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Learning about Children's Mental Health through Film
  • Films for Parents / CarersThis is the Nip in the Bud Films for Parents / Carers post type

        • Mental Health Conditions

        • AnxietyAnxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health problems identified in children. Estimates of the rates of prevalence vary greatly from 8% to 27% lifetime prevalence by age 18. Chronic anxiety disorders are associated with increased risk of other serious mental health problems in later life. Therefore, early identification and treatment is key. Watch our information and real life experience films below or view and download our fact sheet and supporting presentation.
        • Depression
        • OCD
        • PTSD
        • Eating Disorders
        • Why is my child self-harming?
        • TraumaTrauma in children may be: A one-off experience, such as a car crash Living in an atmosphere that feels unsafe, or where they are witness to violence Experiencing, or witnessing, harm Experiences of war, or of becoming a refugee Stressful and challenging experiences are a part of life, and most children will experience these at some point. This becomes traumatic if the event is more than a child can make sense of, or cope with. To learn more about Trauma in Children, please refer to our informational and real-life experiences videos.
        • Body dysmorphic disorder

        • Neurodivergent Conditions

        • ADHD
        • Autism
        • Conduct Disorders/ODD
        • DyslexiaDyslexia in children is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting language processing, particularly in reading, spelling, and writing. It emerges early in childhood and persists into adulthood. Encourage your child’s strengths and provide a patient, nurturing environment. Remember, dyslexia doesn’t define intelligence. With the right resources like ours below, your child can flourish and excel in their own unique way.

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        • Early Intervention SeriesNip in the Bud has produced four short early intervention films to explain the steps parents/carers can take to help a child who they suspect may be struggling with their mental health or with other difficulties or special educational needs.
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        • Families Under Pressure
        • UK Trauma Council ResourcesNip in the Bud is very grateful to the UK Trauma Council for permitting us to show on our website their series of four excellent animation films about Trauma and PTSD. The UK Trauma Council’s work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. These animations have been produced with the involvement of young people themselves, and are designed to help young people and the adults around them recognise the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. They also suggest ways of coping with scary memories, explain the science around the best treatments, and answer any worries you might have about getting support.

        • Emotional Wellbeing

        • Grief & loss
        • Coping with Stigma
        • Smartphones: A Stolen Childhood
        • Managing Anxiety
          around school
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        • Feelings Wheel for Children
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  • Films for Teachers / ProfessionalsThis is the Nip in the Bud Films for Teachers / Professionals post type

