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🎥 Watch the video of this here
Funding is always something that I hear yoga teachers saying is an issue, many yoga teachers wanting to work in schools have the mindset that schools do not have the money to invest. Schools do, in fact, have specific funding, some of which could be spent in investing in quality yoga lessons. In this blog I’d like to share with you some information about the Primary PE and Sport Premium Fund and how this applies to us as kids yoga teachers. The UK chief Medical Officers recommend daily physical activity of at least 60 minutes everyday for children and young people. According to the Childhood Obesity Plan, 30 minutes of this should take place in schools. The Primary PE and Sport Premium is aimed at supporting this. What is the Primary PE and Sport Premium Fund? Since 2013, the UK government has provided schools with a fund called Primary PE and Sport Premium, this is to enable schools to make: ‘additional and sustainable improvements to the PE, sport and physical activity they provide’. The goals of this are to increase physical activity, ensure equal access to high quality PE provision and opportunities to experience and participate in a wide range of sports and physical activities. On the 8th of March 2023 a funding package was announced that secures funding for the academic years 2023-2024 and 2024 – 2025. Who is it for? The funding is based on how many pupils are in years 1 – 6 or in schools where there aren’t set year groups it is based on how many children are aged 5 – 10. Note that the funding is not based on children in nursery or reception, this is for primary age only. Who is it allocated to? Primary head teachers are awarded the funding and the senior management team choose how to spend the funding. Most schools have a PE lead who has the job of organising the expenditure, but the final say of how the money is spent lies with the head teacher. What can it be spent on? There are very strict rules on what this funding can and can’t be spent on and the school has to plan it’s use carefully and report the expenditure. Next academic year, the 2024 – 2025, a digital tool will be mandatory for schools to use to be accountable for the expenditure. So schools need to be really clear on how they are spending the money. The expenditure needs to be sustainable and benefit children who join the school in the future and develop or add to the PE, sport and physical activity that the school already provides. There are 5 key indicators that schools should see improvement in:
What does this mean for us as yoga teachers? Knowing which key indicators you meet is really important in helping a school to see the value in what you offer. This depends on what you teach in your lessons and how you work. So for me, the majority of my work is taught within the school day in curriculum lessons. My work contributes to meeting key indicators 1, 2, 3 and 4. I can confidently say that in the lessons that I teach:
Any spending needs to meet one or more of these key indicators. Schools need to have spent this years sports premium by 31st of July, some schools may have money left in their budget that they need to spend. In the UK, the charity the Youth Sports Trust runs National School Sport Week every year usually in June. Many schools usually have a big focus on physical activity and sport at this time, raising the profile of sports, PE and physical activity and how these are beneficial for both our mental and physical health. Why is this relevant for us kids yoga teachers? At this time of year, schools are particularly interested in raising the profile of physical education, and physical activity and this is a perfect time for us to be working in partnership with schools helping to share our knowledge and expertise with children. Perhaps it’s worth reaching out to schools to see if they have any of this year’s Primary and PE Sport Premium left to spend and whether they would like to invest in some yoga. If you would like more support in this, to help you ensure that you meet the requirements for the funding, why not book a meeting with me? Email me at [email protected] This July, I'm excited to offer a special opportunity for newcomers to work with me. You can book an hour-long session for just £97 (usually £200). It's a perfect chance to get my insights on any aspect of your business. Availability is very limited, so email me at [email protected] to secure your spot! Do you know what documents you need to teach yoga in school? Download a free checklist here. https://julia-hankins.ck.page/8a9c2fa53d Useful links: Information about Primary PE and Sport Premium https://www.afpe.org.uk/page/About_the_Primary_PE_and_Sport_Premium https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pe-and-sport-premium-for-primary-schools Information about National School Sports Week https://www.youthsporttrust.org/school-support/national-school-sports-week
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As yoga teachers, we can love investing in courses, books and resources. I know. I’ve been there!
