Stress and Anxiety

Exams can be a very difficult and stressful period in a young persons life; this stress and pressure is having an increasingly detrimental effect on many young people.

Young people worry about getting the grades they need for their future careers, feel pressure from their families and school, struggle to cope with the amount of revision and dread the feeling of failure.

Many young people will find it hard to talk and discuss their stresses and anxieties and instead bottle it up, but it is important for them to talk and to realise that they are not the only ones feeling this way.

Childline has come up with handy tips, advice and guides for young people on coping with exam stress, which you can find on their website by clicking here.

Savvy Kernow gives some advice on dealing with stress for young people and signposting information on where to get help.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a world authority on the use of mindfulness training in the management of clinical problems, defines it as: "Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally."

Mindfulness in Schools Project

.b

.b is a 10-week course for young people aged 11-18, delivered in the classroom or in small groups within other youth-related settings.

At the most simple level .b is an awareness-raising exercise to give all students a taste of mindfulness so that they know about it and can return to it later in life if they think it might help. However, for many pupils the course can relatively quickly lead to very positive outcomes: they feel calmer and more fulfilled; they can concentrate better; they have a toolkit to deal with stress and anxiety

.b intends to help the young people who experience it to overcome difficulties, thrive and flourish – and the research that has taken place into its effectiveness suggests it does indeed have the potential to meet these more ambitious goals.

Paws b

Paws b is for children aged 7 -11 and is offered formally as a series of PSHE lessons, and informally through integrating the learning and practice of mindfulness in all National Curriculum subjects and in the children's everyday lives. It is a primary school version of .b

To find out more, and for contact details of a .b or Paws b teacher in your area, go to https://mindfulnessinschools.org

A number of primary and secondary schools tell us they are using yoga so that their children can benefit from changes and improvement in:

• concentration
• focus
• flexibility
• strength
• posture
• confidence
• emotional wellbeing

Yoga can be taught and practised as part of PE, PSHE, enrichment, after school or lunchtime club and we're beginning to hear about the impact on behaviour when used as part of daily session.

Yoga in schools website gives ideas on how you can incorporate it into your school