The Mind of my Own app helps children express their feelings and get in touch with their wellbeing.
Mind Of My Own | Making it easier for children and young people to communicate
Following the successful pilot at Lea Valley Primary School, we want to gauge if other schools are interested in using the Mind of My Own app.
The tool encourages children to log their feelings and views, giving teachers the opportunity to tailor classes and the curriculum to their needs.
The lockdown has proved challenging for many children and the pilot allowed teachers to understand how the school and partners can protect and invest in their mental health and wellbeing.
The app was initially created for children in care to express their day’s activities and feelings safely and discreetly, so that their care workers could respond in a timely manner, however it is been clear that the potential can stretch much further.
Children benefit from being able to say how they feel and talking to people about their problems. This builds self-awareness, helps them recognise their emotions and increases their emotional vocabulary. It has helped us identify potential safeguarding concerns and make early interventions.
The app logs statements input by the children on an iPad and documents their feelings and views – then shared with a trusted professional like a teacher.
The findings from the pilot indicated that the initiative is having a positive impact by giving another avenue to access vulnerable children and allowing schools to intervene at an early stage. If a young person says they feel unsafe unwell or unhappy, this will show up in the service portal that the school have access to and flags the negative feeling.
The app enables pupils to celebrate things that are positive in their lives at home and at school. This can also be shared with the class. In addition, teachers can pick up on children’s aspirations for hobbies and sports they may like to try out. This further helps the school explore community resources for the child to broaden their horizons into.
One huge win is that children are understanding that ‘it’s s ok not to be ok’. Talking about these feelings helps them to access their emotions and find ways to deal with daily challenges.
Case Study – pupil
A pupil had made a statement about being afraid of where she lived. The class teacher made some time to explore this with the pupil and was able to find out where this fear had stemmed from. It turned out that the pupil’s house had been robbed a few months ago and the fear had stemmed from this.
The school was able to act by enabling the pupil to receive some counselling from their school counsellor. The sessions were also made available to the parents.
Case Study – teacher
One teacher noticed that there were many statements which highlighted friendship issues. She then decided to plan a half term unit in the PSHRE session on friendships. This strategy will help deal with this issue becoming a class focus which can interfere with learning.
If your school is interested in seeing how the app could be used to benefit your students wellbeing and inform your teachers understanding, please register your interest with Beverley Hendricks, Assistant Director, Safeguarding and Social Care, Children’s Services, Haringey Council. Beverley.Hendricks@haringey.gov.uk
Mind Of My Own | Making it easier for children and young people to communicate