        • Mental Health Conditions

        • AnxietyIt is becoming increasingly common that children and young people in your school or classroom may be diagnosed with anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety in children vary, but it’s important that you are able to understand and recognise how this might affect learning in a classroom environment. It’s normal for everyone to feel anxious from time to time – it’s a normal response to stress. However, some young people may experience uncontrollable levels of anxiety that are excessive in relation to what’s happening around them –can therefore struggle with their day-to-day tasks and schoolwork. Common worries can become overwhelming for children and young people with anxiety leading to them becoming quite distressed. If this does happen there are a few ways in which you can respond to try and calm the situation. Some signs and symptoms to look out for include tears when entering school, being withdrawn from their peers, concentration difficulties, fidgeting, changes in appetite, and irritability. Download our factsheet for more information on what to look for if you suspect a child or young person in your class is suffering from anxiety. Getting the conversation going can be a good starting point – for example, planning lessons themed around…
        • DepressionDepression is a common yet serious mood disorder that involves a persistence of deep sadness, hopelessness, and numbness. Someone experiencing depressing may feel a constant melancholy that prevents them from enjoying their everyday life. Children and young people especially can feel alone and misunderstood which often stops them from expressing how they feel to people close to them. This isolation can lead to suicidal feelings, self-harm and, in a worst-case scenario, suicide. Parents and teachers are often the first to identify the symptoms of depression in children and young people. Some key symptoms of depression include excessive and persistent worry, moodiness, over or undereating, and self-harm. Some symptoms manifest in physical ways that are a little easier to spot as a teacher during school time such as frequent aches and pains, not wanting to play, either complete isolation or clinginess, and uncharacteristic irritability and anger. There are many risk factors at school that can lead a child to develop depression. As a teacher, you should be on the lookout for children experiencing bullying, social isolation, a lack of self-confidence, and an inability to keep up with schoolwork, among other factors. Children particularly vulnerable to depression are ones who experience abuse,…
        • OCDObsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that involves repetitive, intrusive, and impulsive thoughts and images entering the mind, causing intense anxiety. As a result of this anxiety, the child or young person engages in compulsive or repetitive behaviours designed to ease their anxiety. They then obsessively repeat these behaviours to rid themselves of the anxiety, causing detriment to their daily life. Early signs of OCD can include excessive worrying and feeling a strong sense of responsibility over yourself and others. A child or young person will ask for constant reassurance about whether their homework is correct or whether they are doing something right or being a good student as they no longer trust their own judgement. As a teacher, these are early signs you can look out for which can inform how you approach the child going forward. Stress at school and bullying are key factors which exacerbate the development of OCD – the more overwhelmed a child feels, the more they give into their compulsive, repetitive behaviours to ease their anxiety. As a teacher, it is your duty to make sure the classroom is a safe space for all, keeping an eye on students who seem…
        • PTSDPTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder can be triggered in children and young people when they experience a particularly horrifying or scarring event. The cause can be as varied as a car crash or sexual assault. A child can develop PTSD if they are involved in this event, witnessed it, or even heard about it second-hand. It can be difficult to identify PTSD in children and young people, as they are reluctant to talk about the trauma they experienced as a way to protect themselves. However, there are some tell-tale signs of PTSD that you can look out for in your students. Children with PTSD will often have trouble concentrating and may even fall asleep during school time due to the lack of sleep they’re having at home, making learning much harder. A sudden plummet in grades is also a red flag – in such cases, it is important to check up on the student rather than reprimand them, which can cause further harm. PTSD also causes many children or young people to become highly irritable and angry due to the intense emotions they’re experiencing, often making them see other people as a threat. In this case, it is important to…
        • Eating DisordersAn eating disorder develops when a child’s and young person’s emotional well-being gets tangled up with their eating habits – for example, if their self-esteem is dependent on how much they eat or don’t eat. Eating disorders are most common in teenagers between the ages of 13 to 17 and they can manifest in a multitude of ways. Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental illness where a person has an intense fear of gaining weight, often accompanied by body dysmorphia – a distorted view of one’s body. This fear leads them to eat very little or nothing at all, leading to severe and potentially life-threatening weight loss. Bulimia nervosa is a serious mental illness that stems from being shamed about consuming large amounts of food, and your weight. A person will binge eat as much food as they can in a short space of time – this is often out of their control. They will then purge – making themselves throw up all the food they have eaten to avoid putting on weight from the binge. This leads to severe and potentially life-threatening weight loss. Binge eating is a serious mental illness which, similarly to Bulimia, involves consuming large amounts…
        • Self-harm in the ClassroomSelf-harm in children and young people happens when a person experiences an overwhelming flood of emotions such as guilt, shame, anger, hate, and a lack of control. This leads them to inflict deliberate harm upon themselves as a way to relieve the flood of emotions they are experiencing and punish themselves for feeling them in the first place. This can take the form of cutting themselves with sharp objects, over-eating or under-eating, pulling their hair out, burning themselves, and misusing intoxicants such as alcohol and drugs. Distress and overwhelming emotions often manifest during school time, and as a teacher it is important to have an awareness that school can be a trigger for students struggling with self-harming tendencies. Create a safe and open space for all students by letting your students know you are always here to support and hear them out whenever they need it. Common signs of self-harm include cuts, burns, and hair-pulling – these are easier to spot as they are often visible on the student’s body. However, young people can be very good at hiding their scars under long jumpers and trousers. If a student is adamant about keeping their jumper on even during hot temperatures,…
        • TraumaIf a child in your care is suffering with Trauma, they will be very distressed. This may be obvious, or it may show up in the form of physical ailments such as headaches or vomiting. They may show signs of regression in toileting or feeding, struggle with their schoolwork or find it difficult to concentrate. Watch our Informational film on Trauma and Children with Dr Sian Williams and Dr David Trickey to understand how children react to Trauma and how they can be helped.
        • Body dysmorphic disorder