We can spend thousands of pounds on training and not think anything of it, because it is an investment. It’s growth, learning, knowledge. But… How many kids yoga teachers invest in mentoring? My guess is not many. I wonder if that is because there isn’t a clear picture of what can be gained from working with a mentor. That’s what I want to talk about today. I want to share how working with a mentor can help your business to thrive. Unless you have a background in business, it is likely that you are figuring it out as you go. Hoping that you’ll stumble across something that will help you make it all click. When we run our own businesses, it’s really common to focus only on the bits that you love- planning and teaching. When you work with a mentor, they can help you to reflect on the aspects of business that you might not be noticing. They can help keep you accountable and support you to make changes to grow. Working with a mentor can help your business to grow financially When I worked with a mentor for the first time, it was when I saw my finances boost. I still now invest regularly in working with mentors, either as one off or longer term programmes. When I’m working with a yoga teacher, I can help them to look at their pricing and their packages and support them to focus on setting and working towards goals. I can help them to analyse what’s working and what’s not and help them to make changes to transform their business. Working with a mentor can give you greater confidence (which feeds back into the first point) Confidence is SUCH a big issue for us yoga teachers, we can often wonder if what we are doing is ‘right’ and wonder if we should be doing something differently. When working with a mentor, you’ll likely have chosen someone who has already done what it is you are trying to do. Their experience and knowledge can help fast track your business so that you can learn from their mistakes! Getting a mentor who is a good fit for you and already does (or has done) what you want to, means that you can get support in strategy of how to do things. You can pick their brains about what has worked for them. For example, when I’ve been mentoring kids yoga teachers I have helped give advice about managing behaviour and needs of specific children, communicating with schools, securing contracts because these are all areas that I have experienced (and still do) in my own business. Working with a mentor can help you to shape your life the way that you want it We can easily get caught in the trap of living from class to class without realising. Do you ever just feel too busy to enjoy the fact that you are self- employed? Working with a mentor can help you reflect on how you want your life to feel, and help you move towards that life. Combat loneliness Being self-employed can be incredibly lonely. Yes there are facebook groups some of which are really supportive. Check out ‘School Yoga Teachers’ and ‘Kids Yoga Teachers UK’ if you haven’t already. I offer email support in between meetings in my mentoring programme. Those who work with me tell me that this helps them to feel really supported and it also helps to create a more holistic approach. Sharing journal prompts, book or podcast suggestions etc. helps to make the mentoring experience personalised to the individual who I’m working with. It also means that I’m there for the quick – “Help, this problem has arised” moment! The mentor relationship is a really special one, I know that those who have worked with me have found it a supportive and nurturing space that has helped them grow professionally and personally. Would you like to benefit from that level of support? If you think that working with a mentor in your kids yoga might be just what you need to get support, feel more confident, get clearer on your goals and your business, grow your income, and live how you want to live. Now might be the perfect time for you to reach out to me. On the 22nd of June I’ll be increasing my mentor prices to better reflect the transformation that occurs during this process. In order to lock in the current prices for the six month mentoring package or the price for a power hour with me, email me before the 22nd of June. If you’d like to know more information about the programme visit here check out some frequently asked questions answered here. Youe can email me at [email protected] if you are considering working with me and have any questions. 🎥Watch the video of this here
Behaviour strategies that I avoid in my kids yoga classes… I had an email from Emily asking a question, thank you Emily for your email and sorry it has taken me so long to get back to it! Emily had asked my views of using ‘behaviour buddies’ in kids yoga classes to promote positive behaviour. She had heard it recommended to use a soft toy to put on the mat of a child that behaved themselves. She had also seen a soft toy being used to ‘watch’ the children to make sure that they were behaving. UGH! So firstly, yuk. No. I don’t think it is ok to trick children into thinking that they are being watched by a soft toy to check that they are behaving themselves. This is similar to the use of elves who ‘report back to Santa’. Nope. Not ok, we want children to feel safe in our classes, if they believe that they are being watched then this ruins trust and makes them fearful. The question might be in their mind of ‘what will happen if I misbehave?’ it is threatening and not fun. There will also be some children who will be curious about whether this is true, and for those children it may actually have a negative effect on their behaviour because they may be testing to see what gets ‘seen’ and what happens if they do something deemed as ‘naughty’. I actually don’t ever use the word naughty in my classes anyway, because I don’t believe there is such a thing as a naughty child. There are choices that we make as humans based on our needs. Some of those choices will be ill thought out and will have negative consequences, but they are ultimately born out of a need of some sort and our job is to discover the need and support the child to make better choices. Now for ‘behaviour buddies’ I think this very much depends on how it is used. I wouldn’t use the word ‘behaviour buddies’ ever, because this again brings the word ‘behaviour’ needlessly into our safe spaces. I also wouldn’t single out a particular child. This simply doesn’t work. It feels unfair to those who are behaving and don’t have the soft toy it makes them think ‘why not me?’ and makes them feel unseen. In our classes, we want to make each child feel like they are seen, if we haven’t given them the soft toy, they assume that they haven’t been noticed. Secondly, most people would ensure that everyone gets a ‘go’ of the softy toy on their mat. In which case it is just kids taking their turn of the bear. This is ok if you want to do that but why dress it up as something that it isn’t kids see through it. This is the same for ‘yogi of the week’ and stickers that are only given to one child per week. Also, it is VERY common for children who struggle to conform in group situations aka ‘misbehave’, to be rewarded in this way far more often than those who are quietly getting on with things. This can feel hugely unfair. The children who are struggling to ‘behave’ likely have a very good reason for acting the way that they do and this will likely be exacerbated by the introduction of the ‘behaviour buddy’ who they will likely want every single time they ‘behave’. I think it would end up being more of a problem than a solution. I do use soft toys in my classes, and they can indeed have a very positive impact on behaviour, for me this loks like, each child having a (soft toy) friend to cuddle, the soft toy might tell them their name, the soft toy is going to help them in the class to balance or breath or focus or relax, and the soft toy will be there to see the amazing things that they can do. This is far more inclusive, positive and will impact behaviour positively. In using stickers, I don’t single out one or two children, if one gets one, they all do. The same for certificates, I like to give these at the end of a term and write something specific for each child that is personal to them. So in conclusion.... Our yoga classes should be places where children feel safe, seen and soothed this will help them feel secure. This is from the work of Dr Daniel Siegel. If your are interested in learning more about positive behaviour management in your kids yoga classes, check out: 📖 this blog, 🎥this video, 🎁this free rules guide and 🧠this training If you would like to work with me to support you with managing the behaviour in your classes (or on anything else) get in touch before June 22nd to lock in the price before it goes up. ❓Find out more about my mentoring offerings including some FAQs here 👩🏽💻Arrange a no obligation meeting here 📧 or email me at [email protected] ✨Exciting news! I’ll soon be launching some fabulous well-being cards (available as a download) and some accompanying comprehensive training. 🎁Get my free top tips for using cards here and be the first to learn about the Captivating Cards resources and course. Happy June! Do you prefer to watch or listen? Check out the video here
For me last week was half term and it got me thinking about how hard it can be to take a break sometimes. Maybe you teach in multiple places where the term times are different, perhaps you also have evening classes that don’t stop in the holidays or maybe you run holiday clubs during this time. As a yoga teacher, it can be hard to take breaks and holidays. It can be tempting to think- ‘that class is only an hour or 90 minutes so I can still do that in the holiday.’ I believe that it is really important to block in times where you aren’t working at all, not even for the odd hour class, because we all know that it isn’t really just an hour, there’s the planning, set up and travel time and then decompressing afterwards. Here’s some tips to help manage work life balance as a yoga teacher and create your ideal life. Get clear on what you want your life to look like. Download the freebie ‘Create an Ideal Life’ to help you get clear on what you would like your life to be like. I highly recommend the book The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte if you want to dive deeper here. It can be easy to get caught up in comparing our lives and businesses to those around us. We can start to travel down a road that was never truly our road to begin with. Being really clear on your ideal life can be a really great way of ensuring that your work life ‘fit’s your home life, and if it doesn’t, it gives you a clear direction of what needs to change. Create times in your day that are just for you, even if it is 5 minutes in the car between classes, what can you do to really enjoy that time. Listen to a meditation, read a book, message a friend, eat something delicious and really enjoy it. These micro- moments are a great way to fill our cup, even in a busy day. Take proper time off! This sounds obvious, but it isn’t always easy. Taking time off completely from our business is really important, but sometimes difficult. No email, no quick planning moments, no sorting of props. Complete time off. If this is something that you already do then great! But if you, like me, find this hard- then you probably need it even more! Do you take proper time off where you aren’t working at all? Are you struggling to get the balance right? Why not book in an hour with me and I can help you to find some solutions. On June 22nd I’ll be increasing my mentoring prices to better reflect the value that these offerings bring. If you’d like to lock in the cheaper price while it’s still available get in touch. Email me at [email protected] |
From Julia
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November 2024
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