Supporting your child
with their wellbeing
Wellbeing, in the form of:
mental wellbeing | nourished eating | mindful movement | balanced lifestyles
Below, I describe the three ways I can support your child (aged 7-16yrs) with their wellbeing.
Tutoring focuses on wellbeing education in the form of a curriculum for specific themes of wellbeing such as resilience, sleep, nutrition & cooking or emotional literacy.
Mentoring focuses on personal support to achieve goals, whether overcoming a challenge or endeavouring to achieve something positive.
Personal Training is a practical session that will include movement, emotional literacy coaching, mindfulness and discussion around food/nutrition etc (as appropriate).
Read on for additional details and do get in touch if you would like to explore these further.
Wellbeing Tutoring
Wellbeing tutoring for your child to teach them all about wellbeing and its protective nature towards mental and physical health, through a holistic lens.
We start any tutoring programme with two questionnaires - one for your child and one for you to fill in as parents. We then hold a short 30minute call together, where we chat about what health and wellbeing means to you/them and what you are/they are interested in learning. This is a great way for me to get to know your family - your intentions for tutoring and your hopes and ambitions. It also allows me to tailor the curriculum programme I have to their knowledge and skill-set, to ensure it’s appropriate for your child specifically and challenging enough without being overwhelming.
Each session will take place online (unless otherwise planned), and will last 1hour15mins. The sessions will include both practical activities - such as movement and mindfulness practices, and theory work. All sessions have an academic focus with curriculum links, age-appropriate learning, and an opportunity to evidence learning against the outcomes we’re aiming for.
I ask that your child has a wellbeing journal that we can use for their learning, but that they can add to between sessions if they wish. After each session, I will share a simple email/whatsapp report describing what your child has been taught and how their learning is progressing.
At the end of the 6 tutoring sessions, we finish with an open ended task that might get the rest of the family involved (optional). This task will evidence their learning and development and is very much focussed on celebration, not testing academic performance.
The ‘term’ concludes with a short positive ‘report’ - of the learning outcomes, your child’s achievements, what they should feel proud of and a celebration of their summative task.
I currently offer the following programmes (6 sessions in each) for children aged 7 onwards (sessions are tailored to your child’s age and needs):
Finding your Place (6 sessions)
An academic approach to your child’s inner-compass, self-esteem and confidence
We explore character strengths, personal values, habits for success and goal-setting, whilst using mindfulness practices to draw attention and awareness to our surroundings, our thoughts and any negative biases that may quieten the expression of our true-selves.
Resilient Core (6 sessions)
Wellbeing education for resilience and emotional literacy
Learning how to manage emotions in the good times to feel joy and to support the difficult times - nurturing your child’s resilience to feel a sense of assurance, with practical challenges to gently expand comfort zones, and mindfulness practices to take in growth
Nourishing your Body and Mind (6 sessions)
An ambitious, holistic curriculum about nutrition and cooking
We take in the theory of nutrition education and learn about cooking for health and wellbeing, sustainability and enjoyment - both for ourselves and with others. Most appropriate for children who love to cook and would be interested in how the foods they use can help them learn, grow and feel well.
Better Relationships (6 sessions)
A programme about connection, and feeling safe in relationships
An exploration of healthy relationships - how to nurture them, and what research shows they can bring to our lives. Includes an acknowledgement to the importance of feeling safe in online/in-person relationships and methods for better listening, kindness activities, communication of needs and recognising the best in people.
Super Sleep (6 sessions)
Approaching sleep and rest holistically to protect your child’s physical and mental health
We take in the reasons for sleep, what a super sleep environment might look like, daytime restful practices (both mental and physical), understanding and management around sleep worries, and methods for settling.
Each of the programmes are tailored to your child’s age group. I work with children aged 7 onwards for wellbeing tutoring.
You have the option to continue with the next tutoring programme for their age at a reduced rate.
Wellbeing Mentoring
Mentoring for wellbeing is as an opportunity for wellbeing education, that involves coaching your child towards their wellbeing goals.
When working in education, a teacher will adapt their role to suit the pupil/task/environment, switching between a tutor, a coach, and a mentor, among other roles. Mentoring for the purpose of wellbeing is to focus on one broad area of support for your child, to coach them along towards their goals, whilst offering evidence-informed education on that wellbeing topic.
This would be suitable for your child/your family if you:
have a specific, positive wellbeing goal to achieve - e.g. exam/test success, sporting success, achievements at school, or a personal endeavour that requires resilience
have an area of wellbeing (mindset/nutrition/movement/lifestyle) that as a family you wish to improve - e.g. sleep, nutrition, daily movement, emotional management, better relationships, resilience, coping with stress, general healthy lifestyles
have a specific wellbeing challenge that your child is finding tricky, and you need a fresh approach for - e.g. emotional management, sleep, selective eating, sedentary behaviours, confidence and self-esteem
I will ask your child and you as parents to fill in a sleep and wellbeing questionnaire, then talk through this questionnaire with you during an initial video consultation. This is an opportunity for you/your child to talk through what makes them feel good, what lifts their mood, what challenges them and anything they find draining.
I will then tailor a minimum of 2 further, 60 minute mentoring sessions to support their/your needs. The mentoring sessions are likely to include movement practices (possibly slow and restorative, or maybe fast and energetic), practical tasks and coaching discussions. Each session will end with a short journalling task (it doesn’t have to be written - we can use drawings, spoken word or expressive movement) and some suggested home-practices (different to homework) which will nourish their learning from the sessions.
These sessions can be held online via video sessions, or in person close to Sherborne, Dorset.
The Mentored package can be taken in additional to sleep support (Spoken, Written or Guided packages).
Wellbeing Personal Training
As well as teaching, I have a background in Personal Training. Mostly working in a gym/outdoor environment, I worked with adults to achieve their strength, conditioning and fitness goals. I wasn’t really interested in aesthetic goals, more so their improved wellbeing, and I always considered how this would work for children rather than adults. I started to explore personal training for children - coaching children with their families, or 1:1, to improve their health and fitness, encourage them to enjoy movement behaviours, and to be curious about how their bodies moved. This felt so much better.
Ever since, I have evolved my understanding of health and wellbeing, taking in more holistic qualifications and forming an approach that is so much more than just physical.
Wellbeing Personal Training is a result of this on-going evolution.
In a practical 90 minute session with your child, we will work on a range of holistic wellbeing activities that suit their goals, temperament and your expectations.
Most activities will be movement based, even if it’s a walk and talk for emotional literacy, or a stretch/flow to ease any stresses. A couple of activities will be focussed on stillness, such as yoga nidra and a few mindfulness activities.
Personal Training sessions are likely to take in:
Energetic movement for muscle endurance and/or cardiovascular ability
Strength training - age appropriate, fun and progressive
Restorative movement focussed on motion, flexibility, mobility and relaxation
Somatic movement to engage the body and focus on the internal experience
Wellbeing mindsets - experiencing positive emotions, managing stresses, engaging in absorbing tasks, active listening, finding meaning
Outdoor lifestyles and specifically outdoor education
Mindfulness - formal and informal
Meditation/yoga nidra to support rest, relaxation and sleep
Nourishing our bodies and minds with food and drink
Endeavouring to achieve planned goals with perseverence
Social and Emotional Literacy - getting to know emotions with understanding, regulation, learning and communciation in our social settings