The Mindfulness for Learning Podcast

Alistair Bryce-Clegg was a Headteacher for 10 years, has been an EYFS consultant since 2009 and has had a positive impact on settings around the world. He supports local authorities, runs conferences and delivers key notes speeches both nationally and internationally. In this episode Alistair shares many practical tips, opinions on phonics, continuous provision, carpet time and much more! The know...

“Our work is rooted in the ancient arts of qigong, yoga, mindfulness and meditation. When practicing these healing arts with intention, we are nurturing our heart and taking care of our wellbeing. We deepen our appreciation for the nature within us and around us.” The creators of Sea Light - Mindful Movement for wellbeing and the authors of the children's book Nature Flow chat to Sophie about...

Founder of Nave , Stretch and The Matter App Sophie Whippy kindly shares her expertise about women's health, transitions and sex education. This episode is full of good advice for educators and parents regarding women's health and how it is closely linked with the Relationship and Sex Education teaching in schools. If you are an educator or parent finding content difficult to share with ch...

Nicola Owen is a trained Teacher, Wellbeing Practitioner and the Founder of Zennic Wellbeing .  In this episode Nicola discusses Perimenopause, the Menopause and hormonal imbalance. Having had to self diagnose Perimenopause and persuade her doctor to prescribe her HRT she has become an expert in dealing with the difficulties the health service presents us women with. In this episode we talk about...

Kevin Hawkins is a Speaker, Trainer, Former Teacher and School Leader, Educational Consultant and Co-Author of The Mindful Teacher's Toolkit . In this episode Sophie chats to Kevin about mindfulness in schools and how we introduce practices to children and young people. They explore the shift in focus from academic attainment to emotional intelligence, human development and Kevin shares his ow...

Mary Bell states it is her "deep belief that by experiencing time in nature, we are enabling the healing benefits of the environment around us to help create a better future for our earth & ourselves". In this episode we explore the reasons why nature is an integral part of our wellbeing journey, how we can fit in time with nature whether that be in our workspaces or in our own time....

Samuel Hart is the Founder of TeachStrong. TeachStrong "provide education professionals with the essential tools they need to revitalise their health and well-being." Sam joins me tto share many practical self-care tips. Whether you are wanting to get a better sleep, develop a mindfulness practice, fit in more exercise or better connect with colleagues and friends Sam has got lots to share to help...

With her book Self-Compassion for Educators being released one year ago in June (2022) Lisa Baylis explores the themes of her book with Sophie, including self-compassion, mindfulness, how we work alongside unsupportive systems and finding space when we feel overwhelmed. Lisa’s book offers a variety of practical tips and this episode is no different, undoubtedly you will come away feeling lighter a...

Find out more about us here: Mindfulnessforlearning.com Sophie speaks to the author of The Wellbeing Toolkit and more recently the The Wellbeing Curriculum . Andrew states that his first book "was 26 years in the making" and in this conversation they go right back to discuss Andrew's childhood, his entrance into teaching and explore the moments that influenced and developed his love for wellbeing...

Sophie talks to Rhiannon Phillips Bianco - Leader of Wellbeing and Positive Education at Southlands British International School in Rome. Rhiannon shares her expertise on looking after the wellbeing of those who move around the world regularly, how change can impact a person's sense of belonging and also discusses why it is important to educate children and young people about mental health and wel...

The Canal and River Trust is a charity that "looks after and brings to life 2,000 miles of waterways". On their website they say “that spending time by water, whether it be your lunch break, daily commute or just a weekend stroll, really can make us feel happier and healthier” so I checked in with the trusts Learning and Skills Coordinator, Helen Evans to chat water, wellbeing and schools. Canal a...

Catalina Bórquez is the COO of The Herbtender. The Herbtender create "supplements that support your body's ability to recalibrate in the face of life's daily stresses." Cata kindly chats adaptogens with us, going through her favourites, how we should be navigating them safely and discusses the popularity of adaptogens in foods. Find herbalists  Kids vitamin list from Cata: I like Sambucus - N...

