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VIEWS & OPINION


Teachers as listeners – we need more


Mr Pigdens Comment by DR MARGOT SUNDERLAND, Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health (CCMH) and Co- Director at Trauma Informed Schools UK


The ‘Make it Count’ campaign (Mental Health Foundation, October 2018) found that nearly half a million children in the UK said they had no-one to speak to at school when they were experiencing feelings of sadness or worry. As a result, many had difficulty sleeping, tended to fight, struggled with homework and/or withdrew completely. Every day in the press there are reports about the ever-increasing crisis


in the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) - over half a million referrals last year with only 1 in 4 getting seen and the numbers continuing to rise. CAMHS is definitely in dire straits, but this should not mean that our children and young people must continue to wait and suffer. There is a solution, and with the right support from the Government, it


could be quite simple - train all teachers in the core skills of active listening and empathic attunement and we would have a massive resource to support the mental health of all our children and young people. The impact of being listened to is incredible – the most famous


example, footballer Ian Wright, who grew up in a violent household and whose primary school teacher Mr. Pigden provided support and empathy and changed Wright’s life forever. Mr. Pigden wasn’t trained, but he was a naturally empathic adult who changed children’s lives. Let’s formalise


this so that the Mr. Pigdens of this world are the norm in all schools not the exception. Teachers, alongside social workers and GPs are identified as part of


CAMHS tier 1 services, and are therefore able to ‘offer general advice and treatment for less severe problems… and refer to more specialist services.’ Despite all teachers being designated as primary carers in this way,


currently only one teacher per school receives government funding for mental health awareness training. The latest Government research found just 40% of classroom teachers in England report feeling equipped to teach children in their class who have mental health needs. Chloe Lowry, Institute of Education (IoE), co-author of the recently published article, ‘Teachers: the forgotten health workforce’ (March 2022) writes:


It is both astonishing and alarming that teachers are not adequately trained for these roles. Given the essential role schools and teachers play in supporting children’s long-term health and wellbeing, and responding when problems arise, funding support from the health sector to equip this forgotten health workforce could be transformational.


The neurological, physical and psychological benefits of feeling truly


listened to, and understood are wide ranging. Research shows that when a child or young person is listened to empathically over time, it results in good vagal tone – the activation of the vagus nerve. Good vagal tone brings emotion regulation, states of calm, pro-social behaviour and social connection. It increases attention, working memory, cognitive performance and the urge to explore, and to feel positive. Physically it also reduces inflammation and the risk of heart attack. On average we spend 30-40% of our ‘speech time’ talking about our


life experiences. Without providing that opportunity for our children and young people, we are abandoning them to their suffering. We need to provide more Mr. Pigdens.


Next steps for primary schools after a turbulent two years


Comment by JANE McKENZIE-DOWNES, Education Advisor, Juniper Education


When Covid-19 closed the gates of the nation’s schools to most pupils back in March 2020, few could have predicted what lay ahead. Since then, children’s learning has been affected along a pandemic rollercoaster of lockdowns, freedom days, vaccine rollouts and new variants. We’ve been talking to schools which have


developed recovery strategies, and these are some of their suggestions of how to mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic and help pupils make up lost ground.


Use technology to bridge learning gaps Two years is a long time in a child’s development. The last normal academic year of education for a child in Year 3 was their Reception year when pupils were still getting used to taking turns and listening to their teacher. Some schools are helping children re-build skills they have forgotten


alongside age-related learning for their year group. Technology can be useful in catering for children who are at different


points in their learning due to varying experiences during the pandemic. For example, teachers recording short videos of themselves introducing a ten- minute extension activity for more able children to watch in the classroom while the teacher focuses on the main session.


Share ideas and experiences Many schools are providing additional training for staff to manage unpredictable patterns of learning loss so they can bring children up to


April 2022


speed more quickly. However, schools are also finding a rich source of advice in networks, clusters and academy groups. A video call for Year 1 teachers across a group of schools can spark new


initiatives to support reading catch-up or tackle tricky behaviour. Online forums or Facebook groups are a goldmine of information too. If a teacher spots unusual learning gaps or odd patterns of behaviour


such as a previously friendly child becoming withdrawn, it’s helpful to discuss these issues with a counterpart who teaches the same year group or subject in another school.


Rebuild pupil confidence The need to support children’s mental health and wellbeing has taken on a whole new urgency since the pandemic. While many children have been delighted to be back in the classroom


with their friends and teachers, some pupils have lost their confidence and find it difficult to take an active role in the classroom. Providing opportunities for children to express themselves in low pressure


situations can help, and gently encouraging children to talk in smaller groups enables a quiet pupil to find their voice. It’s also important to support children in their breaks and lunchtimes and help them flourish in the social side of school.


Strengthen home-school links Effective communication with pupils’ families took on a new importance during the pandemic and schools valued the input from parents in settling children back into the school routine. Schools continue to benefit from collaborative relationships with parents,


by working together to help a child feel more comfortable taking part in activities. Some teachers involve families by sending home videos of songs and activities the children have learnt at school. The pandemic has turned life upside down, but schools have become


stronger, more flexible and more resilient with each new challenge. Now’s the time to shape long-term strategies for what we all hope will be calmer and more settled times ahead.


www.education-today.co.uk 21


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