Spaces for Wellbeing Programme - Short clips

In this 6 minute clip, Jane Andrews (Professor of Education, University of the West of England) talks about a research project she conducted entitled "Creating Welcoming Learning Environments: Disseminating arts-based approaches to including all learners in their education". Jane describes some activities participants have undertaken in their schools, and the impact they have had on the wellbeing of everyone involved.

You may wish to follow up this clip by watching the full session, or sharing this clip with staff, and discussing it using the prompts on this activity sheet.

This 5 minute clip may be helpful for Mental Health Leads (and/or Senior Leaders) who are looking at how their school can develop a whole school/setting approach to wellbeing. You will hear Beth introduce the toolkit, which promotes a team approach to wellbeing, and stress the importance of creating safe spaces, data collection through a wellbeing audit, and action planning. She shows a flyer which provides a starting point for schools/settings at the beginning of their wellbeing journey.

You may also wish to follow up this clip by watching the full session, and finding out more about NEU Cymru's Wellbeing Toolkit.

In this 3 minute clip, Jane Andrews (Professor of Education, University of the West of England) explains Identity Boxes - visual poems which are inspired by the artist Joseph Cornell, who made boxes ‘using things we can see … about things we cannot see: ideas, memories, … dreams’. She talks about how you could use identity boxes in your workplace/staff development as a creative way to explore identity and to bring staff together.

You may wish to follow up this clip by watching the full session, or sharing this clip with staff, and discussing it using the prompts on this activity sheet.

In this 3 minute clip, Faye McGuiness (Director of Programmes at Education Support) describes the stress cycle and how feeling safe after a period of stress is not the same as being safe. She talks through 'The Stress Bucket' activity that can be used by individuals, teams, and organisations to look at this and shares evidence-based strategies that can support this change.

You may wish to follow up this clip by watching the full session, or sharing this clip with staff, and discussing it using this activity sheet.

In this 10 minute clip, Hywel Roberts (Teacher, Writer, Humourist, Author) tells an anecdote of his work with an Early Career Teacher to demonstrate how experience can develop agility and phronesis (wisdom). This development, together with teaching a joyous curriculum, helps to support the professional wellbeing of teachers and other staff.

You may wish to follow up this clip by watching the full session, or sharing this clip with staff, and discussing it using the prompts on this activity sheet.

In this 4 minute clip, Faye McGuiness (Director of Programmes at Education Support) explains how the 'Circle of Control, Influence and Concern' activity can be used by individuals and teams to identify things they can control, things they may be able to influence, and other things that are worrying them. By separating these out and allocating specific worry time for those items in the concern circle, staff can regain focus and avoid overthinking.

You may wish to follow up this clip by watching the full session, or sharing this clip with staff, and discussing it using this activity sheet.