Shift Wellbeing Ambassador Course for Educators review

28th August 2024 | Lizzie Homer | Cheltenham, Cotswolds, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, Innovative strategies, Insight, Kids, Mental health, Schools and education, Stroud, Teens, Tewkesbury, Yoga

Shift Arts & Wellbeing LTD (Shift)have been delivering ‘Wellbeing Ambassador Courses for Educators’ since 2021. The course was initially created during COVID-19, to be an opportunity to enable teachers in schools to deliver simple movement, breath and mindful moments in class and online with their students. Over the last 3 years, Shift have delivered 6 training programmes to 120 educators in 80 schools across Gloucestershire.

Initially commissioned by Active Gloucestershire(AG) through Sport England funding for a mental health and wellbeing programme, the successful pilot course was further funded by NHS Gloucestershire ICB (ICB). Throughout the programme we have partnered with Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL), who host Shift yoga video resources on their website for all schools in Gloucestershire. GHLL also provide direct access and support to Trailblazer schools who benefit most from the programme.

The changing landscape that this programme has been delivered against, has seen the course develop and evolve over the 3 years. This review will outline the development and progress Shift has made, alongside various challenges they have come up against. With COVID-19 restrictions easing and schools moving into new ways of working, with the increased need to support student and staff wellbeing, the baseline for the project scope required a dynamic approach.

The ripples for this programme

Throughout the programme we have seen requests from schools and their students to expand their offer and learning opportunities. This has led to the following areas being developed:

Shift re-launched their ‘Bliss.ed’ peer-to-peer course for young people in January 2023 with Dene Magna and Sir William Romney’s Secondary Schools, following a previously funded pilot at Bournside School in 2020
In support of the course development Shift has made over 30 school visits to meet recently trained wellbeing ambassadors to further support them and share yoga with young people
Active Gloucestershire invited Shift yoga to support their county wide Mental Health School Games programme in 2023 and will be expanding this to a unique opportunity for all schools to get together in 2024 at a specific yoga School Games programme, initiated by three newly certified wellbeing ambassadors
New in 2024 is a Shift online membership area, directory/booking system of online and in-person yoga classes, events calendar and community for all educations in Gloucestershire who are passionate about young people’s wellbeing.

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