By: Blonde One

The link between a good state of mental health and being outdoors is very well documented. It has been proved over and again that getting outside is good for your mental and physical health, and not just by us Blondes! Recently Trinity School held one of their Impact Days: this one with a focus on well-being. Even having the name of the day as Well-Being Day made me feel happy! The timetable was collapsed for the day and our students had a wealth of different activities to try to help them to consider their mental health and give them strategies to be able to cope with the pressures of day to day life. There was stone balancing, aromatherapy, revision planning, relaxation, Tai Chi, and all sorts of other fabulous things. Luckily for me, I spent the day outside. The day began for our upper school with making their own cups of tea on Trangias. They went outside, cooked their tea and then went for a wander around the school grounds while they chatted with their friends or just found a quiet space to sit and relax. I saw and heard how the students were so grateful to not be rushing around. They commented on how lovely it was to be given time to ‘just be’. It was indeed a fantastic way to start the day; for them and for me.

After lunch, I headed out again to our Forest School area to work with our younger students. They made bananas and chocolate to cook in the fire. Some of them had never done this before. While the bananas were cooking they worked in groups to try and start their own fires with flints, cotton wool and whatever dry wood they could find. All of them were totally engrossed in this task. I saw some amazing planning, some brilliant teamwork and some very successful fires. The groups then sat around the big fire and enjoyed their squishy, delicious bananas.

The whole day was simply fantastic. It was hard work for my lovely colleague who organised it but he should be very satisfied at the end of the day that he has made huge strides towards improving the long term mental health of our students. They have now got a wealth of strategies at their fingertips that they know will help them if they are feeling the pressure of life.

After the event the school was asked to give feedback on the day. Students were asked to state which activities they enjoyed the most. Guess which ones came out on top?!