A massive talking point throughout education at the moment is mental wellbeing. The government are pushing to ensure schools are promoting the development of mentally healthy children.

How does this affect your children?

Having worked in education for a number of years, it is very apparent that children are becoming less engaged with each other, with their environments and ultimately this affects the quality of their work and the relationships they have with others around them. Lower resilience and poor motivation to complete tasks are arguably linked to the way children are taught and conditioned (or rewarded) throughout their childhood.

Furthermore, we live in a digital age where children and adults spend more and more time on their phones and other media devices which is undeniably affecting the relationships they have and will develop in the future. Children are losing touch with what it feels like to create something real, something that they can touch, hold, be proud of and say, "Actually, I made that myself, through my own hard work."

Woodwork For Primary Schools' aim is to boost motivation and resilience in primary school aged children...

by re-establishing the connection children have with the sense of achievement they feel when making something. When children are given a task that requires them to see it through to completion, a task that is within their grasp, the sense of achievement they receive once completed can provide them with an enormous sense of self belief. This is the starting point many children need to build a sense of resilience.

All to often, news articles appear reporting on the detrimental effects of social media on children. Children are being constantly encouraged to stay online with bizarre videos, extreme content which serve no purpose other than to raise levels of dopamine so that they can be further targeted with adverts so that social media companies can monetize through display advertising. (I spent 7 years working in digital advertising, this is how social media companies make their money).

Woodwork is an alternative to a screen.

It doesn't promise weird videos, it doesn't have adverts flying at you from every angle, or fake news encouraging you to click through and scroll through yet more adverts. What is does do, is provide a natural stimulation to both children and adults. It encourages engagement and focus in a singular activity. It does give a sense of self achievement during and upon completion of a project.

Having lived through, been part of, and seen the effects of low self esteem and poor mental health amongst children; I believe woodwork offers a partial solution. Take a look at some of the workshops offered and discover the joys your children could have working with wood.