7th September 2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
As part of our ongoing development and focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing in school, to support everyone’s emotional wellbeing, we would like to offer a five week course called SPACE, ‘Supporting Parents and Children Emotionally’. Each meeting will be approximately two hours long. The SPACE course is underpinned by research-based evidence in neuro-science, attachment theory and Trauma informed approaches. Much recent child development has been informed through these areas of research, and the SPACE programme has been developed around these principles. The SPACE programme seeks to develop and enhance resilience, self esteem and healthy relationships. We will consider Adverse childhood experiences and ‘toxic stress’, understanding of emotional regulation, identify protective factors for building resilience, understanding nurture and child development and understand the brain and managing emotions. The course is designed to help parents support their children to be more resilient and able to cope emotionally with difficulty. This is pertinent to difficulty already experienced and for preparation for emotionally demanding times to come in life. It is, above all, a relational approach to supporting children and helps us to consider children’s and indeed, our own behaviours, in terms of communication of need, and helps us to unpick, and react in a more supportive way to strong emotions, and those often associated large behaviours alongside. The SPACE course is suitable for all adults, but the parallel children’s course is suitable only for children in years 5 and 6. Children from Year 5 and 6, will only be included in the course if the parents are joining the adult group, but adults can join even if their children are too young to attend the children’s group. The SPACE programme is designed for children of upper key stage two age, and into teenage years, hence the age limits for children. However, younger children will benefit from their parent/carer involvement, so we are offering the course to all adults. The children’s course develops understanding of the same things the adults will be looking at, but at a child-friendly level, with child-appropriate language. The SPACE group will only be a small group of perhaps 6 to 8 adults, as this enables the group to get the most from the meetings, and each other. We aim to develop nurturing groups, where adults can help and support each other, and where time isn’t too stretched and everyone feels able to contribute and share if they want to. We hope it will be a fun space where we can all feel relaxed and nurtured!
If you feel you may be interested in joining a SPACE group, please email Mrs Larcombe (alarcombe@fbgschools.co.uk) with the following information: Are you interested in joining a parent group? Are you interested in a child group for your child/ren aswell? (Y5/6 only) When would suit you best – morning, afternoon, particular days?
THE FEDERATION OF BOSKENWYN & GERMOE COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOLS
BOSKENWYN COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL Boskenwyn Helston Cornwall TR13 0NG Telephone (01326) 572618 Email secretary.boskenwyn@fbgschools.co.uk - www.boskenwyn.cornwall.sch.uk
GERMOE COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL Germoe Lane Germoe Cornwall TR20 9QY Telephone (01736) 763310 Email secretary.germoe@fbgschools.co.uk - www.germoe.cornwall.sch.uk
Executive Head Teacher: Miss Paula Blackburn Email head@fbgschools.co.uk
Would you be happy for the group to be held at school/another venue? Are you sure you will be able to commit to the full 5 weeks of meetings? If you would please respond by Friday 16th September with expressions of interest, we will plan to start as soon as possible. If you have any questions or need further clarity, please email.
Many thanks,
Angie Larcombe SENCo/Senior Mental Health Lead
The Federation of Boskenwyn & Germoe Schools
