Our first mental fitness themed day of this academic year was 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow', with a focus on community recovery and bringing our school back together following a very challenging six months.

Over the course of the day children were immersed in learning activities centred around four key themes that we believe underpin both self-motivation and emotional wellbeing. These were:

• Self-efficacy (self-belief): understanding that what we say and do matters and that we can make a difference to our own, and others, wellbeing. We identified our personal strengths and how these can be utilised in times of difficulty
• Hope: building hope in our children and understanding the correlation between positivity and wellbeing and our ability to cope
• Gratitude (thankfulness): reflecting on things we are thankful for
• Connectedness: looking at ways we are now reconnecting with each other since being back at school and ensuring there is a feeling of togetherness within the class, year group and school. Understanding that we have a whole network of support available to use that we can draw on when we need it

The day was carefully structured to ensure that children were exposed to language, reflection and discussion opportunities that were both progressive and appropriate to their age and needs.

With the rainbow being used as a symbol of hope in many households during the coronavirus pandemic, we invited all children and staff to come to school wearing their brightest rainbow colours.

As a school, we are dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing, resilience and recovery of our school community and we appreciate that this is the start of our journey.