Social and Emotional Mental Health
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
There is a substantial body of research and evidence to suggest that young people's social emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs have a significant impact on all aspects of their life. It can impact their learning and behaviour, their attendance at school, and even affect training and employment, and their general life chances.
Schools should employ a graduated response to meeting children and young people's SEMH needs. It is essential that this starts with a whole school approach and ethos in understanding and supporting social, emotional and mental health, and includes engagement with parents and the community. It includes high quality teaching for all students, ranging to targeted interventions for groups of pupils or individuals and, lastly, specialist interventions for those with the most complex needs.
Support for schools is available via the Behaviour Support Team, the Educational Psychology Service, and the SSENS team, who will be happy to provide further information regarding the strategies and approaches outlined below.
Relationships and Belonging
We know that secure, trusting relationships with adults are central to children and young people's ability to thrive. Likewise, having a sense of belonging in their setting has wide ranging benefits for learners. A large and growing body of research-based evidence reveals that relationships and belonging are associated with better mental health, increased engagement, higher academic performance, and more positive outcomes for children and young people.
In order to maximise the potential for all learners in school, and to address any areas of difficulty experienced by children or young people with SEND, the first step should always be to support pupils to feel a sense of belonging in school and to enjoy genuine, trusting relationships with one or more staff members. This is the foundation on which any further strategies or approaches need to be built upon.
Ups and Downs
It is usual for children and young people to have ups and downs, and to have times when they find it more difficult to manage their feelings and behaviours. It is important to keep this in mind when working with learners who are struggling with their emotions or behaviour. Likewise it is important to remain mindful of context, and the impact that significant events can have on children and young people. Strong feelings and difficulties coping are natural and expected reactions to adverse situations, change, and uncertainty. Having a school curriculum in which wellbeing and belonging are prioritised, and teaching around resilience and relationships is embedded throughout, will help all learners to manage difficult situations positively.
When a child or young person demonstrates social, emotional, or mental health difficulties it is not necessarily indicative of a special educational need, but it will be important to ensure that relevant strategies and approaches outlined in OPAL are consistently used, paying particular attention to those that support positive relationships and belonging.
Because these ups and downs are common, it is important that educational settings monitor how children and young people respond to the strategies and approaches outlined in OPAL and keep mindful of intensity, frequency, and duration of any difficulties. Where difficulties do not resolve or show signs of decreasing over time, this might indicate that further, more targeted support is required.
Disclaimer
OPAL is a continually updated, collaborative effort, involving a range of professionals in Wiltshire. Many of the links and resources suggested are not government funded, nor are they partners, but have been deemed relevant and useful. Wiltshire Council is not responsible for any content on the links provided, but we endeavour to check our links regularly to ensure they remain relevant and useful, and work correctly. If you are concerned about a particular resource please report it to localoffer@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)
Strategies
In order to provide support for learners, it is important to ensure that adults in school are themselves well supported and that the active promotion of wellbeing runs through all school systems.
Five to Thrive: Attachment, Trauma and Resilience is a training programme available to all schools, and will enable all staff to:
- support secure attachment: building healthy relationships which are essential to wellbeing
- promote self-regulation and resilience: better support people to manage their emotions and behaviours positively which will help strengthen their ability to recover quicker from difficulties
- be trauma informed: understand the potential impact of trauma on children and young people and know how best to respond
- understand the impact of adult responses to the behaviour of children, young people and families to improve outcomes
- develop a common language and understanding.
Please visit the SLA Online resource page (opens new window) for more details, or contact virtualschool@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)
ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is a national initiative to build the capacity of schools to support the emotional needs of their pupils from within their own resources. It recognises that social, emotional and mental health underpins learning and pupil well-being and that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed. Educational Psychologists train teaching assistants to become ELSAs and provide them with ongoing supervision from educational psychologists.
Please see Right Choice (opens new window) or use the following email for any queries: WiltshireELSA@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)
Coaching is a method that can be used to support school staff to develop their practice by providing an opportunity to set goals and work towards achieving them. Coaching can be carried out with a member of school staff by an outside professional (for example, an Educational Psychologist) or can be carried out between colleagues.
Staff Supervision can take numerous forms and is underpinned by a range of psychological theories and approaches, however, all approaches are founded on the idea of providing regular opportunities to review, reflect, evaluate and develop professional practice in a safe, supportive environment.
