This year's Wellbeing Week began with a fantastic parents’ webinar provided by Tina Lond-Caulk, the Nutrition Guru. Her presentation placed the importance of diet at the centre of our wellbeing, with many tips on how to improve sleep, manage anxiety and improve low moods - all connected to the food we eat. I was pleased to see over 60 Channing Senior School parents attending the presentation on the day, and I know that many of you have watched the video, which you can watch here. Food for thought!

On Tuesday afternoon, Year 7 pupils attended a series of workshops designed to encourage them to connect with other people in their houses. Many thanks to Mrs Garrill who provided sessions about creating friendships, Ms Vince who ran interactive workshops on Forum Theater, Ms Lindsay and Ms Della-Porta who used a large ball of string to connect pupils in a trust building exercise, and Ms Mohabeer who led wonderfully relaxing meditation activities which demonstrated her expertise as a sound therapist.

On Wednesday, pupils examined How to Recharge our Batteries in their latest form time activity from Good Thinking, an NHS approved website which provides support and advice for young people living in London. Form Tutors have been delivering these sessions throughout the year and we are currently on Number 8, with just two to go before the end of next term.

On Wednesday and Thursday, all year groups in the senior school were able to listen to a talk on the science and research behind the PEBE sports bras, and were then able to have sports bra fittings led by the team in private and comfortable environments.

‘This experience was so beneficial for all students involved and provided an important insight into the importance of a comfortable and supportive sports bra. The feedback from the sessions have been so positive and a great way to conclude wellbeing week in 2025.’

Natasha H and Mimi H our Year 12 PE Leaders

I found this workshop helpful as it taught me about how we grow and why we need sports bras. It also helped me learn in the future what types of sports bras to buy and my size. These sports bras were extremely comfortable and you can change the length of the straps easily. They come in so many different sizes which is very inclusive. I have learnt so much from this workshop as it was so interesting and feel much better about finding the right bra.

Mia M - Year 7

In addition, pupils in Year 8 helped me to make smoothies which were appreciated by many during Wednesday lunchtime, and the Year 9 Wellbeing Ambassadors also met to develop an assembly to highlight how impactful four simple letters ‘R U OK?’ can be in supporting one another.

Thursday’s events involved Ms Vince’s community activity during form time, in which pupils from different year groups were asked to work together to build towers from spaghetti and marshmallows - an exercise which proved trickier than anticipated! Well done to Year 8 Spears who built the tallest tower using lots of ingenuity…… and sellotape!

Elsewhere, pupils in Year 8 discussed the complexity of feelings in their PSHE lessons, and Year 9 forms continued their wellbeing carousel with lessons about economic wellbeing and online gambling addiction. I must thank Jen Barnaby, our wonderful school counsellor, for all the work she has put into supporting colleagues and pupils during Year 9 PSHE lessons about Understanding Depression this term.

I am also incredibly grateful for the continued work of Sabina Gray, a recovering addict who has been sharing her story and delivering a powerful drug awareness message at Channing for many years. Colleagues reported that pupils in Year 11 couldn't stop talking about her presentation afterwards, with many describing it as the best PSHE talk they had ever had.

On Friday Dr Anna Colton came into school to provide pertinent seminars about Disordered Eating with Year 8, and Coping With Uncertainty with Year 9. It is great to have such a respected advocate for children's wellbeing connected to our school community, and I know that many of you are already aware of her new book - How To Talk to Children About Food, which has been described by one reviewer as, ‘an eye-opening and shame-free guide on how we improve our children's relationship with food’.

In addition, the Sixth Form considered how to manage anxiety in their weekly assembly, and Year 13 students attended a fascinating presentation about safety at university with Channing PSHE favourite, Deana Puccio. I must also thank my wonderful PEP Trainers in Year 12 who have been providing sessions on wellbeing in a series of PSHE lessons provided by the Mental Health Foundation. They have approached the sessions with a high level of integrity and professionalism that has really been appreciated by both Year 7 pupils and Form Tutors.

Many thanks to the many colleagues who helped to make the week a success, and to all the pupils who got involved so enthusiastically - especially when fruit cups were on offer! I was particularly touched by the many kind comments I received following my assembly on Tuesday about Unhelpful Thoughts.

It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child, and never is this more true than during Wellbeing Week at Channing.

Best of Health!

Mr Gittins