Skip navigation

Children will have experienced an average of 15 significant losses before adulthood, and may also encounter depictions of death in the media and social media, which are often explicit. The recent Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted change, loss and death, and children and their families may have experienced loss during this time.

PSHE Association have updated their Change, loss and grief lesson packs for KS1 - 4 to cover these topics safely, effectively and sensitively. ]

You will need a PSHE account to download these resources.

16th June is Refugee Week - the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. The theme for 2025 is "Community as a Superpower".

Visit the following pages for FREE training available for schools working with refugee children and young people. 

 

New data commissioned by domestic abuse charity Refuge reveals the scale of domestic abuse is significantly underestimated.  Read the full blog around the impactful educational campaign created in response.

Right now, thousands of children and young people are sitting exams across the country. Many of them will be feeling anxious and worried about how they will perform. Understandably this can be a stressful and difficult time, both for those taking the tests and for family and friends who want them to do their best. Understanding how to reduce exam stress is crucial during this challenging period, read this blog on how.

Join the Tes Live Lesson with Disney on Stage at 2pm BST, Thursday 26 June 2025

Led by Disney Theatrical Teaching Artists Lauren and Ben, pupils will be guided through a musical theatre lesson based on 'He Lives in You' – one of the best known songs from Disney's The Lion King – taught from the The Lyceum Theatre, London. Children will learn the choreography and singing parts to 'He Lives in You' and sing and dance as an ensemble, developing their confidence and self-esteem, while having fun!

As the summer days fade away and the familiar routine of work or school looms, we're all caught in that strange limbo between holiday memories and autumn ambitions. One minute we're planning to revolutionise our entire workflow, the next we're wondering if we still remember our computer password.

Join this webinar on Tuesday 9th September at 12:00 - 12:45, to hear insights on creating achievable goals and establishing a sustainable routine that feels rewarding rather than draining. 

Poor mental health and absence from school are impacting the education of children and in turn their futures. Read the full blog from GOV.UK on 'How we're helping children and teachers with their mental health and wellbeing' 

The results for the Pupil Wellbeing Survey have now been published. Click here to see the report.

Surfers Against Sewage "Plastic Free Schools" iniatitive is empowering the next generation of ocean activists. To find out more and sign your school up click here

June is Pride Month and it's a fantastic opportunity to reinforce your school's commitment to inclusivity and celebrate the vibrant LGBT+ community. 

What can schools do to celebrate? Book a 20 - 60 minute school talk to do four main things:

  1. Provide real and powerful representation for your students. 
  2. Create a safe and inclusive space for open conversations and questions.
  3. Visibly demonstrate your school's support for LGBT+ students and staff.
  4. Align with key curriculum objectives related to PSHE, Citizenship, and Equality & Diversity

Show your solidarity with the LGBT+ community and empower your students to be better allies by booking a School Talk.

Bring your family along to SkillZONE on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th August 10am - 2pm to see our interactive village and learn about safety. SkillZONE is Gloucestershire’s unique interactive education safety centre.

Refreshments available. Visit our website for information on SkillZONE https://skillzone.glosfire.gov.uk

Children in Care (CiC) and their families are invited to join the Play Gloucestershire's, Play Ranger Festival taking place on 7th August 2025 at Dowty's Sports and Social Club. 

Den building, sports, pop up activities, junk model making, inflatables and many more activities aimed at school aged children. 

For more information and to book a place, visit the event website.

TIC+ have now rebranded to Talk Well. Their services are not changing. From Monday 14th April all online services and the referral form will be accessed via the new website, the processes to access them will remain the same just through the new url.

The only change to services is the naming of their chat service for young people. Previously this was TIC+Chat and it will become TalkWellChat.

Watch their short video to learn more about their rebrand

Visit the new website here.

Useful article from Claire Watts from High Speed Training, on what "Incel" means, the manosphere, and how this correlates to misogyny, radicalisation, and violence. This article looks at why teachers should be aware of Incel Culture and how Schools can tackle this issue.

The NHS Gloucestershire Asthma Team are looking into the current management of asthma in schools across the county. We would be very grateful if you could complete this questionnaire. The feedback you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence.  It will be stored securely and only used to improve this service. Thank you in advance for your responses. 

Please click here to complete the questionnaire. 

Please click here to view AFS resources. 

Lumi Nova: Tales of Courage is an engaging child-led, parent/guardian supported therapeutic intervention that can be used on most smartphones or tablets free for all Gloucestershire families. 

It facilitates graded exposures (the active ingredient of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) with psychoeducation to empower 7-12 year olds with mild to moderate needs to learn to self-manage fears, worries and anxiety.

 

 

myHappymind is an award winning programme for schools & nurseries, families and organisations. It is delivered by class teachers across 5 modules, all designed to develop critical knowledge and habits that support children’s mental health. This means that children can develop a toolkit of resources to use when they need to. For further information on the pilot click here

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in early 2022, we all saw how the resulting conflict impacted tens of thousands of children through separation, loss or bereavement. Bear Us In Mind was launched to provide early intervention to support those children and the adults in their lives.