An attitude of PACE - Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy - aims to enable staff to engage with children and young people who have experienced neglect, abuse and trauma. PACE was developed by Dr Daniel Hughes (Clinical Psychologist) and research focused upon working with children and young people with attachment difficulties. The principles from PACE approaches aim to support the development of rapport and trust, and to help adults working with children and young people to build positive, secure relationships with them. These approaches are likely to be particularly relevant for adults working as key adults, teaching assistants or mentors for children with Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
Restorative Approaches in schools help develop a healthier learning environment, where children and young people take responsibility over their own behaviour and learning. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right.
Mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. Mindfulness interventions involve attending to the present moment without judgement or attachment to any particular outcome. The aim of mindfulness is to learn to be aware of thoughts and bodily sensations in order to be able to better cope with daily emotions and challenges.
Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) is a comprehensive universal whole school approach to developing social and emotional skills in all children. It is a curriculum resource which aims to develop social and emotional aspects of learning focusing on five key qualities/skills: self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills. These skills underpin positive behaviour and promote effective learning. SEAL also aims to increase attendance rates, staff effectiveness and the emotional well-being of the staff and pupils in schools. This resource has been very popular nationally and historically has been used in most schools across the UK. Whilst the resources have been archived by the DfE they are still available online at: SEAL: Improving behaviour, improving (learningnationalarchives.gov.uk) (opens new window).
Person-Centred problem-solving approaches, tools, and techniques such as Circles of Adults, PATHs, MAPs, and Solution Circles provide structured ways to approach complex problems, and support effective, solution focussed discussion.
Created during the pandemic, the Well-being for Education Resilience Programme delivers a wealth of resources for you to learn, and facilitate learning with your peers around taking a whole school approach to developing collective and individual resilience among yourselves, your colleagues, your pupils, your parents and your broader education community.
Use strategies to teach social understanding, for example social stories or comic book conversations.
Consider providing access to a supported small group environment at break times to develop social skills and offer a safe haven.
Consider the use of specific interventions, for example:
- the Circle of Friends approach seeks to develop a support network around individuals in the school community who are experiencing social difficulties. School staff seek out volunteers from the child or young person's peer group who are willing to support the child or young person who is felt to be struggling with social situations. The group meets regularly with the member of staff to problem solve with the target pupil in order to address any social difficulties that he/she may be experiencing in school
- lego-Based Therapy is an intervention designed by Daniel LeGoff and his colleagues to promote social development in children using Lego as a resource. It was originally developed as an intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC), however has successfully been used with other children with social communication difficulties. The intervention involves children working collaboratively to create Lego models using a 'barrier' game approach. The children are encouraged to communicate, problem-solve and collaborate together to complete the model, with the support of an adult.
A sense of belonging in school is associated with positive outcomes across all areas. The following approaches are helpful to support learners to develop their feelings of belonging in school.
Friendships
Positive peer relationships are fundamental to a sense of belonging. Provide opportunities for positive interactions with peers. These might be structured or facilitated by an adult to ensure they are successful.
Responsibilities
Having a role or responsibility has been shown to support belonging. Roles may be within-class, such as a resource monitor or recycling champion, or may be school-wide, such as a playground buddy, or a place on the school council.
Extra-curricular activities
Ensure there are a range of extra-curricular opportunities available, and that these cover a range of interests, such as sports, art, music, drama, or gaming.
Strong Ethos and Values
Ensure that the school ethos is meaningful and understood by all members of the community.
Empowerment
Give opportunities for learners to share their voice and views, and make sure that these are responded to.
Nurture Groups
Nurture Groups consist of between 6 and 12 pupils, usually supported by two members of staff. Children remain a part of their usual class, but spend part of the school day in the nurture group setting. The amount of time spent in the nurture group is dependent on the needs identified, and this is usually done through the use of the Boxall Profile, an assessment tool which focuses on these areas.
Emotion Coaching
Emotion Coaching is based on the understanding that all behaviour is a form of communication, and is driven by an emotional response. Based on research by American Psychologist John Gottman, Emotion Coaching uses moments of heightened emotion and resulting behaviour to guide and teach the child and young person about more effective responses.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing is a method of positive behaviour management which is achieved by active reflective listening to the pupil. Showing Unconditional Positive Regard (verbal and non-verbal) is central to motivational interviewing. Communicating to the pupil that what they say is important, they are worth listening to and they are valued are the key elements of motivational interviewing.
Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence (ABC) diaries
In order to gain an understanding of a challenging behaviour, complete and evaluate a series of regular behaviour observations, using schedules such as Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence (ABC) diaries to look for behavioural patterns, taking into account environmental factors such as time of day, lesson, peers, staff, classroom, time of day etc
Be mindful of trigger points - encourage calming activities beforehand and consider providing alternatives to the activity or situation.
Ensure consistent use of positive behaviour management techniques across the school, for example: emphasising the 5Rs (relationships, rights, responsibilities, rules and routines), using the language of choice, broken record technique, volume matching and emphasising the positive.
- access to a meaningful system of rewards
- access to regular, frequent one to one or small group support, in a private room, to calm down before the school session starts, for example: sensory activities, listening to music, relaxation exercises
- daily mentoring with supportive adult, the focus of which depends on the pupil's identified needs, for example: to explore feelings of anger or worry
- active involvement of parents/carers, with access to Parent Support Advisor
- increased parent/carer involvement through more frequent review meetings, planning interventions to be carried out at home and school
- buddy system/peer support/play leaders at break time
- daily support to meet and greet and/or to teach the appropriate behaviours
- it may be appropriate to teach anger management techniques and support their implementation
- programmes developed and techniques used may require training on a formal or informal basis from support services
Resources
Created during the pandemic, the Well-being for Education Resilience Programme delivers a wealth of resources for you to learn, and facilitate learning with your peers around taking a whole school approach to developing collective and individual resilience among yourselves, your colleagues, your pupils, your parents and your broader education community. It is available in the following formats:
| Title | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| The Well-being for Education Resilience Programme | The original Well-being for Education Resilience Programme delivered as a course of 9 bitesize episodes broadcast in Autumn 2020, and featuring a series of reflective tasks and resources to facilitate sharing in collective learning with your colleagues in school. Episodes available:
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| Title | Author | Description | Intended audience | Link to purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Red Tree | Shaun Tan | The perfect book to soothe worries during stressful times. A small child awakes to find blackened leaves falling from her bedroom ceiling, threatening to overwhelm her. 'Sometimes you wake up with nothing to look forward to...' As she wanders around a world that is complex, puzzling and alienating, she is overtaken by a myriad of feelings. Just as it seems all hope is lost, the girl returns to her bedroom to find that a tiny red seedling has grown to fill the room with warm light. As a kind of fable, The Red Tree seeks to remind us that, though some bad feelings are inevitable, they are always tempered by hope. | 6 - 11 years (Suggested reading age) | ISBN: 9780734411372 |
Barbara Throws a Wobbler | Nadia Shireen | She has a problem with a sock, and at lunchtime there's a strange pea. And even though she's at the park with her friends, it all just gets a bit much. Suddenly Barbara's WOBBLER is out of control! But what if Barbara and her Wobbler can work together, so she can be cheerful again? A brilliantly funny and sensitive way to understand and deal with tantrums. | 2 - 6 years | ISBN: 9781780081366 |
The Huge Bag of Worries | Virginia Ironside | Wherever Jenny goes, her worries follow her - in a big blue bag. They are with her all the time - at school, at home, when she is watching TV and even in the bathroom! Jenny decides they have to go, but who will help her get rid of them? A funny and reassuring look at dealing with worries and anxiety, to be used as a spring board into important conversations with your child. | 4 - 8 years | ISBN: 9780340903179 |
Blob Trees | Pip Wilson, Ian Long | The Big Book of Blob Trees features 70 different Blob trees that can be used as prompts to explore feelings. This unique collection of Blob trees with its range of different Blob characters is a fabulous way of opening up discussions about feelings and developing understanding of emotions, empathy and self-awareness. The trees show a variety of different scenarios that people may relate to, and can be used as a springboard for conversations with people of any age group. This edition includes a set of Blob trees relevant to many topical issues, including autism, eating, free speech, anxiety and smartphones. Each Blob tree comes with suggested questions that can be used to guide the discussion; for example: Which Blob do you feel like? Which Blob seems happiest? Which Blob confuses you? Which Blob annoys you, and why? Which Blob would you like to feel like? Offering handy photocopiable resources, The Big Book of Blob Trees provides a unique way to initiate discussion and gently approach emotive topics with individuals or groups. | All ages | ISBN: 9780815362043 |
