Pupil wellbeing focus for St Anthony's School for Girls

St Anthony’s School for Girls has launched initiatives to promote wellbeing among pupils.

At the start of the academic year in September, the children had endured longer periods of time indoors and less social time with other children, as well as experiencing the many stresses that have come with the Covid pandemic.

The school has taken advantage of Golders Hill Park, on its doorstep, with deputy head Raffaella Merolla introducing Wellbeing Wednesday Walks.

The school says the walks are an opportunity for teachers, children, and parents to benefit from the outdoors.

In addition, Raffaella set up a Wellbeing Week, in conjunction with Children’s Mental Health Week (Place2Be) for the girls to take part in meditation, mindfulness classes, live poetry reading sessions, mermaid hair braiding, photography in nature, cupcake making and daily yoga.

A "wellbeing champion" role has been created as part of the Year 6 responsibilities. 

The school said it recognises "the importance of key skills such as resilience, reflection, and the need to build self-esteem as a proactive and integral part of our curriculum".

"It is not enough to merely quote these words; we must put them into practice," said Raffaella.