Blog Post

Working in Schools

  • by Jan
  • 22 Jul, 2023

Must have and Maybes

People often ask me how I started teaching yoga to children in school and it was a mixture of being in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people (Sparkle Yoga Therapy), some good luck and little bit of hard work.
So I thought I'd write something to point some of you in the school direction, if that's where you're thinking of going.

Choosing a Children's Yoga Teacher course, research and ask for recommendations. There are lots different options and courses available, face to face, online or a mixture of the two. You may wish to go down the franchise direction, especially if you're brand new to this. It may seem like the safer option, with the promise to help you get your business off the ground and offering ongoing support, but it can also be the most expensive option, there's the initial cost and the franchise fee, and there are often (not always) limits to the style you teach and the area you teach in. Ask questions, check out the websites, look at the classes they have available and ask how many successful franchisees they have.
If you prefer you can set up on your own and if I can do it, anyone can :) This offers you more freedom to teach the way you'd like to and there are then no restrictions on the areas you can cover. If you're worried about setting up and ongoing support and it isn't offered by your course tutor or course mates, there are lots of online communities that can offer it, join them and start asking questions, it's free!
If you are setting up on your own, one of the biggest upfront costs, after training, is equipment, think mats. This year I've replaced my mats, after 3 years of picky hands and wear and tear. Don't spend a fortune, I've found anything thicker than 4mm is a blank canvas for little hands, to be picked, poked and scratched to within an inch of it's life... which itself can cause a safety issue, so let's move on to risk assessments. You can write your own or use an online template, if you're a member of a yoga organisation they might provide them for you.
Approaching Schools - This is the hardest bit, especially if you're like me and allergic to mithering. Research who you think would be the best staff member to approach, maybe the school have a specific person who deals with well-being, it might be the pastoral lead, or the medical assistant, it could even be the head of PE, then address your correspondence to them. If you have the wrong person, you'll probably be directed to the correct person in the end... And please don't worry if you don't get a response, schools are busy places, your email may have gone unnoticed, or they could already have a yoga teacher, wouldn't that be amazing!
Must Haves - If you are going to be on your own at any point with the children you are going to need an enhanced DBS. You can't apply for one yourself, so speak to your course tutor, if they don't provide them, they may suggest an umbrella company. If all that fails, speak to your school or nursery  to see if they could apply on your behalf.
I'm putting insurance in the Must Haves, although you're probably not going to harm anyone by teaching them yoga, it's good to know your students are covered in the very unlikely event that something goes wrong. 
Maybes - Not all settings will 'need' you to have the following but it's always good to be prepared.
Safeguarding Training - mine is with the NSPCC, they offer a range of different options to suit almost everyone. There are other providers, research and ask for recommendations.
First Aid - part of the requirements of my membership with the British Wheel of Yoga is to keep an up-to-date First Aid certificate, they often organise first aid days for members and non-members.

That's the paperwork covered, next up - specialist training courses and diversity... Happy teaching :)
by Jan 7 October 2024
and all of the reasons why!
by Jan 30 September 2024
What to expect?
The breathing, movement and relaxation you'd get in a 'regular' yoga class, mixed with some fun, games and a little mindfulness activity at the end of the session.

Who is the class for?
All families, whatever that looks like for you, are welcome. We only have 2 rules, if you're a grown up you need to bring a little one, and your little one need to be age 3 and over... If your little one is almost three, please get in touch and we'll see what we can do :)

How long is the class?
The class is an hour(ish), 45/50 mins of yoga and 10 mins at the end of session for our mindful activity.

What is the activity at the end of class?
It varies throughout the year, at Christmas we make cards, in summer we made dream catchers, and at Halloween we'll make some spooky decorations. Quite often the little ones, and big ones spend time colouring together. This week we made positive affirmation posters.

Do I need to bring anything?
No, just you and your little ones, if you have a mat bring it with you, but please don't worry if you don't, there are some at the studio.

Where is the class?
Hot Buddha
Honiton Way
WA5 2EY

FAQs/Frequent Worries from Adults

I'm worried my child won't like it/won't participate/wont' settle...
Your little ones can participate as much or as little as they'd like to.
Please don't worry about them not settling, you can leave the room if you need to, there's a seating area at the entrance of the studio.

I'm worried my child will make too much noise?
Noise levels vary throughout the class, sometimes its actively encouraged :) all levels of noise are acceptable!

Is the class suitable for little ones with SEND?
Yes, if you any concerns about your little one participating in the class, please get in touch beforehand and we can discuss what works best for you and your little one. I trained with Special Yoga to try to make my classes as accessible as possible and have worked with children with SEND for many years.

Is the venue secure?
The outer door remains locked throughout the class for safeguarding reasons, but if you need to leave Sukhy will let you out :)
by Jan 27 May 2024
If you trained as an adult teacher and want to add children's yoga to your training check out my previous post here.

If you trained as a children's yoga teacher and have no adult training, this one is for you! 
There are a lot of teacher trainings available at the moment, so here are some tips for those who feel overwhelmed with the choice.

Who to train with? - Hopefully you have a regular teacher who can offer you some advice, lots of us are happy to give recommendations as we'll have experience not only with our initial training but with CPDs with various teachers and 'schools'.

What to look for? - Some kind of accreditation, I trained with the British Wheel of Yoga , they are Ofqual accredited but there are others out there. I've trained with a courses accredited by both Yoga Alliance UK and The Independent Yoga Network. Yoga Alliance UK have lots of teacher trainings up and down the country, if you chose that option it may be worth reading reviews of the specific course and leaders you've been looking at. The Independent Yoga Network no longer exists and I'm unaware if another organisation has taken up their members. 

Course Curriculum - Your course may include - Anatomy & Physiology and Yoga Philosophy, as well as the usual Asana (postures), Pranayama (breathing), Meditation & Relaxation and class planning, including teaching and progression. Hopefully there will be a little bit of business in there too, to help guide you if you decide to teach regularly. 

How long? - Intensives can take a few days, other courses can take between 1, 2 and 3 years. Courses can take up to 500+ hours, that can include your time learning and also your experience teaching. Think about how you learn personally, whether you learn better with lots of information all at once or whether you learn better with less information over a longer period.  There are pros and cons to both, I found it better to learn over a longer period of time and that fitted in well with my circumstances, other people will have different time constraints and factors they need to take into consideration. 

How much? - Now this varies... A lot! A face-to-face teaching of around 200 hours can range from £2000-£3000, a 300 - 500 hour course can cost between £3000 - £4500, many course leaders provide payment plans. You also need to factor in the cost of text books - The Bhavagad Gita, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, etc. stationary, and if you don't already own one, a laptop or device to do you work.

Extra courses 
After all that training you may wonder why you would need any further training but... if you are working in schools, you will probably work with students with a diverse range of educational needs, it's better to be overtrained than undertrained!
Special Yoga  (others are available) offer trainings to make sure your teachings are as inclusive as they can be, so my advice would be, if you haven't had extra training, get it :)

And finally, finally.. If you don't feel as though you need any further training (well done!) but would like to browse some free courses I can highly recommend the OpenLearn platform provided by the Open University. There you will find information on Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents as well as courses on ADHD and Autism (And I'm gonna put the Menopause in here too, the more we know the better we teach!)
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