Whether you’re a teacher, teaching assistant, Head, Governor or a supporting adult from the child’s school or local community, Bear Us In Mind is designed to help you be a compassionate and confident thinking partner for a child when it’s most needed. Download the complete Bear Us In Mind toolkit guide here To receive your 'bear in a box' email ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Mental Health e-learning - Children and Young People's Mental Health

This short course will provide you with information and guidance to help support the young people you work alongside.

The course will introduce you to some common mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties, and will provide you with practical examples that you can use to help you to recognise and respond to children’s emotional health and wellbeing.

 

What's new

< >
1/5

Thank a Teacher Day - 18th June

 

Thank a Teacher Day is just around the corner! On Wednesday 18 June, we'll be celebrating Thank a Teacher Day - a special opportunity to recognise the extraordinary difference you all make to your students every single day. 

This day is about appreciating the hard work of all of you who help create an impact to children and young people across early years, schools, and colleges. The work you all do is vital to opening up opportunities for children and young people. 

Celebrate your education heroes this Thank a Teacher Day 

Show your appreciation for your colleagues and team who make a difference in education every day. From teaching assistants to school leaders, nursery staff, to FE lecturers, every educator deserves recognition for their dedication and impact. If you’re a headteacher, please encourage your students and parents to get involved, too. 

Send a free personalised e-card to express your gratitude. It's a simple way to make someone's day and acknowledge the vital work happening in education across the country. 

Plan your Thank a Teacher Day 

Celebrate your teaching team with a dedicated Thank a Teacher Day toolkit. Access age-appropriate resources including complete lesson plans, assembly guides, colourful thank you card templates, and interactive puzzles designed for pupils across all key stages. 

Get involved on social media

Share photos of your celebrations on X, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #ThankaTeacherDay. Don’t forget to tag @educationgovuk and @UKThankATeacher to your posts!  

Give a shoutout to a member of staff who has had a positive impact on your life.  

Thank you to our school and trust governance volunteers

Volunteers' Week is a voluntary sector initiative to celebrate and promote volunteering and is held on 2-8 June this year.  

This Volunteers’ Week, Catherine McKinnell, the Minister for School Standards, would like to acknowledge the incredible contribution of school governors and trustees across the country. 

See a letter of thanks

 

Updated Change, Loss and Grief Lesson Plans from PSHE

Children will have experienced an average of 15 significant losses before adulthood, and may also encounter depictions of death in the media and social media, which are often explicit. The recent Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted change, loss and death, and children and their families may have experienced loss during this time.

This makes it essential for young people to recognise how change, loss (including bereavement) and grief affect people, the different responses people can have to grief, strategies to help manage grief and how and where to access support services.

PSHE updated ‘Change, loss and grief’ lesson packs for KS1, KS2 (lower and upper), KS3 and KS4 will help you to cover these topics safely, effectively and sensitively. You will need a PSHE account to access these.

The lessons – complete with accompanying guidance, resources and PowerPoints – will help your pupils explore and understand:

  • how change, loss (including bereavement) and grief affect people

  • the different responses people can have when grieving

  • strategies to help manage change loss and grief

  • sources of support and how to access them

Download the resources here. 

Gloucestershire Children’s Services Front Door – New Professional Advice Line is Live!

Gloucestershire Children’s Services Front Door – New Professional Advice Line is Live! 

📞 New Professional Advice Line Now Open - 01452 427070 

We are delighted to announce that as of Monday 2nd June our new professional advice and guidance line is open!

Our dedicated advice line is available Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 3:30pm, and offers support with: 

  • Understanding thresholds for Early Help and Social Care 
  • Talking through concerns to determine if a MARF is needed 
  • Guidance on completing the MARFs 
  • Advice on supporting families under MyPlans including signposting to services and support and advice on best approaches to addressing concerns 

This line replaces the Community Social Worker, ECHO, and FIS advice lines which are now closed meaning professionals have a single point of contact for advice. 

Excitingly we are in the final stages of testing our new online MARF. This will become available in the next few days for all professionals to begin utilising. Keep an eye out for our communication on this. We will accept paper MARFs for the rest of June whilst we support practitioners to be familiarised with the new system. 

These changes are designed to improve equity and access to support, making it easier for professionals to navigate the system and help families more effectively. 

Gov.uk Blog - Supporting students in crisis

A new post 'Supporting students in crisis: how we're supporting students with their mental health and suicide prevention' has just been published by GOV.UK on The Education Hub blog.  Read the full story here. 

New poll reveals mental health crisis for Headteachers

School leaders are facing a mental health crisis, with the majority reporting a negative impact on their well-being in the past year and some even resigning from their positions, according to a recent poll.

Read the full blog here. 

Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning

Welcome to Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning. This is an umbrella organisation for Gloucestershire Healthy Schools and Gloucestershire Healthy FE (Further Education).

GHLL was launched in July 2012 for schools and colleges across Gloucestershire, supported by Leading Teachers.

Funding is through Public Health and by Gloucestershire County Council. Schools and colleges are offered this supported intervention at no cost.

Read more about GHLL