Start with Heart

Happy New Year to all of our St. Helen’s College families. 

We have had a very successful start to the new term and I thought that it would interesting for parents and pupils to hear about what the staff did during our two training days on Monday and Tuesday this week. 

At the first staff training day of 2020 I showed staff the image below, replacing the word ‘teacher’ with ‘staff’:

In every work place I am sure that people wear many hats and this is particularly the case in schools, where staff members wear multiple hats throughout the day and often at the same time! Working in a school means spending your days in the most rewarding, stimulating and busy environment and after 30 years as an educator I cannot even imagine doing anything else! However, it is so important that, regardless of the job we do in society, we are kind to ourselves. We must notice how we are feeling and look after ourselves. 

I then shared this short video with everyone, which I urge you to find time to watch.  

Kindness has many benefits, including increased happiness and a healthy heart. It slows down the ageing process and improves relationships and connections, which indirectly boosts your health. 

It is our job to ensure that your children are safe and happy at school and of course learning each and every day.  To keep them safe at school we need to keep up to date with regulatory training, so we then had our annual asthma and anaphylaxis training from Rebecca, a member of the Hillingdon Asthma team.  First aid training was also on the agenda and 34 members of staff completed Paediatric First Aid training - the trainers made this very serious training fun and I am sure that children would have loved to have seen Mr. Dyson putting me into the recovery position as an unconscious breathing casualty or critiquing my bandaging of Mr. Lewis’s hand following the amputation of two fingers!  

Having the children back on Wednesday was a breath of fresh air and although I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday I most certainly welcomed having routine back and the joy of the children around us again.

It is not only the staff who have been 'upskilling' themselves in first aid this week, as our children from Reception to Year 6 have commenced the ‘Heartstart’ programme.  For many years Miss Walker has arranged for all of the children to take part in this most valuable course; the children’s knowledge and skills of how to react in an emergency are built upon year on year. Some of the skills which the children learn over their time with us are:

• What to do in an emergency situation

• Knowing how to make a 999 call

• Putting someone in the recovery position

• Dealing with serious bleeds

• Recognising signs of heart attack and stroke

• Administering CPR

• How to utilise an automated external defibrillator (AED)

Yesterday, the Year 6 pupils went through exactly the same training as we did as they used the Annie dolls to practise their CPR technique.  

At lunch on Tuesday we were discussing the fact that the children learn these life skills but with the hope that they may never have to use them in a real life situation. However, one member of staff whose children both attended St. Helen’s College still recalls the day when her daughter had a seizure at home and it was her 5 year old son (now a teenager) who took control and told his dad what to do! It was a very helpful, calm voice of reason from a child who recalled his ‘Heartstart’ training skills.  

Do speak to your children over the next couple of weeks as they learn these life skills from Mrs. Hunt, Miss Ward, Miss Walker and Mrs. Wilcock. I am sure that you will be so impressed by what they know and can share with you!

So, as we start the new term, we do start with ‘Heart’.  

Here’s to a super 2020 for us all at St. Helen’s College!

Mrs. Drummond