Improving pupils’ wellbeing with KIWI and Character Strength Development

Ponteland Primary School piloted Cloud9UK KIWI and Character Strength Development resources to improve pupils’ wellbeing and encourage the development of positive qualities. 

We caught up with the school’s Year 6 Teacher Becky Fletcher and EYFS Teacher Amelia Sivell to see the impact on pupils. Within the programmes, pupils accessed the interactive videos, books, and tasks within the lesson plans.

Becky tells us: 

“Our current provisions for mental health and pupil wellbeing in my class include ‘Calm box’ in the classroom and regular informal ‘check-ins’ with pupils. We also have longer weekly ‘check-in’ sessions for pupils who need additional support. There are also various extra-curricular opportunities I encourage children to participate in for their mental wellbeing, including sports, languages, art, and drama.

“I was looking for a social-emotional learning programme as I felt we didn’t have a consistent whole-school approach to wellbeing. Covid also impacted all pupils to some extent. The main impact I’ve seen relates to pupils’ social interaction and understanding of school expectations.

“Cloud9UK sounded appealing as it is already widely used in the USA.

“In Year 6, we used the resources before morning lessons began and then did some follow-up work in PSHE (taught by a different teacher) and in assemblies.

“The support from the Cloud9UK team was great, and the implementation process was relatively easy. Overall, I enjoyed the programme’s structure, and the videos, stories and colouring sheets were most helpful.”

Amelia added:

“Our current provisions for mental health and pupil wellbeing in school include a calm corner area, circle time, relatable books, and displays in school.

“We were looking for a social-emotional learning programme because of covid’s effect on children’s wellbeing and the gaps it created in their social development. Some children struggled to socialise at the beginning of the year as they were not used to being around other children. We wanted to make wellbeing a focus throughout the whole school.

“Cloud9UK was timetabled in PSHE lessons once a week. The accompanying emotional toys were most helpful as the children enjoyed picking them up and using them to express their feelings. These were used all the time in continuous provision. The video and story resources were also beneficial.

“The Cloud9UK resource has enabled the children to express their emotions and explain why they feel the way they do. One child said they felt ‘joy’ because they were looking forward to the school fair, then they took a deep breath and used the techniques to become calm again.”