.breathe is a four-session programme aimed at the school children aged 9-14. It can be taught as part of a broader Social, Personal, Health Education (SPHE) curriculum.
In particular, .breathe explores issues around:
Working with concentration and focus; exploring how we can work with a wandering mind. Why humans worry, and how to support ourselves when we do so.
Sleep: why it is important and what to do if we struggle to sleep well.
Being with others: the opportunities and challenges of working skillfully with friendships and other relationships, both in person and online.
Each session includes:
- Learning about key areas of the brain and how they support us in our everyday activities
- Some introductory mindfulness practices
- Animations
- Discussions
- Exercises they can try in their own time
.breathe was developed as part of a large scale research project called ‘Healthy Minds’. Bounce Forward, in partnership with the London School of Economics (LSE), secured funding from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to test a social, personal , health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum aimed at 11-14 year-olds in UK schools.
The overall conclusions from the research were very positive, with statistically significant improvements across a full range of Health-Related Quality of Life, behavioural and emotional well-being measures.
The feedback from children who have previously taken part in .breathe is very positive. They report enjoying the
lessons and find the learning supports them in a broad range of situations from being able to concentrate and focus more easily in school to helping them feel calmer in exams and competitions. Many have described sharing the learning with other family members and finding it helps them with their relationships with family and friends.
