Welcome to our blog
A blog dedicated to the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children.
News on current issues affecting children and young people, ideas for how we can respond and support them and news on new resources we are developing to support you in your precious work with children. Please follow us on social media and keep in touch as we will be delighted to hear from you too!
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Relational Practice – the heart of Hamish & Milo
Relational practice is the essential element of connection and emotional safety that enables children to develop, learn, adapt to their environment and to thrive.
Westover Primary School, Portsmouth
Westover Primary School place wellbeing as a central aspect and there is commitment to provide a range of support, intervention and provision to support children’s social and emotional development as well as learning.
Creating a SEMH inclusive school Podcast
Clare Williams, our author and creator discussed this with Dale Pickles on SENDcast, an award-winning weekly podcast focusing on Special Educational Needs. In the episdoe ‘Creating a SEMH inclusive school’, Clare discusses the pressing need...
Festive Season Giveaway Winners Announced
We received 246 thoughtful and heartfelt nominations throughout December highlighting once again how schools work tirelessly to support their pupils’ wellbeing and social, emotional, and mental health needs whilst working with diminishing budgets in tough...
Free Wellbeing Resources in our Festive Giveaway!
Do you know a school that you think would really benefit from the Hamish & Milo SEMH intervention programme and resources, as we are gifting £2,500 worth this festive season?
Suffolk County Council has chosen Hamish & Milo
Suffolk County Council has chosen Hamish & Milo as their preferred Emotional Wellbeing Intervention provider for Primary schools as part of the Department for Education (DfE) Delivering Better Value (DBV) Programme that aims to support...
St Anne’s Infants’ School, Bristol
St Anne’s Infants began using Hamish & Milo in 2023 and has experienced a positive impact supporting over 40 children with a range of social and emotional needs. “One parent commented on how the child...
Suspensions and exclusions are soaring
Shocking figures from the latest Department for Education’s (DfE) annual exclusions statistics make for a worrying read with both suspensions and permanent exclusions at the highest annual number ever recorded. Permanent exclusions have increased for...
Transition day activity ‘All about me’
Transition day activity for getting to know each other – ‘All about me’ activity template is a great way to get to know new pupils by letting them tell you about themselves in their own...
School Behaviour Secrets podcast with Clare Williams
Clare talks about the crucial role adults play when supporting children to navigate their feelings, and shares invaluable advice on how creating compassionate relationships within a safe space for the children to feel seen, heard...
Waycroft Academy, Bristol
“I absolutely LOVE Navigator, it is just so easy and I can see all the data instantly. If we have Ofsted, I can literally just show them every child’s experience.”
Wicklea Academy, Bristol
“Hamish & Milo has changed our approach as a school for quantity and quality of pastoral support. It has raised awareness too for most staff of how emotional wellbeing comes before learning can really take...
Woodlands Academy, Bristol
Woodlands Academy located in South Bristol is a small, one-form entry school with 165 children. There is a high level of need within the community and high numbers of children regarded with pupil premium needs....
Education Resources Awards 2024
This year’s ERA award winners were announced at an awards ceremony on 18th April 2024 at The National Conference Centre Birmingham and we were very proud finalists.
IFIP Global Inclusion Award 2024
We are thrilled to be recognised by IFIP, the International Forum of Inclusion Practitioners with an IFIP Global Inclusion Award announced at UNESCO HQ this week for the work we’re doing.
Hamish & Milo shortlisted for Wellbeing Award in the 2024 Education Resources Awards
We are extremely proud to announce that Hamish & Milo Wellbeing intervention resources have been shortlisted for the Wellbeing Award at the ERAs 2024 alongside such well-renowned and established organisations.
Children’s Mental Health Week 2024
This years theme is ‘My Voice Matters’. Helping children talk and express their feelings about what is happening in their lives share experiences, develop empathy and friendships in a small group environment of safety, value...
Education Today School & Supplier Awards December 2023
We are absolutely thrilled and honoured to announce that we won ‘Wellbeing Resource or Support of the Year 2023’ at the Education Today School & Supplier Awards!
Festive activity sheets
Free fun children’s festive activities – children can design their own crackers, party hats for their sock puppet pals, plus design their own Christmas jumper!
Design your own christmas jumper
Free fun children’s festive activities – children can design their own Christmas jumper!
Why impact measurement for SEMH intervention matters
In education it is often said that what gets assessed gets addressed and whilst we know measuring social and emotional learning (SEL) and SEMH can be tricky we believe that evaluating the impact of interventions...
Anti-bullying Week – Encouraging and Celebrating Diversity
Anti-bullying week which aims to encourage and celebrate diversity. Celebrating differences and acknowledging similarities is powerful in allowing us to be true to ourselves and to value who we are. Free activity!
Beechwood Junior School, Southampton, Hampshire
“Hamish & Milo is a wonderful emotional wellbeing programme that sits alongside Trauma Informed incredibly well. It is easy to follow and the enjoyment that the students and myself feel during the sessions makes us...
