A new academic year has begun for us all in our schools and our communities in the United Kingdom. Teachers, parents and learners alike have returned to school for another year to educate, care and prepare our children for the future.

No doubt many would have been nervous, excited and for some, a little petrified at the thought of going back to school – and that’s JUST the teachers! Along with others, I have been concerned for quite some time about the wellbeing of some teachers and children that I have met. The pressures of teaching and learning may not go away, but we can look at strategies of how to make our lives more balanced and healthy so that we can face some of the difficult challenges in education. This is where we have the launch of The Being Well Agenda. 

When it comes to physical and emotional well-being, the UK’s children have some of the worst outcomes in the developed world. (Source: Beingwellagenda.org)

What is the Being Well Agenda?

The Being Well Agenda has been created because we need to help create a nation of children who are happy and healthy. 

It’s a is a new multi-disciplinary project for primary schools across the UK to help achieve this goal. There are many secondary schools who are also supporting the initiative, sharing their own experiences and ideas. 

This is the where the idea was born.

In the Autumn of 2015, England’s first ever Children’s Commissioner, Professor Sir Al Aynsley Green, brought together a working party of interested partners to collaborate on a project to mark his tenure as president of the British Medical Association.

What drives this partnership is a belief in the ability we have to make a genuine difference to the nation’s children when the worlds of education, medicine and well-being come together in a spirit of real collaboration.  

The Being Well Agenda is what has grown out of that initial meeting. It is not a programme or a training course but the stimulus for a year-long series of activities and events chosen and run by schools across the UK, based around ten important themes. These are themes the partnership identified as the most critical that schools should focus on when it comes to improving the state of children’s health and well-being. (Source: www.beingwellagenda.org)

Each month has a theme. The themes are:

September: Community 

October: Family 

November: Happiness

December: Relationships

January: Food and Drink

February: Mindfulness

March: Technology

April: Nature

May: Being Active 

June: Childhood

July: Celebrate

Who Are The Being Well Agenda Team?

 The Being Well Agenda partnership consists of:

• Evolve – ‘We work closely with schools to enhance children’s academic achievement by bringing together mentoring, physical activity and classroom support. What drives us is the belief that prioritising physical health and emotional well-being will transform a generation.’

• Family Links – ‘We deliver innovative, high quality training and resources to health and social care services, third sector organisations, schools and universities. We want to give every child the best chance in life.’

• Coram Life Education – ‘We are a group member of Coram, the UK’s first ever children’s charity, and we bring health and wellbeing learning to life. Last year over 800,000 children learned about  making positive health and lifestyle choices with us.’

• Independent Thinking – ‘For over twenty years, we have been helping schools help young people be better, both in the classroom and beyond. Our written mission has always been “To enrich people’s lives by changing the way they think – and so to change the world” It’s what teachers do.’

What’s it all about?

It’s not too late to join us click here to sign up now at the bottom of the page.

If you need any further information directly then please contact

E-mail: learn@independentthinking.co.uk

Address: c/o Independent Thinking, Crown Buildings, High St, Bancyfelin, Carms, SA33 5ND

Telephone:   +44 (0) 844 589 0490

Follow us on Twitter: @BWAgenda

My mantra has always been:

” Let’s decide to be the best that we can be, for the children we teach are our future”

Do get in touch if I can be of any further assistance.

Super smiles as always.

Nina Jackson

@musicmind