Mindfulness in schools: what next?

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Jennifer Hanratty summarises the recent Campbell review on mindfulness-based interventions for improving cognition, academic achievement, behaviour and socioemotional functioning in schools. She considers what school leaders, researchers and policy makers should do next, considering the current uncertainty around mindfulness in schools.

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Mental illness and emotional wellbeing: part of the same continuum?

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Lucas Shelemy considers data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study which correlates mental illness with emotional wellbeing in children, and brings back some surprising results.

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Gamification for health and wellbeing

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Sasha Danilina publishes her debut blog about a recent literature review on the effectiveness of gamification applied to health and wellbeing.

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Every commissioner should address ethnic inequalities in mental health says panel of experts

Psychological therapists and occupational therapists were not included in this qualitative study of 27 mental health staff, which is a shame.

Anyone can suffer from mental illness, but current mental health services may not be appropriate for the whole population. People from black and minority ethnic groups may have different requirements, and this guide aims to help commissioners reduce inequalities by procuring good health care for all. This guidance has been produced by the Joint Commissioning [read the full story…]

Health Promoting Schools can improve some areas of health, but more research is needed

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My grandfather had a nearly religious conviction of the value of physical activity. No weekend was complete without a strenuous bout of outdoor exercise, regardless of the weather.  New England gets cold and damp, and his five children would prepare themselves for winter excursions with some reluctance. ‘Healthy body, healthy mind!’ my grandfather would say, exhorting them [read the full story…]

Impact of School-Wide Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports

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The impact of poor behaviour in schools can have wide-ranging detrimental affects on learning, wellbeing and social development. School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS or PBIS), originally created by Horner and Sugai (2006), is a whole-school behaviour intervention program. It has been widely implemented in more than 16,000 schools across the United States, with [read the full story…]

Girls just wanna have fun! Helping female children and adolescents develop into happy, healthy, successful and sociable adults.

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My last blog (Boys, don’t cry!) addressed the many challenges that can present themselves to boys during childhood and adolescence, and cause them to veer off the road from healthy development. Girls by no means have it easy! When compared to boys, girls are more likely to present with mental health problems (Merikangas, 2010). Furthermore, [read the full story…]

Boys, don’t cry! Guiding male children towards health, happiness, success and socially acceptable behaviour

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During childhood and adolescence, any number of life events can present challenges to children’s wellbeing, threatening their chances to become physically and mentally healthy adults. Boys are more likely than girls to drop out of school, be delinquent and drink alcohol, and they are less likely to go to college than their female counterparts (Bandy, [read the full story…]