As part of our Recovery Curriculum, we introduced something we now fondly know as 'soft starts'. This is a  s l o w  and  g e n t l e  start to the school day. Children are welcomed to their classroom with a warm smile from their teacher and are able to complete low stakes, calming activities, often to some gentle music. This often involves looking at books alone or with a friend, colouring and mindfulness colouring, free drawing and pattern drawing, playing a game, e.g. noughts and crosses, playing with small table top resources. Teachers are able to chat to children, see if everyone is ok and give attention to those that might need it. We call this 'Teacher Time'.

Soft starts can be a great start to a day of learning at home too. Completing these gentle activities calms the mind ready for learning, and allows a busy parent to get on with something else whilst their child is calmly focused on an activity. Younger children will be able to concentrate for a more limited time, but you'll quickly learn the activities which might busy your child and take the pressure off of the start of the day (and can be used at any time of the day too!). Below are some resources that you might like to tap into. Unfortunately colouring sheets will require a printer.