Online Safety Newsletter- Autumn 2018
Click the link for the latest Herts for Learning online_safety_newsletter produced for Schools, Parents and Carers. For previous newsletters click here.
Parents Evening
Monday 22nd and Wednesday 24th October
Please see letter attached regarding Parent Consultation arrangements for this term. This information has also been emailed directly to parents and carers.
We look forward to seeing you all.
Parent Consultation Letter Oct 18
Wormley National Wellbeing Award
Wormley is continuing to work towards the achievement of the Well-being Award for Schools. You may have noticed some of the things we have been doing in school to promote positive emotional wellbeing and good mental health. Here are a lucky 13 below:
- Daily Mile: Most days the children walk/run for 15mins to try and cover a mile a day.
- Daily Check-in: Children can indicate to their teachers throughout the day how they are feeling and if they need support with something
- Mindfulness: The children have dedicated time for personal reflection and stillness
- Enrichment days: These are dedicated days to wellbeing and mental health such as #HelloYellow Day. All day the children participate in activities to learn how to be healthy.
- Rights and Responsibilities: We choose to have rights and responsibilities instead of rules. At Wormley everyone has the right to be safe and healthy; to play & learn; to be respected and to be treated equally.
- Nurture groups: Children who need additional emotional support
- Manta Rays: Lunch time nurture support
- Advocates: Children have adults available to support them throughout the day
- Calm spaces: Throughout the school the children have designated spaces equipped with personalised resources where they can calm down or take some time to relax.
- Social Learning Agenda: Wormley school is working with Equipping Kids (formerly the Centre of Excellence for Social Learning) to develop the children and adults as effective social learners.
- Forest school: For whole classes and small groups to build confidence and a connection with nature
- Nurture Garden: A small playground for invited children to play confidently and makes friends
- Collective worship: Daily opportunities for the children to reflect and develop their spirituality based on the aims of the school and Christian values identified by St Albans Diocesan
#Hello Yellow Day 2018
More children and young people than ever before are seeking help with their mental health, but fewer than one in ten find it easy to get the support they need. That’s why on World Mental Health Day, Wednseday 10th October, we are supporting YoungMinds #HelloYellow campaign to promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
This year we will be focusing on resilience and reflection. The children can come to school in their PE kit and the youngest children will receive a Hello Yellow sticker. During the day the children will take part in a range of activities linked to our wellbeing mascots.
- Captain Kinetic: Promotes being active and physically healthy
- Nutrition Ninja: Promotes nutrition and healthy eating
- Agent Lifestyle: Promotes harmony and compassion with others
- Mindset Warrior: Promoting personal reflection and developing resilience
Our commitment to emotional wellbeing and positive mental health is so strong that we are currently attempting to a achieve the Wellbeing Award for Schools. Please support us with this by speaking to the children about #HelloYellow Day and asking the school about the various ways we support the children’s wellbeing in school.
Fortnite!! Really?
More and more children in the school are talking about playing the game ‘Fortnite’. Whilst we understand the game is very popular, it is also highly addictive and unsafe if played without strict monitoring.
Before your child plays Fortnite for the first time or goes back online, we urge you to take the time to learn more about it and the risks by reading the brief articles below.
For starters, the game is rated for aged 12 which means it is not recommended for any child at primary school. However, children as young as 5 are saying that they are playing everyday. There is absolutely no good reason a child this young should be playing the game. Apart from the mild violence, the game is designed for online chat with other players and is highly addictive. Addictive games often lead to tiredness, extreme behaviour and a lack of interest in other things. Young children simply should not be playing this game.
As a parent it can be difficult to make unpopular decisions for your children. Particularly when people in the media are promoting the game and just about every other child is doing Fortnite dances wherever you go. That said, it is really important that your children are kept safe and their well being is protected. Perhaps this is easier if you agree boundaries as a group of parents so all your child’s friends are doing the same thing. This has worked for some parents.
Gaming is good fun but needs to be appropriate and carefully monitored.
