Are you a bucket dipper or filler? #MentalHealth

Now imagine me asking your this question with an American accent? Are you a bucket filler or dipper? Well... we're about to find out!

This week is Children's Mental Health Week and it's so important that it became the topic of our 2nd year's lecture. I'm shocked and sad to say that today I found out that on average 1 in 10 children will have a Mental Health Disorder... in a class of 30 that's 3 pupils. Between the ages of 11-15, boys are 1.3 times likely to have a disorder than girls... Which pupils in your class have a Mental Health Disorder ? Do you know?

I'm not afraid to admit that this particular area is not my expertise. I will have to complete more research into Mental Health Disorders and the how the teacher goes about fulfilling the duty of care, supporting and facilitating the learning of children that have specific mental health needs.

Within our seminar sessions our tutor asked us to research a particular disorder, my group looked looked at sleeping difficulties. Here is a result of the research task we completed.

What I found particularly interesting was that children's sleep particularity can be affected by pretty much anything that or who children come into contact with. Also, sleeping difficulties can actually be a symptom of depression highlighting the importance of parents noticing a problem, reporting and seeking help, and actually letting the class teacher become aware of the situation. The result due to a lack of sleep can be experienced at home and in school, sleep deprivation can affect learning and social interactions thus, there is an emphasis on a partnership between the teacher and parents. What I have learnt is that (the key message from today's lecture,) tackling mental health is a team effort! A whole school approach to mental health is needed! This can lead to Early and Effective intervention!

To develop support indirectly for children in the classroom I would really like to unpick this model...

I really liked this model as the top of the IceBurg, featured on the surface of the water, is what you allow people to see and the rest of the iceberg underneath the water, is what pupils could be feeling but are hiding. For example, someone that has successfully worked out a calculation involving fractions may have achieved on the outside however, the pupil may have an mathematics related anxiety meaning they needed to work on fractions calculations at home before the lesson. This could mean rigorous practice, lots of tears and nightmares... but would you necessarily know this?

This is why we say~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Never Judge a Book by its Cover!

So back to my question, are you a bucket dipper or filler?

Play me out loud!

#MentalHealth