Heartsmart
What is Heartsmart?
Heartsmart is a resource that we use throughout the school to support our work on Personal Development, Character Education, Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing. It is based upon Christian teaching about love and identity and the Heartsmart programme links very closely to our school worship programme.
The Heartsmart programme and resources link very closely to our school vision, encouraging pupils to develop successfully, grow their confidence and become more caring.
Our Vision statement:
‘At Beckley we embrace the adventure of learning, encouraging everyone to step out further, think more deeply and become more understanding. Inspired by our Christian values, we will develop our skills, our courage and our wisdom to achieve beyond expectations and become successful learners, caring citizens and confident individuals. Through God’s love, we are nurtured, we are inspired and we shine.’ Matthew 5:16
This video from the Heartsmart team helps explain the biblical roots behind the Heartsmart ‘High Five’
This video from the Heartsmart team helps explain the biblical roots behind the Heartsmart ‘High Five’.
The Six Heartsmart Values
1. Get Heartsmart
Learning that we must sometimes ‘listen’ to our heart and sometimes ‘lead’ our heart.
2. Don’t Forget to Let Love In
Learning how important, valued and loved we are.
3. Too Much Selfie Isn’t Healthy
Exploring the importance of others and how to love them well.
4. Don’t Hold On To What’s Wrong
Understanding how to process negative emotion and choose forgiveness to restore relationships.
5. Fake Is a Mistake
Unpacking how to bravely communicate truth and be proud of who we are.
6. ‘No Way Through’, Isn’t True
Knowing there is a way through every situation, no matter how impossible it may seem.
Every term, we take one of the Heartsmart High Five values and link it to our themes for school worship.
Our Heartsmart Value this Term Is…
‘Get Heartsmart!’
We want the children to know that we all have a body, a mind and a heart. We talk about our heart as being the very core of who we are, the driving force of WHY we do WHAT we do. We want the children to understand that there are times to ‘listen’ to our heart and times to ‘lead’ our heart. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others. If we want to live well we need to love well. This is what it means to be Heartsmart.
The heart is effectively a pump. It pumps out what comes in. Biologically speaking, this is blood. Emotionally speaking, this is our friends; what we watch; how we think and what we surround ourselves with. We want to encourage children to consider what they allow in to their hearts and to equip them in the area of self-regulation. We want them to know that they have a choice of what they allow into their hearts and to understand what we mean and don’t mean when we use the word, ‘love’.
Boris the Robot
Boris is a central character to Heartsmart and is introduced through a story. It is a window into his heart and mind leading to a host of meaningful discussions. The children identify with Boris and explore their own internal dialogue through his story. They learn how to tune into the voice of truth and love.
Heartsmart Family
To compliment the Heartsmart programme that we use at school, there are some excellent resources for families to use at home, including video clips, craft activities and discussion ideas.
Click here to be taken to the Heartsmart family section of the website.
The Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum and teaching resource used to support the development of self-regulation in children. Children learn to recognise their emotions and what causes their emotional responses in a wide range of different settings. The curriculum also teaches children how to respond to their emotions in the appropriate ways.
The Four ‘Zones’
Our emotional reactions are organised into 4 different ‘zones’:
