We were really interested to hear how Fallings Park Primary School use their now>press>play subscription to support their wellbeing and mental health provision, as well as using it as a hook to inspire interest in new topics.
Why we use now>press>play
We started using now>press>play due to COVID impacting our pupils’ experiences, such as being unable to go on school visits.
We also wanted to increase the amount of outdoor learning our pupils were doing following lockdown, in order to increase their physical activity.
We are beginning to use it in other ways — silent disco and some of the Maths/English resources will be used this term. Initially, we focused on other curriculum areas too.
“It was great, the kids really enjoyed travelling through all four parts of the UK to help the Queen!”
now>press>play has helped with:
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Increasing physical activity
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Helping develop pupil imagination
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Pupil engagement and motivation
How we use now>press>play
We use the headphones with whole classes of 30, although we have 3 sets, so a cohort of 90 can use them all at once. We have a school booking system using Microsoft Forms which year groups use to ensure there are no clashes. It is proving very popular.
“Quote from a pupil in my class — ‘That really was breathtaking.’ They loved it!”
The Experiences have been primarily used as hooks for topics, as they were intended to replace school visits during COVID restrictions. So, they tend to be used early on as an “inspire”. We have also used the PSHE Experiences to enhance our work on our WELL passports.
How now>press>play supports our wellbeing provision
With regards to our WELL passports — they are part of our RSHEe (used to be called PSHE) curriculum. We introduced them after the first lockdown as we knew pupil mental health and wellbeing would be a priority. Then once we had now>press>play, we began to integrate the Experiences into our WELL provision — this began after the second lockdown.
“The kids loved the Experience; I was also swept along taking part. 28 minutes felt like 10 minutes. The discussion was good.”
Each year group has a WELL floorbook, and twice weekly sessions, so each year group builds up a portfolio of work through the year. Staff then use the Experiences at different points when appropriate to a particular target that matches.
For example, Year 6 last year did Transition, and also did Online Safety as that was a particular need for that year group.
Year 2 did the one on anti-bullying as that was one of the objectives in the WELL passport — about how to be a good friend.
Staff have been asked to look at the Experiences and map out which ones would be good to use, and where in the year to do it, with a degree of flexibility if a year group has a particular need.
“We set all of the headsets up for them, which was easy. They all said that they could hear it and really enjoyed it. The actions were great. It has produced some good literacy work.”
“It was great, I think I enjoyed it more than the children!”
They have been a fabulous addition to our school. It really helps us meet the needs of our pupils — gets them active, using their imagination, and really gets everyone engaged with their learning. They are being used regularly and throughout school — seeing the adults and pupils using them together is really helping build those positive relationships and it’s great to see everyone having so much fun!
