Health and Wellbeing Family Learning Event- March 2023
On Thursday 16th March 2023 we hosted a family learning event with a focus on wellbeing. This was aimed at S3-6 young people and their parents / carers in order to provide support and information as they move towards SQA exams in May 2023.
At the beginning of the event our S3 and S4 Mental Health Peer Educators delivered a short presentation to explain their role in school and how our young people can access support when required.
Small groups then rotated around the following workshops, spending approximately 20 minutes at each one:
Resilient thinking skills and strength Spotting : Angie Shearer - Full Colour Coaching
Healthy food choices and brain boosting snacks : Dawn Tuckwood & Freda Burnett (NHS Public Health Team)
The importance of sleep and anxiety management : Terese Stoddard (NHS Trainee School Nurse)
Nutrition and exercise to help your wellbeing : Lyndsay Van Der Starre (ElevateUfitness)
The following links and information was delivered as part of the event.
Mental Health Peer Educators : Our Role and Accessing Support
Resilient thinking skills and strength Spotting
Our Thoughts can Affect
How we Feel and Act
Identify Three Good Things Each Day
You cant control the thoughts that 'pop' into your head but you can choose how you respond to them and how you act. This then changes your thoughts and feelings.
Managing Unhelpful Thinking Styles
Reframing an Unhelpful Thought
Character Strengths
Take the VIA Survey to Identify Your Character Strengths
Healthy food choices and brain boosting snacks
Healthy Brain Boosting Snack Ideas
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Top Tip - Think long release energy not quick crash energy, these types of foods will keep you physically and mentally healthy for your day ahead and remember to eat the most important meal of the day - Breakfast! 🙂
A healthy, balanced diet means eating the right types of food, and also making sure you’re getting the right amounts. Eating too much or too little of any of the major food groups can be bad for your health.
This website recommends portion sizes for the key food groups that will meet an average person’s nutritional and energy requirements. Different people need different amounts, depending on how old you are, whether you’re male or female, and how active you are. If you’re trying to lose weight, you’ll need to be particularly careful about portion control. You may need to eat smaller or fewer portions than we suggest here – ask your GP or a dietitian if you’re unsure.
Snack and Drink Swaps
Whether it's fighting the after-school tummy rumbles or rounding off dinner with a tasty pud, sugar is the main watch-out here. But even if they don't taste of it, some of these snack foods can contain a lot more salt, sugar (and fat) than you might realise too!.
Sugars in snacks and drinks – particularly those in high sugar drinks and snacks can make you feel that they boost you but can actually turn into a sugar crash.
Swap From......
· Biscuits
· Chocolate
· Cake bars
· Chocolate pudding pots
· Doughnuts
· Muffins
· Crisps
· Salted peanuts
· Split-pot and higher-sugar yoghurts
Swap To......
· A slice of malt loaf or fruited teacake
· Fresh or tinned fruit (in juice, not
syrup) or fruit salad
· A scotch pancake or crumpet
· Sugar-free jelly or lower-sugar custard
· Crackers topped with lower-fat cheese
· Bread or toast with lower-fat spread
· A bagel topped with sliced banana
· Plain popcorn or rice cakes
· Unsalted mixed nuts
· Chopped veg with lower-fat hummus
· Lower-sugar yoghurts or lower-sugar rice pudding
After-school ideas
Swap biscuits, sweets and chocolate muffins for healthier snacks like fruit and chopped veggies, plain rice cakes, toast with lower-fat spread or a fruited teacake.
Healthier snacks like fruit and chopped veggies, plain rice cakes, toast with lower-fat spread or a fruited teacake.
Fill the fridge
Have chopped and ready-to-eat fruit and veg, like apple, carrot, cucumber, celery, peppers, peeled satsuma segments, strawberries, halved grapes, tinned pineapple or melon slices pre-prepared for an easy snack kids can eat with their fingers.
Drink Swaps
Swap From......
· Juice drinks
· Cola and other fizzy drinks
· Milkshakes
· Whole milk
A quarter of the sugar kids have every day comes from sugary drinks – help cut back by making these easy swaps, and remember to keep juice drinks to mealtimes only to help prevent tooth decay.
Brighten up water!
