has since been expanded to 10 other schools.Visit episode webpage for video slideshow + links...

Eminent Child & Educational Psychologist, Dr Tina Rae, explores how we can resource a Recovery Curriculum.Through nurture approaches,Tina targets specific interventions, which enable the teacher to support the child who is demonstrating anxiety, trauma & bereavement as a result of the Covid -19 pandemic.Tina shares her wealth of expertise & experience through a presentation that she has prepared especially for this episode.Visit episode webpage for video slideshow + links to...

Sharon Gray, OBE has extensive experience in all sectors of education, but especially in the field of Social, Emotional and Mental Health, (SEMH), & with students who could be described as ‘on the margins’. She provides a presentation that shares the approach & some of the work that is being done to support the recovery process across a family of schools in & around Derbyshire, led by the Embark Federation. The episode is delivered as a presentation. See the episode webpage for...

Beverley Cockbill has extensive experience of children with Complex Needs & shares insights from her research & practice.Part of Bev’s role is working with disengaged, out of school pupils, & she reflects on how the Engagement Model & principles expressed in the Recovery Curriculum can help to re-engage those children to reduce their stress & self-regulate their emotions.Using her wealth of experience in mental health Bev also articulates how Happiness Boxes can be used to...

We hear from SEND leader, Martin McKenna, currently Deputy Head of Palmerston School (Liverpool) & about to take up the Headship of Foxfield School (Wirral). Martin articulates his philosophy around interdisciplinary teamwork which has a shared focus on a personalised curriculum through a pedagogy rooted in Engagement. This team very much includes the family of the learner & Martin describes how they ‘share the script’ between each other, which is mutually empowering at this time of...

Whitfield Aspen School is a large primary school in Dover. It's a unique, truly inclusive school with 370+ pupils in mainstream learning & 130+ in the specialist resourced provision for children with severe & profound learning difficulties. The SLT share some of the ideas & steps already been taken to commence the recovery process. A particular strength of the school is family engagement, & the rich dialogue around teaching between families & school. Teamwork, at all...

Vijita Patel considers the strategic implementation of the Recovery Curriculum for her school, Swiss Cottage in London. She does this from a stance of compassionate leadership, with a clear focus on engagement in learning. Her rich, expansive and penetrating analysis shows how child need should inform organisational judgements, and that a constant focus should be the emotional well being of the child. A mutually respectful relationship with families as co educators, is vital at this time she...

Matthew Carpenter & Barry Carpenter reflect on the Recovery Curriculum. Mat, who is Principal at Baxter College, a mainstream secondary school, shares his thinking behind the 5 levers & how he & his team have been applying them to plan the recovery process at Baxter College. Mat talks about the importance of 'nimble leadership' & being responsive to the individual needs of the whole school community in co-constructing the post pandemic curriculum, ensuring transparency...

Barry Carpenter, OBE, CBE (Professor of Mental Health in Education, Oxford Brookes University) gives a lecture entitled "When will we talk about the mental health of our children?". Kindness is the theme for Mental health Awareness week 2020. What do we mean by kindness? This question deserves an answer at this time of crisis. Kindness is an essential component of the compassion that will be so essential to our school communities in the process of reconnection & recovery.Barry explores...

Barry Carpenter, OBE, CBE (Professor of Mental Health in Education, Oxford Brookes University) and Matthew Carpenter (Principal at Baxter College, UK) have written a think piece that reflects concerns about the emotional well being of children post the Covid-19 pandemic, and considers what schools might do to aid recovery to a state of positive mental health. They have been analysing the loss children have suffered during this time, and the potential anxiety and trauma it may be causing,...