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

Managing Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Reframing an Unhelpful Thought

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! 🙂

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. 

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

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.

The importance of sleep and anxiety management

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.