Add a pop of colour with chopped fruits like frozen berries, kiwi and apple to make water taste and look interesting. Take a water bottle with you everywhere – If it’s there you are more likely to drink it.
Make a swap when you shop
When it comes to cutting back on sugar, salt and saturated fat, here are a few quick tips and tricks you can try when you're next in the supermarket or shopping online to help you make healthier choices.
Swap To......
· Water
· Sugar-free drinks
· No-added-sugar
drinks
· Lower-fat milks
Scan the barcode
Use the free NHS Food Scanner app to find out what's really in the food you're buying and get swap suggestions while you're at the shelf!
Go for a Good choice
Picking products that have the "Good choice" badge on the packaging is a quick and easy way to decide what to buy.
Get the green light
Many items now have traffic light labelling on the packaging – go for products that have more greens, and cut down on ones with reds and ambers.
Check the label
If products don't have traffic lights, you can still compare amounts of sugar, salt or fat by looking at the amount per 100g on the nutrition information panel.
Preventing Tooth Decay
Tooth decay happens when bacteria create a sticky layer called plaque over your teeth. This damages the surface of your teeth over time.
Tooth decay is common in children, so it's important to make sure they're looking after their teeth and gums from an early age.
There are some simple things we can do to keep our teeth/gums healthy and prevent tooth decay, particularly for children/young people.
Tooth decay and sugar
Sugar is one of the main causes of tooth decay.
To prevent tooth decay, reduce the amount of food and drinks you have that contain free sugars – such as sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, sugary breakfast cereals, jams, honey, fruit smoothies and dried fruit – and limit them to mealtimes.
The sugars found naturally in fruit and vegetables are less likely to cause tooth decay, because they're contained within the structure.
But when fruit and vegetables are juiced or blended into a smoothie, the sugars are released. Once released, these sugars can damage teeth.
Limit the amount of fruit juice and smoothies you drink to a maximum of 150ml (a small glass) in total per day, and drink it with meals to reduce the risk of tooth decay.
Squashes sweetened with sugar, fizzy drinks, soft drinks and juice drinks have no place in a child's daily diet.
If you're looking after children, swap any sugary drinks for water, lower-fat milk or sugar-free drinks.
Dried fruit and your teeth
It's better for your teeth to eat dried fruit as part of a meal, such as added to your breakfast cereal, tagines and stews, or as part of a healthy dessert – a baked apple with raisins, for example – and not as a between-meal snack.
DO
Do:
brush your teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste – spit after brushing, do not rinse
clean in between your teeth every day using floss or interdental brushes
use sugar-free medicines
have regular dental check-ups (your dentist will be able to advise you about how often you need to go)
Do
DON'T
do not have too much sugary food or drink
do not smoke
The importance of sleep and anxiety management
The importance of sleep Final.pptx
National sleep helpline – 03303 530 541
Sleep Websites
Sleep / Calming Apps
Anxiety Management
Nutrition and exercise to help your wellbeing
Top Tips
“ Wake up, wind down and go to bed at the same time each day,
Write a to do list for the next day will put your mind at rest and keep your worries at bay”.
“Think long release energy not quick crash energy foods, these types of foods will keep you physically and mentally healthy for your day ahead and remember to eat the most important meal of the day - Breakfast 🙂”
“You can't control the thoughts that 'pop' into your head. But you can choose whether or not you believe them. Many thoughts are not facts and we can choose how we respond to them. When you notice an automatic negative thought, ask yourself these questions:
Is it true?
Is it a fact? Is there any evidence for this thought?
What would I tell a friend if they said this?
How else could I view this?
What would a more compassionate / accurate ““thought sound like?”
Exam Support
Exam Mindset Guide
e-Sgoil has partnered with the experts at Headstrong to produce a video series that will help learners with their mental health during the exam process, from studying right through to success in the final exams.
Learners - The videos have been created to be user friendly so learners can access them on their own and are grouped under the following Headings: Understanding Your Mind, Understanding Your Stress and Understanding your Study.
Parents/Carers - Parental engagement with the attainment of our learners is vital for their ongoing success. It can be particularly challenging mentally and emotionally for both parents/carers and learners during exams. This can put a strain on relationships, so these videos are designed to equip them with the right strategies and ways of successfully working with their young people. This can help by reducing stress and giving the learners the best possible chance of attaining well and in a healthy way.