On our Teacher Only Day we will be training all our teachers in the Pause Breath Smile programme. This programme supports our initiatives of Social Emotional Learning to help all students manage and self regulate their emotions. The latest research shows Pause Breathe Smile is having a dramatic, unanticipated positive impact on boys. Pause Breathe Smile is now funded by Southern Cross for all New Zealand schools. The IHI research study found that Pause Breathe Smile has a profound unanticipated benefits for boys aged five to 12. The research was commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation.

Seventy five per cent of pupils and teachers reported Pause Breathe Smile enabled boys to better describe their feelings and understand the feelings of others. The study also noted the programme “assisted boys to calm their minds to make better choices. Changes in boys’ behaviour could be dramatic and rewarding not just for the individual child but for those who interact with him”. The Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, Shaun Robinson, said the importance of the findings about Pause Breathe Smile’s impact on boys could not be overstated. “New Zealand’s enduring macho culture punishes boys and men for expressing their emotions and daring to show vulnerability. “It’s vital for their mental health, and for the health of our society as a whole, that males feel able to share their feelings and empathise with others. The good news is that these skills can be learned, and that’s exactly what’s happening through this programme.” IHI research, which evaluated Pause Breathe Smile’s impact on students, teachers and school communities, found the programme has a ripple effect, with benefits flowing from pupils and teachers to parents and whānau, from classrooms to playgrounds to staff rooms, positively impacting school culture and beyond that into homes, as children and teachers apply what they have learned. It also highlighted the programme’s physical, spiritual, social, emotional and cognitive benefits for both Māori and non-Māori children. “The research found the programme is highly appropriate for Māori, which affirms and recognises the contribution that the Mental Health Foundation’s Māori development team has played in its evolution,” said Robinson.