A
lot of great work is being done to promote mindfulness
to children and teenagers in schools across the
country. The Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP)
is a charity whose aim is to inform, create, train and
support the teaching of secular mindfulness to young
people and those who care for them.
It has already touched the lives of thousands of individuals
through a series of innovative programmes. These include the .b
course, a 10-week course for young people aged 11-18, delivered in
the classroom or in small groups within other youth-related settings.
The curriculum is a set of 10 lessons, each teaching a distinct
mindfulness skill, and designed to do so in a way which engagesMindfulness in schools
The pioneering work of the Mindfulness in Schools Project
young minds. The lessons typically include images and animations
which bring these skills to life and most importantly, practical
exercises which teach the core skills and make them relevant to the
pupils lives.
The ultimate goal is to help students manage everyday stresses
and emotional states, and to experience greater wellbeing and fulfil
their potential.
A separate programme, Paws b, offers a three day teacher training
course to teach mindfulness to 7-11 year olds.
MiSP was established in 2009 as a not-for-profit company by two
school teachers and mindfulness practitioners, Richard Burnett and
Chris Cullen, in the belief that the young people in their classrooms
could benefit from learning mindfulness skills.
It’s a secular initiative that has been readily embraced by the
mainstream schools sector. Soft, fluffy, hippy dippy, it is not.
According to MiSP, around 1,350 teachers were trained in the
technique in 2016, double the number taught the year before, and
up from just 90 in 2011. Nationally, more than 4,000 teachers are
now qualified and the number is rising fast.Find out more at: mindfulnessinschools.org