        • Neurodivergent Conditions

        • ADHDADHD, or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, presents itself in many ways which can sometimes make it difficult for teachers to spot the signs. It is characterised by difficulties in the areas of attention, level of activity and impulse control. ADHD is a recognised developmental disorder which can affect many areas of a child’s life – including in a learning environment. It is common for ADHD to be misdiagnosed in girls, as the symptoms of ADHD present differently to that of boys, and aren’t as commonly shared. One of the most important things you can do as a teacher for a student with ADHD is to learn and understand how they are feeling, and how they see the world around them. Sometimes for students with ADHD it may feel like nobody understands them. In this video, we go through our tips for teachers who have a child in their class who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Also, view our Practical Tips for Teachers in the Classroom below .
        • Autism
        • Conduct Disorders/ODDODD, or oppositional defiant disorder, is diagnosed in children and young people that are persistently and repetitively antisocial, disobedient, have frequent tantrums, can not listen to authority, and purposely harm others. Conduct disorders are the most common disorders in children and are more frequent in boys, with 7% of boys and 3% of girls meeting the criteria for conduct disorders. It is normal for children and young people to be defiant towards authority to some degree, but if a particular student stands out from the others in your class and is perpetually defiant, violent and resentful towards others, this can develop into ODD. A child or young person with ODD will often engage in a range of violent and destructive behaviours such as fighting, temper tantrums, arguing with adults and peers, and lying and blaming others for their behaviour. In some extreme cases, the child or young person may engage in being cruel to animals and starting fires. As a teacher, it can be difficult to know how to handle a student with ODD in a way that ensures they make the most of their learning and helps their behaviours and social relationships. However, there are things you can do…
        • DyslexiaChildren with Dyslexia have a different intelligence, way of thinking and way of seeing the world.  Many innovators, inventors and successful entrepreneurs have been Dyslexic.  Dyslexic thinking skills include imagination, inspiration, creativity and the ability to solve things. They sometimes find it difficult to fit into rigorous, inflexible education methods. Our resources for teachers and professionals on Dyslexia explain that if the condition is spotted early, there are strategies that can be used to work on the strengths of Dyslexic children which will allow them to develop different talents and thrive in life.

        • Practical Guides

        • Managing transitions
        • Tips for Teachers Series
        • Barriers to Learning
        • Handling Disclosures
        • Early Intervention SeriesThis Early Intervention series of short episodes produced by Nip in the Bud are a guide to how schools can help parents if they notice changes in behaviour or in emotional wellbeing in a child and how parents and teaching staff can work together to address potential children’s mental health conditions.
        • Training Resource
        • UK Trauma Council ResourcesNip in the Bud has been given permission by the UK Trauma Council to share this series of four short animations which they have produced on the topic of Trauma and PTSD. The UK Trauma Council’s work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. These animations have been produced with the involvement of young people themselves, and are designed to help young people and the adults around them recognise the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. They also suggest ways of coping with scary memories, explain the science around the best treatments, and answer any worries you might have about getting support.

        • Emotional Wellbeing

        • Grief & loss
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        • Smartphones: A Stolen Childhood
        • Managing Anxiety
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        • Feelings Wheel for Teachers
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Fact Sheets / Strategies to Support Children’s Wellbeing

Strategies to Support Children’s Wellbeing

This fact sheet was prepared during the COVID-19 pandemic however still provides many useful strategies for teachers to support children’s mental health and wellbeing when transitioning back to school after a period away.

Managing Transitions

Whole-school strategies to support children’s wellbeing.

We are all acutely aware of two questions at the moment as we are in the midst of the transition having reopened our schools to the whole school community:

  1. How can we manage to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of our children, young people and families?
  2. How do we plan to recover the lost learning that may have been a result of the months of lockdown?

Act as if what you do makes a difference… it does!

Start by asking why…

Why do we need to think differently?

  • To acknowledge and accept the changes that have happened since March
  • To begin to observe and assess the changes that have happened and plan a ‘recovery’ curriculum
  • To consider how to notice SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) need
  • To consider how to support the needs of all

Acknowledge and accept change

We need to acknowledge that change has happened and that this will look different for every individual. We cannot assume that we have all had the same experiences during lockdown. Some children would have dealt with bereavement, others the feeling of isolation, some fear, others boredom. Some may have been witness to domestic violence, others to watching as parents lose their jobs and all the associated fears and complications that come with that.

Some would have had a great time at home with parents supporting them with their home learning, spending time and building relationships with siblings that are deeper than they ever had before. Some would have benefited from being at home, slowing down, taking time to just be. They may grieve the loss of this lovely situation as they come back to school, especially to a school that looks and runs differently as it fulfills the new government guidelines to help keep the school community safe. As educators we need to acknowledge and accept that change has happened, that it will be profound for some and less for others, that it will have affected the children as well as ourselves and our colleagues. The impact of this change will not always be obvious.

How can we begin to assess the impact of change and move forward?

As educators we need to spend time noticing the children in our class and building relationships that allow the child to feel safe and empower them to reveal their needs to us so that we can better support them. Creating a curriculum that allows time for us to step back and observe, much like the early years curriculum, is crucial in the early stages when we return to school this September.

Open ended investigations, independent activities and child-led learning opportunities are all key to helping us ascertain the tone of our new class. Planning for these types of learning opportunities will enable the teachers and teaching assistants to assess not only the mental, social and emotional needs but also the academic.