Blob School | Pip Wilson, Ian Long | Blob School is an educational resource designed specifically for one of the main purchasers of the Blobs - teachers! This practical resource aims to cover all the key areas of school life so that teachers, assistants, school workers, pupils and parents can reflect upon a wide range of contexts and issues which occur throughout the school year. The book includes 47 images which can be projected upon an Interactive White Board or photocopied for whole class or small group discussion. The Blobs are simple. They deal with deep issues using the primary languages we learn from infancy - feelings and body language. This is why they are used with children as young as 4, all the way through to the elderly. Without words, the Blobs can be interpreted in a hundred different ways. There is no right and wrong about the Blobs, which is very important. A leader who uses them in a 'one way of reading them only way' will find that the rest of their group become very frustrated in discussions. Each picture is a means to a conversation, rather than a problem to be solved or a message to be agreed upon. | All ages | ISBN: 9781909301382 |
The New Social Story Book TM: Over 150 Social Stories That Teach Everyday Social Skills to Children and Adults with Autism and Their Peers | Carol Gray | Carol Gray is president of The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding in Zeeland, Michigan, USA a non-profit organization serving people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and those working on their behalf. She is an internationally respected author and speaker with 30 years experience as a teacher and consultant working on behalf of children and adults with ASD. In 1991, Carol developed Social Stories™, a strategy used worldwide with children with ASD. She has published several articles, chapters, and books addressing challenging issues ranging from how to teach social understanding and social skills; bullying; death and dying; loss and learning; and categorization and generalization. Carol is the recipient of several awards for her international contribution to the education and welfare of people with ASD. | Adults | ISBN: 9781941765166 |
A range of useful books | Tina Rae | Dr Tina Rae has over 30 years' experience working with children, adults and families in both clinical and educational contexts within local authorities and specialist educational services. She is currently working as a Consultant Educational and Child Psychologist in a range of SEBD/SEMH and mainstream contexts and for Compass Fostering as a Consultant Psychologist supporting foster carers, social workers and Looked after children. She was also an Academic and Professional tutor for the Doctorate in Educational and Child psychology at the University of East London from 2010-16. | Adults | ISBN: 9781912112555 |
The Incredible 5-point Scale | Kari Dunn Buron | This edition of the popular Incredible 5-Point Scale is, as the title suggests, significantly improved and expanded. Using the same practical and user-friendly format as earlier editions, Buron and Curtis let readers benefit from work done with the scales over the past 10 years, to result in refinements to the original scales, now considered classics in homes and classrooms across the country and abroad, as well as lots of new scales specifically designed for two groups of individuals: young children and those with more classic presentations of autism, including expanded use of the Anxiety Curve. Another welcome addition is a list of goals and objectives related to incorporating scales in students IEPs.Note: Blank scales are free downloadable.CD not included. As in their other writings, the authors emphasise the importance self-management and self-regulation, two evidence-based practices. | Adults | ISBN: 9781937473075 |
Zones of Regulation | Leah Kuypers | The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum geared toward helping students gain skills in consciously regulating their actions, which in turn leads to increased control and problem solving abilities. Using a cognitive behaviour approach, the curriculum's learning activities are designed to help students recognise when they are in different states called "zones," with each of four zones represented by a different colour. In the activities, students also learn how to use strategies or tools to stay in a zone or move from one to another. Students explore calming techniques, cognitive strategies, and sensory supports so they will have a toolbox of methods to use to move between zones. To deepen students' understanding of how to self-regulate, the lessons set out to teach students these skills: how to read others' facial expressions and recognise a broader range of emotions, perspective about how others see and react to their behaviour, insight into events that trigger their less regulated states, and when and how to use tools and problem solving skills. The curriculum's learning activities are presented in 18 lessons. To reinforce the concepts being taught, each lesson includes probing questions to discuss and instructions for one or more learning activities. Many lessons offer extension activities and ways to adapt the activity for individual student needs. The curriculum also includes worksheets, other handouts, and visuals to display and share. These can be photocopied from this book or printed from the accompanying USB. | Adults | ISBN-10: |
Books on mindfulness | Jon Kabat-Zinn | Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of numerous books, including Full Catastrophe Living, Arriving at Your Own Door, and Coming to Our Senses. | All ages | ISBN: 9781604076585 |
| App name | Description | Intended audience | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThinkNinja | Empowering children and young people to build resilience, manage their emotional health and to fulfil their potential.
