Topics for this month:

Managing mental hygiene: Tips and tools! (Virtual College)

In addition to looking at your mindset and emotions, there are a number of exercises and actions that you can implement into your routine to help you to manage stress and develop a positive mindset. This includes:

Gratitude:

By writing three gratitude’s first thing in the morning, you are focusing on something positive at the start of your day and ensuring that you, figuratively, get out the right side of the bed. In the evening it is also beneficial to note something you feel has gone well in your day.

There are many benefits of gratitude. Research suggests that keeping a gratitude journal can:

  • Make us happier (more resilient, happy memories, more relaxed)
  • Make us healthier (more energy and better sleep)
  • Make us more optimistic and less materialistic
  • Gives us more self-esteem and make us feel less self-centred
  • Make us less envious
  • Give us a friendlier disposition, enabling us to maintain better relationships and make more friends
  • Help our careers with increased productivity and better management and networking, decision-making and achievement of goals

Meditation:

There is research-based evidence that shows various benefits to meditation. These include:

  • Stress reduction
  • Less anxiety
  • More positive outlook on life
  • Enhanced self-awareness
  • Lengthened life span
  • Possibly reduce age-related memory loss
  • Increased generation of kindness towards self and others
  • High fight addictions
  • Improved sleep
  • Help control pain
  • Help decrease blood pressure

Take time out:

Taking a break is important to ensure you get time to recover, relax and breathe. It can be difficult juggling life responsibilities, but by ensuring you get some regular downtime, you will find that your resilience and wellbeing improve. This involves:

  • Making sure you take your lunch break and get away from your desk
  • Using your holidays wisely, spacing them throughout the year and ensuring that you use them to rest and recuperate
  • Ensuring you get time at home to have a break from chores and responsibilities. Maybe have a designated quiet time where family know not to disturb you
  • Making time to socialise with your friends
  • Getting some exercise, even just a light walk
  • Ensuring that you keep up with any hobbies you enjoy, or take up a new one!

Work-life balance:

Take a look at your own work-life balance:

  • Are you taking lots of work home with you or staying in the office late?
  • Are you spending time at home worrying about your work or deadlines?
  • Do you feel unhappy about the amount of time you devote to work?
  • Is work having a negative impact on your personal and family life?

Please visit the resource below and read how your look after your mental health:

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-mental-health/

Breathing exercises:

Key things to remember when doing breathing exercises:

  • You can do breathing exercises anywhere that is comfortable for you, a chair, the floor or your bed
  • Make sure you are wearing non-restrictive, comfortable clothing
  • Try and relax and don’t force it
  • Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth

Try the following links to get you started:

Get outdoors:

Research has found that people walking in nature, as opposed to a busy urban setting with traffic, experience less anxiety and focus more on the positive aspects of themselves.

Allowing the brain to take a break helps us to feel rejuvenated so that we can then continue working with high mental performance. So a walk in the park at lunchtime can help productivity, and this positive effect can last up to seven hours.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is not a learning disability; however, it does make learning difficult and can cause barriers to how you learn. For example, it is hard to learn when you struggle to focus or when you cannot seem to be able to sit down and pay attention.

Learning involves using executive functions of the brain particularly the ability to focus, pay attention, engage with a task, and use working memory. We know that ADHD affects all of these functions of the brain.

Hyperactivity and impulsiveness

  • being unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings
  • constantly fidgeting
  • being unable to concentrate on set tasks
  • excessive physical movement
  • excessive talking
  • being unable to wait their turn
  • acting without thinking
  • interrupting conversations
  • Low awareness of boundaries

What can trigger ADHD?

Common triggers include stress, poor sleep, certain foods and additives, overstimulation, and technology.

Once you recognize what triggers ADHD symptoms, you can make the necessary lifestyle changes to better control episodes. Working out is perhaps the most positive and efficient way to reduce hyperactivity and inattention with ADHD. Exercise can relieve stress, boost mood, and calm the mind.

How attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is treated

Although there is no cure for ADHD, it can be managed with appropriate educational and workplace support/ advice alongside medicine, if necessary.

Medicine is often the first treatment offered to adults with ADHD, although psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may also help and be offered to young people where appropriate.

For more information or advice please visit the website below

Home

7 minute briefings

Please read the attached 7 minute briefings which cover the following information:

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance for Early Years Practitioners

Early Years providers are being encouraged to take their first steps to boost their online defences with first-of-its-kind practical advice produced by the UK’s cyber security experts.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ – has this week published its bespoke guidance for Early Years education and childcare settings, offering practitioners top tips on how to protect their devices and data from cyber incidents.

Nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are increasingly relying on technology to operate and are therefore an appealing target for cyber criminals due to the sensitive information they hold and payments they handle.

The guidance, which has been produced in consultation with major stakeholders, covers topics including setting up strong passwords on devices and accounts, how to communicate with families safely and dealing with suspicious messages.

The four key steps for practitioners to follow are:

  1. Backing up your important information – identifying what data you couldn’t operate without or are legally obliged to safeguard and creating a proper back-up
  2. Using passwords to control access to your computers and information – switching on password protection; using strong passwords and password managers; setting up two-factor authentication and communicating safely with families
  3. Protecting your devices from viruses and malware – turning on antivirus products and keeping IT devices up to date
  4. Dealing with suspicious messages (phishing attacks) – tips for spotting suspect messages and unusual requests, reporting these messages and what to do if you have already responded.

The full guidance can be seen here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/early-years-practitioners-using-cyber-security-to-protect-your-settings

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – Further targeted ransomware attacks on the UK education sector by cyber criminals

We have attached a document outlining an alert that has been issued in the last week by NCSC regarding ransomware attacks on educational establishments. As well as of interest to JTM staff, it may also be of interest to employers so please share this information.

Click here for more information

YouTube new parental controls:

New controls have been released by YouTube to give parents better filtering management. Previously the only filtering option was ‘Restricted Mode’ which basically meant videos flagged as 18+ were filtered out.

Called ‘Supervised Experience’ there are now filters for:

  • Explore – 9+
  • Explore More – 13+
  • Most of YouTube – all videos except 18+ (the current Restricted Mode)

YouTube released a handy explainer video, demonstrating how to set up the new safety restriction, and which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhgvtv3FLSc

What is radicalisation?

Radicalisation is process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.

A radicaliser is an individual who encourages others to develop or adopt beliefs and views supportive of terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.

What is grooming?

Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child, young person or other vulnerable individual so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.

Radicalisation = Grooming

Radicalisation & grooming are virtually identical…Our response to them should be too! If you have any concerns that someone may be being radicalised or groomed, please contact JTM’s Safeguarding Team immediately.

Training / CPD

Reminder of the free ‘Side by Side’ training resource for learners and staff: https://www.etflearners.org.uk/