Fostering Community in School Yoga Classes

Do you teach in schools?
Perhaps you would like to?

In this blog I will be writing about how as yoga teachers, we can foster a greater feeling of community with the schools that we work with.

I think that it's important that we do feel like part of the community when we're working in a school. I love feeling like part of the furniture, part of the team. It can make us feel good and it is also far more likely that our contract with the school will be renewed.

Being part of the community is also really good for the children too, because it gives them a more cohesive view.  It means that all of the people who are delivering lessons to them, are giving similar messages, which helps them feel safe and stable.

The staff at the school are also likely to feel more comfortable to join in with your lessons if they see you as ‘one of the team’.
 
Here are my top tips for, building a greater feeling of community in the schools that you work with.
 
Use Names!
Using people's correct names is really important to me.
I usually recommend having name cards for the children that you teach, so that you can use their names. Over time, you may even remember some names. This is also an important safety point, if you have name cards for the children, then you can more easily get individual pupil’s attention if they are doing something that is unsafe.

When you use children’s name within your classes, the children are much more likely to feel really seen, by you.

Learning the names of the staff is important too. Getting to know, the teacher's first names and also their surnames is so useful. Especially when you're in the hall and somebody asks  “oh, have you seen Mrs. so-and-so?” - you can actually answer the question rather than just smiling and saying I don't know! (has this happened to you too, or just me!)

You can find out people's names by just looking on the school website. Usually, most schools have pictures of staff on a ‘who’s who?’ or ‘meet the staff’ page, or you can ask the children, the names of their teachers.

People who work in schools usually aren't great at introducing themselves, schools tend to just be really busy places and staff just go from one thing to the next!

But if you do take the time, learning people’s names is a really powerful way of just feeling more connected and, and feeling like a greater part of the community.

Know the school's vision, values and ethos

The school's website usually shares the schools values and ethos, perhaps as a mission statement. You may also see this on any emails or letters.

Some schools also display artwork or words that represent the school values. Just take notice of what those words are because, when you know the school's values, then you can embody them within your lessons.

If one of the values was perseverance, for example, and you saw that a child was demonstrating this in your lesson, you'd be able to say, “oh, wow, you really persevered, well done, that is one of our values at ….. school” small things like this make a big difference and it will be noticed by the staff.
 
Reward systems

Using the school's, positive reward system is another way really good way of fitting in with the schools expectations. Schools may give house points, class points, dojo points…. Each school is different and finding out what the school you are in uses and aligning yourself with that can help both you (for behaviour management) and the school (consistency is key).

Not all schools are happy with this though, so ensure that you have a conversation with the school about preferences.

Also, it may not feel ‘right’ to you to be using these reward systems, so explore what feels right for you and your style.
 
‘We’ ‘Us’ ‘Our School’

Another way of fostering community, is with the language that you're using.
Using the words ‘we’ and ‘at our school’ helps to embed yourself within the school.
When you come into a school, you are part of their community. You are acting under the umbrella of that particular school. Yes, you're an outsider coming in, but if you talking as if you are part of it, helps children to feel safe with you because they will feel that you are part of their world.
 
Stay Informed

Keeping in the loop of what is going on at a school is another great way of feeling like part of the community.

Be aware of if they have got any special days that they're running, or topics that are being taught, or any trips that the children are going on, or any residential visits. So you can weave this into your classes and also conversations with the children and staff.

You can stay informed by reading the school's weekly newsletter, reading displays around the school, or follow social media accounts for the school. You can also share the schools social media posts on your page or tag them in your posts.

Be Generous

Another way to be part of a school community is to support them in fundraising activities.
Schools often have events such as Christmas or summer fairs. You could support them by giving them some vouchers, or other gift for a raffle prize, for example. You might even deliver a little session at one of their events, or offer to volunteer, if that's something that you feel comfortable with.

This is a great way of feeling like part of the community, and it's rewarding for you as well.

If you offer other services, such as community classes, adult classes or workshops, you could ask if you can reach out to parents and to share with them information about these services. Gifting a discount to parents and staff is a great way of getting more people at your events and giving value to the school community.


If you're reading this on the day that it's been released (24th of September), you still have six days to sign up to Cerys Keneally’s free challenge to help you get into more schools. Sign up here to join the challenge

If you've got any questions that you'd like me to answer, please do feel free to email me, [email protected]