| 11 - 17 years | |
| Headspace | A meditation app to help you practice meditation and mindfulness
| All ages | Headspace - Be kind to your mind (headspace.com) (opens new window) |
| Chill Panda | Learn to relax, manage your worries and improve your wellbeing with Chill Panda. Chill Panda - Play your way to a calmer day! (youtube.com) (opens new window) | 6 - 8 years | Play your way to a calmer day with ChillPanda (chillpanda.co.uk) (opens new window) |
| Smiling Mind | An App for daily meditation and mindfulness for all ages. | All ages | Accessible, life-long tools to support healthy minds (smilingmind.com.au) (opens new window) |
| SAM | Self-help app for the mind - Designed to help you understand and manage anxiety | All ages | Self-help App for the Mind (mindgarden-tech.co.uk) (opens new window) |
| Calm Kids | Calm Kids is an application that focuses specifically on children's mental wellness. Based in Silicon Valley, Calm Kids is a technology start-up project developed by a Vietnamese team.With the theme of "Good Sleep, Yoga and Mindfulness" for children, the Calm Kids team believes that by building good habits and a present-centered lifestyle in a scientific and sustainable way early on, our next generations will have a solid psychological and thinking foundation to face future difficulties with an open and positive spirit. | 6 - 12 years | Sleep, Yoga and Mindfulness for Kids (calm-kids.com) (opens new window) |
| STOPP | Use STOPP APP if you want to start to stop the vicious cycles of depression and anxiety, and other repetitive behaviours such as negative thinking, worry, drinking, smoking, gambling, aggression, self-harm, avoiding people or situations etc... | Older children, young people and adults | Submarine Ltd - STOPP App 4+ (apps.apple.com) (opens new window) |
| Name | Type | Description | Intended audience | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childline Mental Health toolkit | Website featuring a downloadable self-reflection tool | If you're struggling with how you're feeling, it can be hard to know what to do. Your first aid kit is there to help make things easier. It includes:
Everyone is different, so your first aid kit should be unique to you. Think about what's helped in the past or what you want to try. We've got a few ideas on this page to help you get started, but you can include whatever you want. | 8 and above | Mental health first aid kit (childline.org.uk) (opens new window) |
| Thrive | Website | Thrive® promotes children's and young people's positive mental health by helping adults know how to be and what to do in response to their differing and sometimes distressed behaviour. The Thrive Approach® is appropriate for anyone working with children and young people - such as in education (early years settings through to primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units), social care, healthcare, local authorities and community groups, as well as for parents and carers. | Professionals | Help every child Thrive (thriveapproach.com) (opens new window) |
| Carol Gray Social Stories | Website | Carol Gray, consultant to children, adolescents, and adults with autism, provides support via workshops and presentations, information, referral, resources, and direct services to individuals with autism, their families, and professionals who work on their behalf. She is an internationally sought-after keynote and seminar speaker, and has completed over one thousand presentations. Carol is best known for the development of Social Stories, a respected evidence-based practice used worldwide with people with autism of all ages. Carol was the first teacher for students with autism at Jenison Public Schools in Jenison, Michigan 1977-2004. In 1989, Carol began writing stories for her students to share information with them that they seemed to be missing, information that so many of us take for granted. Many of the stories resulted in immediate and marked improvement in her students' responses to daily events and interactions. Carol Gray: What are Social Stories? (youtube.com) (opens new window) | Adults | Social Stories (carolgraysocialstories.com) (opens new window) |
| National Autistic Society Social Stories and comic strip conversations | Website | Social storiesTM were created by Carol Gray in 1991. They are short descriptions of a particular situation, event or activity, which include specific information about what to expect in that situation and why. Social stories present information in a literal, 'concrete' way, which may improve a person's understanding of a previously difficult or ambiguous situation or activity. The presentation and content can be adapted to meet different people's needs. Comic strip conversations use stick figures and symbols to represent social interactions and abstract aspects of conversation, and colour to represent the emotional content of a statement or message. | Adults | National Autistic Society: Social stories and comic strip conversations, NAS (autism.org.uk) (opens new window) |
