28th September to Friday 2nd October
Virtual wellbeing festival for schools
Buckfast Abbey’s innovative education team are taking their mental health initiatives online to the nation, with the launch of a virtual wellbeing festival available to primary school pupils across the UK. Called the Take 5 Festival, it’s already attracted substantial interest, with thousands of bookings expected.
An actual event was arranged for May following the appointment of the abbey’s first wellbeing project coordinator, Sharon Lord, but it had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. The new-look festival will give the opportunity for pupils to safely engage in practical and fun workshops with a focus on developing spiritual, emotional, and mental health. There will be video workshops, guided reflections in the Abbey Church and grounds, live link ups with children’s wellbeing practitioners, Q&A sessions, and classroom activities. There will also be a special teachers’ area with wellbeing and continuing professional development sessions for staff
Buckfast Abbey has organised many highly successful events in recent years including garden fayres, food, book, and storytelling festivals, but this is the first attempt at an entirely virtual festival. A focus group of teachers interested in the subject was set up prior to lockdown and it was from that initiative that the idea of holding the festival in September took shape. Schools across the country are now keen to take part.
Buckfast Abbey’s Education Manager, Alison Gagg, said that the team was surprised that teachers wanted something so early in the new school year. She thinks it says much about the need to think about children’s mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing soon after their return to school. It meant an early return to work for the abbey’s education team who had all been furloughed. She said: “They have enjoyed rising to the challenge of something new. The team only had two weeks before the end of term to get the information out to schools and only a couple of weeks at the beginning of term, so we are asking teachers to spread the word amongst colleagues. The department is open throughout the summer holidays so will be able to answer questions and take bookings.”
Alison adds that many of the practitioners who were due to come to the abbey-run workshops at the planned May event will now be running them by video link. She said: “We hope to capture some of the spirit and fun of being at Buckfast Abbey and bring it into schools. We have suggested that schools join in the fun by having their own ‘festival day’ or ‘festival week’ and decorate the school or classroom and have picnic lunches in order to recreate that ‘school trip atmosphere’
An unexpected extra benefit of an online festival is that the Abbey can now welcome schools that are too far away to visit. Schools will need to book in advance to receive their unique access code. They can sign up for just a class, bubble group or even the whole school and can visit the festival site as many times as they wish during the week.
“We have had enquiries and bookings from places as far away as Cumbria, Yorkshire and Kent. Already, bookings have been made for over 2,000 pupils to attend, and there is every prospect that will go up considerably,” said Alison.
The record for attendance by pupils for an Education Department event was 1400 over two days for the Storytelling Festival held as part of Buckfast Abbey’s Millennium celebrations in 2018.
For more information contact 01364 645517 or education@buckfast.org.uk
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