wellbeing

Children, families and researchers explore emotional wellbeing with Purrble at Nottinghamshire’s Festival of Science and Curiosity (FOSAC)

While families were drawn to Purrble because of its soft appearance and interactive nature, conversations quickly turned to where it could be useful in everyday life. Parents, carers, teachers and children suggested a wide range of settings where Purrble might provide emotional support, particularly during stressful or anxious moments. Schools emerged as the most frequently mentioned setting. Participants felt Purrble could help children who experience anxiety, emotional distress, sensory difficulties, school transitions, or challenges associated with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Screen time: Impacts on education and wellbeing

The UK Government’s Education Committee recently called for evidence on “how screen time can support and impact children’s development, wellbeing, and educational outcomes” in order to understand “the effectiveness of digital safety education in schools and the ways in which schools and parents can be better supported to manage children’s screen usage” as well as “how screen use for academic purposes is being managed in schools.” Coincidentally, the Prime Minister announced a mobile phone ban in UK schools, apparently on the grounds that they distract students from learning and facilitate cyberbullying. This was unexpected, and the relation between the proposed ban and the formal call for evidence has not been made clear. Digital Youth and Sprouting Minds, in the middle of its examination of the complex risks and opportunities for mental health associated with young people’s engagement with the digital world, respond to this.

A UKRI funded project

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