Mental Health Awareness Week

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and here at Kids Planet, we are proud to support the wellbeing of both our children and staff.

We introduced Mindful Moments throughout all our nurseries. It is a programme of lessons, stories and games to encourage our children to develop positive habits around mental health, from understanding how their brains work to learning basic stress management techniques. Through our Mindful Moments programme, our children are learning how to develop calmer, happier and more resilient mind-sets which will serve them well beyond their time at nursery.

At Kids Planet we believe that everyone should thrive in the workplace. We try to be proactive and recognise that having a fulfilling job with purpose and lots of opportunities can be good for our team’s mental health and general wellbeing. We feel that by creating a culture that supports mental health through openness and honesty helps our staff feel more supported at work. Just like any workplace issue, the first step in addressing mental health is education that’s why we provide managers with training, information and resources which helps them better recognise signs and symptoms of mental health to be able to be supportive and more equipped to have those sensitive conversations with their team and encourage staff to reach out. We have trained MHFA Mental Health First Aiders on hand to offer support, whether its advice on wellbeing practices, alternative therapies or mindfulness or even signposting in a crisis.

At Kids Planet we understand how vitally important it is to create a culture of mental health awareness and acceptance in our all settings so we encourage our whole team of over 2000 + staff to get involved and get talking about mental health during Mental Health Awareness weeks. It’s a great opportunity for us as employers to learn too!

With increasing numbers of mental health referrals for children and adults alike, it is clear that as a society we need to be proactive about our wellbeing. At Kids Planet we are passionate about supporting both our children and staff to reach their highest potential, and we will continue to invest in their futures.

Take a look at some of our staff reflections during COVID-19 lock down:

Funny thing really when you work with people every day how quickly you can form important relationships that shape your life and we don’t really note just how important these people are until you are forced apart.

It’s a great feeling knowing that we are doing absolutely everything to support our families when they need us most. It makes me proud how well the team have adapted, they get up and keep smiles on their faces and keep everything normal for the children. They don’t complain, they just do what they do best

I somehow feel very lucky to be working through this pandemic as a childcare practitioner, I know we are taking risks caring for the children of front line workers, and it is somewhat impossible to social distance from a toddler who needs a snack, a drink or just a cuddle – but coming into work has kept me sane, the smiles on the children’s faces has coated my anxiety with ease and the moral support, the laughs and camaraderie from my co-workers has been uplifting. When I put my uniform on, my job is to be excited, glittery and caring for these children who are living amongst worry and uncertainty.

If you are looking to find a nursery then why not use our simple tool to locate the nearest Kids Planet Day Nursery to your postcode?

For support or further information take a look at this Mental Health Pack or visit the Mental Health Foundation website for support and advice.

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