| Hidden disabilities | Website | The Sunflower is a globally recognised symbol for non-visible disabilities, also known as hidden disabilities or invisible disabilities. Not all disabilities are visible - some are not immediately obvious. They include autism, chronic pain, and learning difficulties as well as mental health conditions, mobility, speech impairments, and sensory loss such as speech, sight loss, hearing loss, or deafness. They also include respiratory conditions as well as chronic conditions such as diabetes, chronic pain, and sleep disorders when these significantly impact day-to-day life. Although you may not be able to see these invisible impairments and conditions, they're still there. People living with these often face barriers in their daily lives including a lack of understanding and negative attitudes. So some choose to wear the Sunflower lanyard to discreetly identify that they may need support, help, or just a little more time in shops, transport, or public spaces. | Adults | Hidden Disabilities store (hiddendisabilitiesstore.com) (opens new window) |
| ELSA Support | Website | Elsa Support is a website which provides downloadable resources that support the teaching of emotional literacy or emotional intelligence by ELSA's. A lot of the resources on this website are perfectly suitable for all teaching professionals to use and there is also a parent section with resources suitable for parents to use. The interventions are ready to go, all you need to do is print them out and deliver the lessons, they do work. I recently developed this new ELSA starter pack which will completely set you up with resources that will be very useful to you beginning your ELSA journey. | ELSAs and other education professionals | ELSA support (elsa-support.co.uk) (opens new window)
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| ELSA Network | Website | There are registered ELSA Trainers across the UK. Take a look at the area directory to find your nearest one. | ELSAs and other education professionals | ELSA Network (elsanetwork.org) (opens new window) |
| CAMHS resources | Website | This site was created for young people, carers and professionals to pool together lots of helpful resources from across the internet that are available to help support your mental health and well-being. I hope that you find it helpful. | Adults | CAMHS Resources (camhs-resources.co.uk) (opens new window) |
| SEMH Sensory suggestor tool | web app | This tool has been designed to support education staff and parents take a fresh look at behaviours that may have a sensory function. Step 1 - Select the behaviours that are relevant to the child you are thinking of. Step 2 - Submit and load. Step 3 - Receive suggestions. | Adults | Sensory Suggester Tool (sensory.semh.co.uk) (opens new window) |
| Boxall Profile Online | web app | Assessment tool for social emotional and behavioural difficulties for children and young people - The Boxall Profile® Online is the most popular measurement tool used in schools to identify children and young people's particular mental health needs and has been cited by the Department for Education, as well as highlighted in the Department for Education's 2018 Mental health and behaviour in schools advice. | Adults | Boxall Profile Online (new.boxallprofile.org) (opens new window) |
| Twinkl | Website / Resources | SEMH resources which can be used in class | 4 - 12 years | Twinkl SEMH resources (twinkl.co.uk) (opens new window) |
| Playing CBT | Board game | Playing CBT - revised version is a therapy game based on the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach, designated for therapists, counsellors, educators and facilitators to be used with children and adolescents. It is designed to support therapy for children and adolescents or to be used as a fun game that facilitates communication and coping with emotional and behavior issues in group settings. The game helps children, adolescents and parents identify the different elements of their emotional experiences (thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and behavior) and provides a basis for reflection and discussions, which then improve coping capabilities and promote cognitive flexibility and more positive emotional, physical and behavioral reactions. Playing CBT is unique and one of a kind in the way it implements CBT and other therapy principles, makes them accessible, easy and fun for just about anyone, and provides an indirect and pleasant means for improving social skills, coping skills, self-control and self-resilience. | 7 years and up | Playing CBT (playingcbt.com) (opens new window) |
| Title | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Carol Gray: What are social stories? | Carol Gray, developer of the world-renowned, evidence-based "Social Stories(TM)" teaching strategy, describes this valuable tool and provides important information for the parents and professionals who wish to use Social Stories to increase social understanding and effectiveness. | Carol Gray: What are Social Stories? (youtube.com) (opens new window) |
| Dr Tina Rae | Child Psychologist and award winning author specializing in the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. | Dr Tina Rae, video collection (youtube.com) (opens new window) |
| Zones of regulation | Leah Kuypers, author and creator of The Zones of Regulation® provides a brief introduction to The Zones of Regulation framework. |
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