‘Resilience through Sport’

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - 11:38

At St Bernard’s First School, the reception children led by teachers Lauren Murien and Shaireen Nixon have been busy learning about the importance of mental health and building resilience as part of their PSHE and Physical Education curriculum. 

Training days, seminars and twilight sessions organised by the Department for Education and delivered by experts in their respective fields have provided many teachers and external agencies with a greater awareness of better mental health and the importance of increasing action in order to develop a more resilient future generation. Teachers in all schools are currently undertaking INSET teacher training, provided by Jackie Linares and Wayne Barton from the Department of Education, to promote the mental and emotional well-being of students.

St Bernard’s First School teamed up with the Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association and Gibraltar Gymnastics Association to run a six-week programme, which ran alongside PSHE lessons focusing on mental health and building a child’s resilience. Physical education and PSHE came together to increase awareness in a controlled, fun and child friendly way. The students learnt practical skills where teamwork, sportsmanship and the ability to recover from losses were paramount.

A ‘fun day’ was held during the last week of the programme, during which competitive tournaments tied in all the key holistic approaches that the children had learnt. The winning team demonstrated positivity and teamwork - a legacy that Head Teacher Sonia Lopez hopes to continue in St Bernard’s First School. The project concluded with an assembly presented by the Reception team where students demonstrated their work, new skills and understanding.

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