Communicating with families
To support your school’s communication with families about the implementation of Pause Breathe Smile within your kura, we have some suggested copy to support you. Feel free to amend to suit your own schools communication style
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Pause Breathe Smile Wellbeing
Pause Breathe Smile with Southern Cross is a mind health programme designed to help Kiwi kids aged five to 12 learn the essential skills and tools to manage the ups and downs of life and set them up for a healthy future. It is delivered in schools, by teachers, and aligned to the New Zealand curriculum.
Southern Cross, New Zealand’s leading independent health and wellness provider, has joined forces with the Pause Breathe Smile Trust and The Mental Health Foundation. Together they share a vision of equipping every child in New Zealand with the tools to achieve positive mind health. Through this partnership the Pause Breathe Smile programme will be available to primary kids aged five to 12 from October at no cost to schools.
Pause Breathe Smile is the nation’s own locally designed and internationally recognised schools’ mindfulness based programme. The results are backed by research, and show that Pause Breathe Smile increases wellbeing, reduces stress, boosts conflict resolution skills and enhances self-awareness.
You can find out more about Pause Breathe Smile at www.pausebreathesmile.nz
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Pause Breathe Smile: Parent Information
Our school is beginning to introduce our children to wellbeing and mindfulness-based techniques through New Zealand’s Pause Breathe Smile programme. We are doing this as part of a commitment to support our learner’s emotional and mental wellbeing development. Children quickly understand the usefulness of the techniques learnt and adapt the Pause Breathe Smile methods in their daily interactions. Pause Breathe Smile is implemented in schools nationwide and the published research studies show that it leads to significant increases in wellbeing and improved resilience.
Our aim is to focus on building our children’s wellbeing, social skills development and improving self-awareness and emotion regulation. New Zealand has the highest rates of bullying and youth suicide in the western world and we, as a school, are committed to ensuring our children are provided with evidence-based support to try our best to prepare them for the daily pressures of modern life.
Pause Breathe Smile is a programme developed by Pause Breathe Smile Director Grant Rix whilst at the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. Access to Pause Breathe Smile is free for all Primary and Intermediate schools in New Zealand through funding by Southern Cross.
Pause Breathe Smile programme can support your child by:
- Increasing calmness
- Improving focus & attention
- Enhancing self-awareness
- Developing conflict resolution skills & positive relationships
Additionally, this programme is aligned with the NZ education curriculum. With the skills and techniques taught in Pause Breathe Smile, other areas of their study should also benefit.
Our teachers will be completing the full educator training programme during term XXXX and we’ll be ready to begin implementing it in the classroom in term XXX.
You can find out more about PBS at www.pausebreathesmile.nz