On 3rd September 2018, Leigh Trust held it's annual teacher training day at the National Conference Centre and hot on the topic was 'Mental Health & Wellbeing for all'.

On arrival, everyone took the opportunity to meet with other staff from schools within the Trust and once settled, were welcomed by Julie Greenwood, CEO of Leigh Trust. 

Our key note speaker Sir John Timpson CBE, Chairman of service retailer Timpson Ltd revealed how fostering 90 children has influenced his life. Sir John explained understanding attachment problems and trauma in a child’s early years. Sir John Timpson CBE has written three useful little guide books on Attachment, based on 30 years’ experience as a foster carer –  A Guide to Attachment, How to Create a Positive Future and Looking After Looked After Children. Our staff thoroughly enjoyed his talk and were grateful for the books that were left for staff to take home.

Our next speaker was Erin Docherty from Forward Thinking Birmingham. Forward Thinking Birmingham is the city’s mental health service for children and young people aged 0 to 25.The organisation is a partnership between four providers – Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (lead provider), Beacon UK, The  Priory and The Children’s Society and offers a wide range of support, care and treatment at locations across the city.

Our final speaker was Anna Robinson. Anna Robinson has worked with vulnerable children, young people and families in Birmingham for nearly 20 years. She is currently the lead for wellbeing at Birmingham Education Partnership, working with colleagues across the city to develop sustainable approaches to wellbeing in schools. As a UKCP accredited Psychotherapist she believes that relationships are crucial to supporting people’s vitality and that professional and personal learning is a life-long process. This belief maintains her commitment to working with others, continually seeking to provide an effective Integrative psychotherapy as both therapist and trainer.

Workshops ran throughout the day as follows:

Forward Thinking Birmingham

Anxiety (physiology, psychology and recovery).

Forward Thinking Birmingham (how to access service, which referral route to use, what services we offer).

The Lifeboat Lesson - Looking at automatic bias, resilience and decision making (this workshop can be taken back to the classroom and used to run a lesson).

Laura Jones – Wellbeing Crew

Mindfulness, Relaxation & Mediation

Anna Robinson & Anna Bateman – BEP Mental Health & Wellbeing

“People not programmes” - the ecology of ACEs and Trauma.

Adverse childhood experiences and their impact are well documented.  This workshop will articulate why understanding adversity and trauma is so important and why Bruce Perry’s “People not programmes” can be transformative for schools, their communities and children’s outcomes.

Anna Bateman – Curriculum

Supporting Mental Health & Wellbeing through the Curriculum. This workshop will give you practical, tried and tested tools to help you identify vulnerability earlier. You will also gain ideas on how to use emotional vocabulary to improve outcomes and discover some ‘ordinary magic’ strategies, which when consistently applied impact on resilience.

 Ameena Hanif - Teacher at Wyndcliffe Primary School

Supporting Mental Health through the Curriculum

Staff who were lucky enough to win a 'pamper' raffle ticket also enjoyed 20 minute treatments that included mini manicures, relaxing facials and Indian head massages by the lovely ladies from the 'Wellbeing Crew.

Finally, to end the day on a high, the staff were entertained with some 'Laughter Therapy' by John Hipkiss. John said he loved bringing laughter to people’s lives and introducing them to new ways to find hilarity, health and happiness!” What could be better than bringing people together by laughing! Laughter Therapy can be powerful and inspirational!”