Excellence in Schools 145
Creating Calm Starts for Families and Students Rather than rushing into formal lessons, students can begin their mornings through optional enrichment activities such as yoga, chess, homework support, breakfast clubs and sport. Or they can chose to start the school day a bit later, and sleep a bit longer. This flexibility allows families to start mornings without pressure, students to arrive emotionally settled, and teachers to begin the day prepared rather than overwhelmed. Morning enrichment truly lives up to its name. It adds value to the start of the day. Some students come to exercise, others finish homework, and some simply need time to arrive calmly. #MEtime helps families replace rushed mornings with calmer, more connected starts to the day. Liam Cullinan: We knew we also needed to support working parents, so we created flexibility. Some families need an earlier start, while others benefit from starting later, so we built a model that allows both. Education UAE: How does #MEtime support families as well as students? An outcome we did not initially plan for, but welcomed as the school grew, is that traffic around the school has naturally staggered, making drop- offs smoother for families. Ultimately, it gives families calmer mornings and helps children arrive emotionally ready for learning. Education UAE: The initiative also recognises that student wellbeing cannot exist without staff wellbeing. Teachers run one enrichment session weekly, while the rest of the time allows them calmer starts, collaboration opportunities and a later start once a week. We have extended #MEtime to teachers so they have one day each week, where they can start their day an hour later and dedicate that time to their own wellbeing.
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