STAFF and pupils at a dale school have been strutting their dance moves as part of children’s mental health awareness activities.
Keyworker children who attend St Mary’s RC Primary School, in Barnard Castle, along with mums, dads and teachers enjoyed a boogie each morning in their daily dance off drop offs.
Headteacher Lesley Box said: “The theme of this year’s children’s mental health awareness week is to express yourself. So, we decided to bring in elements of that in to the school each and every day of the week.”
Daily activities for children home learning and in the classroom included exploring poetry, art and music to help them spread a little happiness and find out how they like to express themselves.
She added: “We have been looking at things through art and wellbeing.
“We also created a wellbeing bingo that families were encouraged to do at home. They had to carry out six tasks such as going out for a walk together, and once they had ticked them off the bingo board, they were entered into a draw for a prize.”
One of the most popular activities was the dance off-drop off, the brainchild of teaching assistant Tracey Tallentire, who normally enjoys dancing to music in a morning.
Mrs Box said: “She likes to dance and she had the music on one morning and had a little dance and one of the parents joined so we decided to do it every day.
“We are trying to teach the children that we express ourselves in different ways and this is helping them find out ways to help them cope with what is going on.
“It’s also about spreading a little happiness as well and having fun.”
