4th Education Conference 2018 Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds
“By 2030 depression will be the most significant health issue facing the millennial generation”. (WHO, 2012)
Conference Overview
The purpose of the Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds Conference was to address and unravel how educators can best prepare students for an increasingly challenging, ever changing world in which we live. For all educators, the need to provide a safe, secure, happy and stimulating environment for learners is crucial. In today’s world this seems even more the case, with young people facing more challenges than ever before, both in real life and online. The conference provided a great opportunity to look at ways to make sure schools remain successful places for learning – as well as places where there is support, guidance and encouragement for all our pupils, to ensure that they are happy and confident in themselves, so that they can flourish personally and academically.
Luckily I was able to attend a number of sessions that focused on areas that I perceived to be potentially useful to Markham College, you will find a brief summary of these below. The content from the conference can be accessed via this folder, including those of the workshops I could not attend.
Here is a list of the workshops:
Coaching and positive psychology in schools, Prof. Christian van Nieuwerburgh
Strength identification and use, Prof. Christian van Nieuwerburgh
An introduction to coaching, Prof. Christian van Nieuwerburgh
Claire Harvey Behaviour eats strategy
Claire Harvey Be the best Version of you
The Learning Power Approach, Prof. Guy Claxton
Putting pupil wellbeing at the heart of school leadership, Joan Deslandes
Effective questions, Dr Rhonda Bondie
Help, Dr Rhonda Bondie
Motivation, Dr Rhonda Bondie
Collaborative planning
Curious hands workshop
Dancing Workshop (Mark Harris)
Helping young people to find their sense of purpose (Alistair Taylor)
How to structure effective and engaging lessons (Victoria Hughes)
Observation - making it work for you, your department, your school (Thishani Wijesinghe and Bethan Hindley)
Picture books and language development, (Amy Clifford, St. Pauls Pre-Prep - with additional handout)
Placing pupil wellbeing on top (Talula Santos)
Practical solutions to impractical problems (George Sparks and Mark OSullivan)
Smartphones e Midia (Maria Alice Fontes, Clínica Plenamente)
Using technology to support wellbeing (Glaucia Rosas, Katherine Asega, Nathalie Mello and Vanessa Meirelles)
Voz Como Recurso Didátivo - PLENAVOX - St Paul's 2018
Walking together throughout the learning journey (St. Paul's Learning Support Unit)
The Learning Power Approach – Guy Claxton
Key areas of discussion:
Are we ensuring students enjoy the process of learning and avoid focusing solely on the end outcome?
Do we use positive quotes and examples of successful people who have taken more than one or two attempts to succeed?
Do we have a core purpose of education?
Is the purpose discussed in all areas of the school?
Are the layers of power learning consistent?
What does power learning look like?
Behaviour Eats – Claire Harvey
The aim of this workshop was to understand where our core values come from and how they impact behaviour. Developing staff and student ability to understand this will increase a sense of belonging, confidence and an increase in happiness across the school.
If we develop a positive growth mind set through all subject achievement should increase across the school.
Micro Behaviour Habits
Micro Behaviours are the small decisions we make without much thought…
Examples of positive and negative micro behaviours that often occur in schools amongst students and staff are below.
Identifying the behaviours that already occur is a great way to illuminate the negative traits and increase the positive ones. These should be openly spoken about with students as well as staff.
Putting pupil wellbeing at the heart of school leadership
This workshop looked at ways to enrich student wellbeing by ensuring a number of inclusive systems are in place. It was a pleasure to attend this session and identify that a number of the strategies are already in place at Markham.
Student voice
Student councils
Community projects
Peer mentoring
A key tool that was used at Kingsford School in London which has been extremely successful in changing the academic achievement and wellbeing of students from extremely challenging backgrounds was to use a document which allowed students to identify and reflect on what wellbeing is and if they have access to some of the basics. This document was also used to help staff to identify any students who may need interventions internal or external interventions such as the mentor programme.
Furthermore, it was suggested that training staff in the development of the brain, common mental issues, effective counselling and developing a whole school approach.