How Repton School supports parents and protects students’ mental wellbeing during lockdown

Repton staff and students have come together to raise morale during this challenging time.

As many families are once again supporting their children through remote education, Repton School is going the extra mile to assist parents while they take on this additional responsibility. Repton recognises how challenging it can be to balance a career – as well as the many other commitments many parents juggle – when their children must work from home. Therefore, the school is taking steps to iron as many difficulties out of the remote-learning process as possible. These steps not only make life easier for parents, but also help students to stay positive while they can’t see their friends and teachers in person.

Repton’s introductory video: Microsoft Remote Learning Support

As ever, Repton School continues to keep parents in the loop throughout lockdown, this time by sharing details on how to make the most of Microsoft’s remote learning suite. While children continue to learn from home this term, Microsoft has created a video guide that introduces its suite of remote learning tools for parents. The video aims to help parents assist their children should they run into issues managing Microsoft’s platforms and tools.

As a Microsoft Showcase School, Repton has shared the video with all students’ parents and guardians, complete with a personal introduction.

Microsoft’s remote learning support video provides:

• Tailored remote-learning resources for parents who fall into three categories: ‘overwhelmed’, ‘coping’, or ‘thriving’.
• Resources designed to assist parents who are supporting children of different ages.
• Tips on getting Microsoft’s applications up and running.
• Internet safety resources.
• A glossary of all Microsoft tools.
• Microsoft’s Parent and Guardian Guide To Teams, which details how to get started with Microsoft Teams.
• Information on how to support children with special needs during lockdown.
• Fascinating virtual workshops for students who want to go above and beyond their regular curriculum. These workshops span from Minecraft tutorials to lessons on how to code an app.

All staff at Repton School and Repton Prep are on hand to assist parents and students who need further guidance.

Watch Repton’s introduction to Microsoft remote learning support.

Pastoral care: Monday Motivation

Moving on to student wellbeing, Repton’s Pastoral team has long used social media to ensure they can support pupils. This has never been more important now that they are learning from home. The dedicated Pastoral staff share practical advice to inspire students with a positive start to the week every Monday.

Repton kicked this initiative off in January with five tips to help students structure their days effectively. Posts like this make a great addition to the school’s dedicated Pastoral Twitter account, which holds a wealth of inspirational quotes, recipes, film recommendations, and book suggestions. Recent posts include a link to Repton’s ‘Chaplain’s Chat’, in which Father Neil Roberts reflects on the importance of human interaction; a recipe from Physics teacher Mr Lewis; and music recommendations from English teacher Dr Rose.

Repton’s Pastoral team continue to share thoughtful tips and thoughts to motivate students throughout the lockdown. Take a look at some of their ideas on Twitter.

Student podcast: How are You? (Really?)

But it isn’t just Repton’s staff who are paving the way for student support. Upper-sixth student Evie Lownds has taken the initiative to produce her own podcast to promote wellbeing amongst her fellow students. During the podcast, How Are You? (Really?), Evie reflects on the fact that although more people are opening up about their challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic, more needs to be done to reduce the stigma around mental illness.

As a Mental Health Youth First-Aider, Evie raises awareness about how young people can best support themselves, as well as those around them. Her first episode focuses on self-care. This is especially important under lockdown when young people can’t see their school friends in person.

Evie highlights the importance of looking out for yourself before you can effectively look out for others. To achieve this, Evie encourages her peers to set up self-care routines and make time for themselves. She discusses the importance of physical self-care – sleeping, eating enough, and exercise – as well as stress-management tips. Evie recommends sense-related stress relievers, such as weighted blankets, aromatherapy, scented candles, listening to music, and even eating cookies. She also suggests writing down your worries to rationalise them and giving yourself positive affirmations. Evie herself prints motivational postcards from Pinterest and keeps these around her mirror.

Most importantly, Evie emphasises that finding solutions to anxiety and stress is a personal route. It’s about finding what works for you, not following set instructions. There is no single right answer when it comes to protecting your wellbeing.

Listen to Evie’s podcast.

Repton community

As we progress through the third lockdown, Repton continues to keep its community spirit aglow. The school looks forward to re-opening its doors to all students as soon as possible.

You can keep up with Repton’s updates on their Facebook page.

About Repton School

Nestled in Derbyshire’s countryside, Repton School provides a world-class boarding and day education for boys and girls aged 3–18. The school is located across two age-appropriate sites – each has outstanding academic, music, sport, drama, and co-curricular facilities and shares an extensive collection of awards, as well as a historic legacy that reaches back into the sixteenth century. The school blends its prestigious academic history with a wealth of contemporary curricular and extra-curricular subjects – not to mention its future-proofed outlook on Pastoral care.

Learn more about Repton School.