Transforming student wellbeing: The impact of mindfulness and Stix Remotes in schools

Transforming student wellbeing: The impact of mindfulness and Stix Remotes in schools

In today’s fast paced world, children face an array of challenges that can affect their mental and emotional well-being. With record numbers of children struggling with mental health issues, it is more important than ever that schools address this and find solutions. One such solution is integrating mindfulness into the school environment. Using mindfulness in schools helps introduce children to techniques as early as possible so that they can continue to benefit from them into adulthood.

 
 

Mindfulness can have many benefits for students. It can help them recognise worry, manage behavioural difficulties, cope with exam stress and help them appreciate the positive things in their life. Mindfulness in schools can also improve children’s concentration, their working memory and ability to plan. It can also help develop a greater awareness of classmate relationships and improve management of interactions with others. Finally, behaviour can be improved through mindfulness in schools as it helps pupils self-regulate more effectively, identifying when they need a break, helping to manage impulsivity and reduce conflict.

Check out the Mindfulness in schools project, a charity devoted to teaching mindfulness in schools. They clearly outline the massive impact mindfulness training can have on young people. MISP also conduct research on policymaking and address the issue of underfunding for mindfulness in schools.

 

Stix Mindfulness in schools

 

Our Stix Remotes have been used in schools across the country to introduce mindfulness to children. From collaborative pilot studies with Youth resilience UK in Kent based schools to working with CENMAC, a charity that provides children and schools with access to assistive technology, we bring Stix to schools to build lifelong skills.

 

Case study: Stix remotes enhancing student wellbeing at a therapeutic school

 

Our Stix remotes have been utilised to support the mission of a Grove Street School in Wirral. They are a forward-thinking school that put mental health and wellbeing at the forefront of everything they do. Using yellow lamps on tables to reduce bright ceiling lights and adding hoodies to the school uniform so kids can feel protected, they use fresh approaches to benefit their pupil’s mental health. Constantly searching for new ideas to support their pupil wellbeing, our remotes aligned with their ambitions.

 

So, we worked together and brought the Stix remotes to Grove Street to complement their existing therapeutic methods. The school initially introduced Stix to a group of children with ADHD, who take medication. Stix were seen as a supporting tool for these students, who often struggle towards the end of the school day due to the waning of their medication, making it difficult for them to maintain focus and control over impulses.

 

Creation of ‘Stix Afternoons’

 

To address the issue of ADHD medication losing effectiveness throughout the day as well as a general drop in all pupils’ concentration levels, the school implemented ‘Stix Afternoons’ to break up the afternoon’s lesson. Once focus began to diminish, the Stix were used for 10 minutes - enough time to complete two of the Stix Mindfulness activities. They reported back that this short mindfulness break helped them, with the children showing signs of improved control over themselves and their concentration in class after using the Stix. The school has noticed that the ‘Stix Afternoons’ have been particularly beneficial to children with additional needs.

 

Here's what Grove Street school said about Stix:

 

Help regulating difficult emotions: One student, who is supported by the NHS’ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), faces significant challenges in regulating his emotions due to traumatic life experiences. The student started to incorporate Stix into his routine and teachers began to see a ‘remarkable improvement’. The Stix mindfulness programme has led him to better understand and manage his emotional triggers, in particular the ‘mindfulness of thoughts and feelings’ section of activities, which give him an understanding of how thoughts and emotions arise in the mind and how to manage them. The surfing activity, which encourages children to ride an imaginary surfboard whilst learning to ride waves of emotions as they rise and fall, is particularly popular with him.

 

Support whilst on CAMHS waiting list: The school notes that many of their pupils are struggling to access therapy. This is an all-too-common story with almost 2 million children on waiting lists. Bringing Stix into the school provides additional support mechanisms for children whilst they wait on the waiting list – with NHS averages being 3 years long.

 

Account for different kinds of learners: With a vast array of totally different pupils in the school, the Stix Remotes work well for all types of learners - from auditory, visual, or kinaesthetic. They have been deemed very easy to use and children grasped mindfulness concepts well and quickly.

 

The apps benefits: The app adds a new dimension to the way teachers control the children’s use of the remotes. Clare, the school SENCO, commented on the ease at which she can control the activities the children were doing and track their progress. There are also some children who use the app’s collaborative feature, sharing progress with classmates, bringing up discussions about the activities they enjoy and recommending different activities to each other.

 

Collective use: Using Stix in schools provides the chance for children to practice mindfulness together. At Grove Street Primary School, during Stix Afternoons sessions, there are students who give each other advice on certain activities, teaching each other about how they feel and ultimately having fun together whilst learning new mindfulness techniques. The students become excited when the time arrives to use them, fulfilling our aim to make mindfulness fun.

 

Skill transfer to everyday life: A boy who uses the Stix remotes extensively learnt which wellbeing exercises to practice when certain emotions were triggered. He has learnt the skills and techniques taught through the Stix activities, and can identify which technique to use depending on how he is feeling.

 

The success stories from schools like Grove Street Primary School illustrate the transformative power of mindfulness practices in learning environments. With innovative tools like our Stix Remotes, schools can effectively support their students' well-being and academic success.

 

To help schools experience these benefits first, we are excited to offer a free trial of our Stix remotes. This trial will allow schools to explore how mindfulness can be seamlessly integrated into their environments and witness the positive changes it can bring to their students.

 

Register for a free trial today

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