Schools turn to mindfulness for relieving stress among students

Children attending school in deprived areas of Britain are being taught mindfulness in order to ease tension and anxiety – and it’s working. The technique has been adapted in areas such as Litherland, Merseyside, where students are continuously exposed to violence and gang activity. Methods of relaxation such as controlled breathing have been helpful to children who internalise feelings, and who may slip beneath a teacher’s radar when in need of support. “If I concentrate on my breathing, the worrying thoughts just go ‘pop’ and disappear” One nine-year-old-boy confided. He also said it helped him to forget about “all the scary stuff”. The popularity of such programmes has created a 40% increase in the amount of teachers taking the training in 2018, with 2,000 educators signing up for guidance with the Mindfulness in Schools Project. Much of the interest has come from schools with higher than average proportions of vulnerable children.