Children’s Mental Health Week: Creating space to pause, reset and thrive
Alex Rositano from More House School explains how a new Wellbeing Hub, designed in collaboration with students, will provide a space for reflection and emotional self-regulation.
Children’s Mental Health Week gives us a valuable opportunity to pause and reflect on how we support the emotional wellbeing of our pupils – not just in theory, but in practice. This year, our focus has been on listening carefully to student voice and responding in a way that is meaningful, practical, and genuinely supportive.
Following a recent meeting with the Student Council, we explored what our pupils feel they need most to support their mental health during the school day. A strong and consistent theme emerged: the need for a calm, dedicated space where they can regulate themselves after an assessment or exam. Students spoke openly about the pressure they sometimes feel and how having time to decompress would help them reset and refocus.
From that conversation, the idea of a Wellbeing Hub was born.
What began as a post-assessment support space has since expanded into something broader and more inclusive – an area that any pupil can access during the school day when they need time to pause, regulate, and reset. The aim is simple but powerful: to create a safe, welcoming environment where pupils can manage their emotions, reduce stress, and return to learning feeling more grounded.
Plans for the Wellbeing Hub are deliberately student-informed. The space will include comfy pillows and bean bags for relaxation, a desk and chair for quiet reflection or grounding activities, and even an exercise bike for pupils who benefit from burning off excess energy. This balance recognises that regulation looks different for everyone – some pupils need stillness, others need movement, and both are equally valid.
Importantly, the Wellbeing Hub is not about avoiding challenge or lowering expectations. It is about equipping pupils with the tools and space they need to manage pressure, build resilience, and develop lifelong strategies for emotional regulation.
Children’s Mental Health Week reminds us that wellbeing is not a one-off conversation or a single event. By working alongside our students and responding to what they tell us they need, we are taking a meaningful step towards embedding wellbeing into everyday school life.
We are excited to see the Wellbeing Hub develop and, most importantly, to see how it supports our pupils to feel calmer, more confident, and ready to thrive.