Assessment for learning

Can be done in this low stakes, supportive environment and can inform planning so that it is targeted, individualised and highly effective.

So what can a ‘recovery curriculum’ look like in our schools?

We must begin, in the first instance, by organising learning that does not raise anxiety in our children, but instead reminds the child exactly how much they already know, how much they have remembered.

Using this simple technique as a starting point will help to build a child’s selfconfidence and self-esteem. Once the children have been given the time and space to settle, and once the teacher has a clearer picture of where they are with their learning, progress can be obtained through planning for teaching and learning that gently builds on and stretches the child’s skills and knowledge. Next steps can be gleaned and shared with the child who is able to work at their own pace, developing new skills and building knowledge.

How can we notice SEMH needs?

We can build a picture of the needs of a child in 2 ways:

  • Through cognitive processes: thinking, knowing, remembering and problem solving.
  • Through body language and behaviours.

In order to give children the opportunity to reflect on the way they are feeling, to think about their emotions and thoughts and to consider the impact of all of this on their behaviours we need to encourage them to slow down and reflect.

We have created a Let’s go S.L.O.W approach:

  • Stop: Build time into the day to allow for some mindfulness activities. Consider the moment, ask ourselves how we feel now? Consider what has led to you feeling like you are in this moment. Reflect.
  • Listen: Listen to ourselves, listen to others around us. What can we hear when we look inwards and how does this make us feel? What are the experiences of others around us? Can we relate to their experiences, can we empathise? How does this help us to better understand our own experience?
  • Open Up: Share our thoughts and feelings with those around us to help us to understand ourselves better. By finding words to express how we feel we can begin the understanding and maybe even the healing process if that is what is needed.
  • Work Together: Working with others, either in a pair or in groups can help us to be stronger, to better understand the changes that have happened and the experiences that we have had, but also to consider ways forward to learn from and build upon them.

Signs to look for – speaking bodies not talking mouths

It is important to remember that some children will not be able to work through their emotions cognitively. We will need to try to look for signs in their body language and behaviours that may suggest they need support.

Signs to look out for include: Tight jaw, sickness, tension headache, raised shoulders, no eye contact, excessive eye contact, change of behaviours, overly chatty, overly energetic, lethargy There are lots of signs to say that children are feeling unsafe, unhappy, anxious.

We need to help children to recognise these signs in their bodies, but also use our observation skills to read body language to help us identify when a child may need extra support.

How can we support our children to talk about feelings?

The Feelings Wheel is a great tool for encouraging to articulate their feelings and provides new words to help unpick how a child is feeling. The center of the wheel provides the most basic example of how a child may try to describe their feelings. As you move out to each layer new vocabulary is offered to help support a child in unpicking their feelings and reflecting on them more deeply.

Emotion Coaching (The Gottman Institute)

Emotion coaching was first introduced by John Gottman and his colleagues in the USA.

Emotion coaching is about helping children to become more aware of their emotions and to manage their own feelings particularly during instances where a child is not able to self-regulate leading to anti-social behaviours. We need to remember that all behaviour is communication and we need to consider what is being communicated behind the behaviours.

Emotion coaching entails these steps:

  • Recognising feelings – Talk to the child and begin to name what you can see.
  • Validating and labelling children’s emotions – the feelings wheel will be helpful here.
  • Setting limits where appropriate and if needed – Share your expectations, make it clear what is appropriate, safe behaviour.
  • Problem-solve with the child – develop more effective behavioural strategies together.

For more information go to: https://www.emotioncoachinguk.com/

Protective Behaviours (familiesfeelingsafe.co.uk)

Children need to know that they have a right to feel safe all of the time. Co-regulate to self-regulate. Teach the child behaviours that will help them to self-regulate. It is important to think about what may lead to increasing anxiety in a child. If we can predict it we can begin to put things in place that may prevent it, or at least give children tools to manage anxiety. Give the child the voice to create a plan together that will support them during difficult times.

  • Ask the child to identify any triggers or triggering feelings.
  • Ask the child to identify a safe adult or safe adults
  • Ask the child to identify a safe place.
  • Remind the children they can to to someone even if it’s awful or small Remind the children to stop-feel-think-do once they have ownership of their safety plan.

Once we have considered how to support our children in their transition back into school, and make a ‘recovery curriculum’ that incorporates both the academic as well as the mental health and wellbeing needs of our children, we can begin the new academic year more equipped to face the unknown that we may be required to face.

For more information and resources visit families feeling safe:
www.familiesfeelingsafe.co.uk
https://familiesfeelingsafe.co.uk/resources/free-downloads-2/

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