Judy Barrington-Smuts explores her experiences of Postnatal depression including how she accepted her ill mental health, her experiences of being in a Mother Baby Unit (MBU) and how this affected the people around her.  Jude has now recovered and sharing her story can bring hope to those experiencing postnatal depression right now. The most important message from this episode is that it will...

Helen Barnes shares her experiences of being a Learning Mentor with Sophie. She discusses the role, explores it's challenges and shares the things she loved about the job. They also have a good chat about childcare, secondary education, children with additional needs, wellbeing in education, handwriting and the increase in childhood poverty. Relevant Links: Guardian article: Child poverty now cost...

This week is Baby Loss Awareness Week According to SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society) “...the death of a baby is not rare. Every day in the UK around 14 babies die before, during or soon after birth. That means nearly every two hours a family is faced with the devastation of the death of their baby. “ Fiona and Niall lost Matilda in October 2016 at 41 weeks. Fiona shares their story and...

Alcohol is such a huge part of the culture for many countries across the globe, for a lot of us it is believed that alcohol enables us to connect, deal with stress, sadness, happiness and joy. Reducing or removing alcohol from our lives seems to be on everyone's wish list but actually going through with it is a whole other matter. Club Soda was created by Dru Jaeger and Laura Willoughby. It's a co...

Sophie chats to Gemma Clark - TES writer, Primary School Teacher and Massage in Schools Instructor. In this episode Gemma reveals exactly what massage can do for the children in your care and how it can have a profound effect on their readiness to learn.  "The Massage in Schools Association is a not-for-profit organisation, bringing together and supporting Massage in Schools (MISP) Trainers,...

Sophie starts the series with supply teacher and environmental activist - Miranda. They chat all about the challenges and wins of being a supply teacher; the things you may want to expect before choosing to becoming a supply teacher, preconceptions of the people coming to look after our classes and how we can improve the lives and wellbeing of the supply teachers visiting our schools. Links discus...

Helen and Sam chat with Sophie about Motherhood; the journey from birth through maternity and into the first years of mum life. They dissect an article written by Eliane Glaser ( ‘Parent trap: why the cult of the perfect mother has to end’ ) exploring many topics including expectations, parenting in a pandemic, support, social media and what we can do to create change to improve family life. ...

Amelia is an Early Years Practitioner and joins Sophie to talk about the skills involved in early years learning. Whether you are a parent wanting to understand what is going on in your child’s EYFS classroom or a teacher exploring your early years approach this is an informative episode discussing how play contributes to the wellbeing of children in their first years of life. Planning in the mome...

Claire Kelly talks with Sophie about her own personal journey with mindfulness and discusses how you can successfully create a mindful culture in school.  Claire Kelly began her career as a secondary school teacher and now works for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) as the Head of Curricular and Teaching Development*, creating content to support their work which offers training to edu...

For Men's Mental Health Week Sophie chats to Adrian all about his preconceptions of parenthood, what those first moments were like when his eldest was born and how he coped with expecting his first child the same month he was booked in to speak alongside the Dalai Lama ! It's a great episode recognising the specific experiences men go through in the initial years of becoming a dad. Adrian Bethune&...

In this episode Kaurice Moran talks to Sophie about the difficulties in deciding what constitutes bullying in the workplace, how we can cope with this and she reflects upon her time at a setting where she was bullied, now with much more experience at hand. She also discusses her move to yoga teaching, what it can do for both adults and children and how we can bring this practice into our daily liv...

Natasha Eeles, founder of Bold Voices , discusses how education can drive change to tackle gender inequality and cultures of gendered violence. Mindfulness for learning piece on RSE Some more helpful information from Natasha Read our article on Gender in the classroom  

Sophie talks to David Cramer Smith , author of the novel, Medway. Discussing the novel initiates conversations about various mental health centred topics from the importance of having a support network, to understanding their relationships with alcohol. They also discuss the education system, what it’s like to be a teacher and why David left teaching for writing and developing. Buy Medway/Read Dav...