Bursars Review | Spring 2018 | Sample

News 7 @the_isba Spring 2018 Providing stable environments for pupils According to the Institute for Public Policy Research, in the last 10 years there has been a five-fold increase in the number of children suffering with mental health concerns and the under-funded health support networks are struggling to cope. Warren Honey, headmaster at Hydesville Tower School in Walsall, says in his latest blog that while the report’s focus is on pupils entering higher education, it is often during the teenage years that these difficulties start to take hold. This is evidenced by the teenage mental health charity, stem4, which surveyed 500 teenagers and discovered that the greatest anxieties arose from exam worries, work overload, friendship concerns, low self-confidence and body image fears. More recently though, the toxic environment children find themselves growing up in has been added to by rhetoric about the world and our safety within it. He ponders the help that schools and parents can offer, saying: “We cannot isolate our children from all negative stories or events because it does not prepare them to stand on their own two feet and make their way in the world. Nor can we eradicate all the pressures and concerns, many of which are internally-driven. “Instead, adults must give children stable and supportive environments where they can grow up with confidence. “In our school, we use tutor sessions and PSHE lessons to encourage children to share any concerns openly, and for reassurance to be found in having others with similar views. Some children need more support than others so if needed, we assign mentors to those who require extra emotional support. Our pastoral managers work closely with children who may be causing concern and our individualised care of every child means that we are alerted to any changes in emotional well-being. “We shouldn’t ignore the power of peer-to-peer support either. At Hydesville we have a ‘reading buddy’ scheme across our prep school where older children support their younger peers with their reading; and in our senior school, older pupils help younger ones in tutor sessions by modelling more mature outlooks and approaches”. From bumble bees to butterflies, the UK’s 1,500 species of pollinators play a crucial role, helping flowers, fruit trees and crops to grow and contributing £400-680million per year due to improved productivity. In the winter bees need help to provide them with the food and shelter they need to survive the cold. Defra offers three top tips: • Plant flowers, shrubs and trees that thrive in winter. The evergreen mahonia is excellent winter food for bees, while the pendant bells of winter flowering clematis can give pollinators a sugary energy boost. Ivy plants are also an ideal source of food for bees in late autumn − avoid cutting them down. • Leave suitable places for hibernation undisturbed. Letting areas of a lawn grow long until the spring can provide a hibernation home while cool, north-facing banks are ideal places for bees to burrow. The hollow tubes of dead stems of plants in borders can also serve as a great nesting spot. • Planting early flowering bulbs like crocus, primrose, snowdrop or coltsfoot that flower in February and March to help support bees and pollinators looking for an early feed. Winter is also the perfect time to plant bee-friendly trees, such as acacia, blackthorn and hazel. CHAMPION SCHOOLS At the annual Bees’ Needs Champions awards, hosted at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, at the end of last year, pupils from two schools were named champions. Projects by Goldthorpe Primary School in Barnsley and St Albans Primary School in Havant were recognised among 17 bee-boosting projects by volunteers, schools, charities and councils across the country, which are helping pollinators thrive both in the countryside and in our towns and cities. The two schools were praised for their pollinator- encouraging enterprises, including building bee hotels, creating wildlife meadows and campaigning in the local community. St Albans Primary School has set up a ‘pollinator promise’ to get the local community involved too. BEES' NEEDS Warren Honey, headmaster at Hydesville Tower School