Hamish & Milo Compass Emotional Literacy Skills Profile
Compass is a tool and checklist to identify individual child strengths and areas of need for social and emotional skill development.
Mental Health Awareness week
For Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, the focus is Anxiety. The reality is desperate when we see exceptionally high numbers of children and teenagers that are struggling with their mental health and, in particular, different...
Making a difference for children with SEMH
In this webinar Clare discusses the need for a whole school culture in making a difference for children, particularly those with SEMH needs, how to support children to manage in a learning context when they’re...
Coronation of King Charles free activities
Fun coronation activity sheets for the children to design their own royal cypher and colour their own St Edward’s coronation crown!
Deaf Awareness Week 1st-7th May 2023
There are at least 50,000 children who are deaf in the UK and sadly deaf children are at far higher risk of developing mental illness than their hearing peers. The theme for Deaf Awareness Week is Deaf Inclusion,...
Wordsworth Primary School, Southampton, Hampshire
“Hamish & Milo has been a remarkable new resource for Wordsworth, which has changed the school provision in meeting the SEMH needs within the school… Moving forward, we are training more staff and increasing the...
Autism Awareness month and the benefits of sensation & emotion cards
In honour of Autism Awareness Month and the importance for all children to develop a comprehensive social and emotional vocabulary, have the capacity to put words to feelings and experiences, and to express or make...
Burraton Community Primary School, Cornwall
“Hamish & Milo has supported a real shift towards consistency and focus on the social and emotional needs of our children. The resource is manageable with the planning and progression done so that the time...
Neurodiversity Celebration Week
In honour of Neurodiversity Celebration Week we share our ‘Celebrating me’ – helping children with difference and diversity programme to support schools in creating an inclusive culture that celebrates differences and empowers every child.
Damers First School, Dorchester, Dorset
“Not only do you get the 10 intervention programmes with Hamish & Milo you get so much more. It is extremely well supported by a wealth of easily accessible extra tools and resources, quality supervision...
Celebrating books, therapeutic stories to support mental health and empower children as readers
“A therapeutic story can enable a child to see, hear, know and feel more clearly, by providing a deeper truth and empathy than is possible through literal words. In so doing, it can bring hope...
The Link magazine – Building Emotional Awareness
Supporting children to notice, recognise and begin to express how they are feeling is a vital part of social and emotional development. Our article in Speech and Language Link Magazine looks at the power of...
Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 – Let’s connect
This Children’s Mental Health Week 6th-12th February, the theme is ‘Let’s connect’ and it’s a lovely way to celebrate the importance of connections, friendships and the human need for belonging. Celebrating connections – paper chain...
‘Taught and caught’ – The importance of Social and Emotional Learning in schools
‘Taught and caught’ – The importance of Social and Emotional Learning in schoolsSocial and emotional learning (SEL) is a vital part of life and education and describes the ability to thrive socially and emotionally.The development...
St John with St Mark CoE Primary School, Bury
“We know we are making a difference. Our Head is fully behind me…It is a game changer for our school, a gift!” Jill Wilcock, St John with St Mark CoE Primary School, Bury, Greater Manchester.
Children’s Grief Awareness Week
Children’s Grief Awareness Week is held from 17 – 23 November 2022 in both the UK and the USA, and it presents a powerful opportunity to come together and highlight the voices of bereaved children...
Anti-bullying Week – Anti-Bullying Charter
Today marks the final day of Anti-Bullying Week 2022 and we acknowledge that learning to understand and manage conflict is an important part of healthy emotional and social development. Our final article includes tips and...
Anti-bullying Week – Conflict Resolution
Today is day four of Anti-Bulling Week and here at Hamish & Milo we believe that relationships are at the heart of every learning environment. One of our activities ‘Conflict resolutions scripts’, uses sock puppets...
Anti-bullying Week – Talking about Feelings for self-regulation
As a great exercise for Anti-Bullying Week, and encouraging the children to think about the expression of feelings and wellbeing ask your children to create an emotions story. Download our activity template.
Anti-bullying Week – Odd Socks Day
To mark the first day of Anti-Bullying Week, millions of people around the country will be wearing odd socks to encourage people to express themselves and celebrate their uniqueness and individuality.
Hamish & Milo Fact File Activity Sheets
Fact File activity sheets for the children to find out all about the Hamish and Milo characters – their personalities, their likes, their favourite food, drink, treats, toys, activities and much more. Some colouring and...
The Curriculum for Wales – Mental health is at the top of the agenda
Mental Health and wellbeing is at the top of the agenda in terms of ethos, policy and implementation across the whole of Wales. A comprehensive new curriculum has been launched, with Health and Wellbeing as...
How to talk to children about The Queen’s death
Most children will be aware of the Queen’s death; so it’s important to talk about it. Children may be feeling worried, they may just be curious or have questions and a range of feelings that...
FASD and how our Hamish & Milo Wellbeing Resources can help
The 9th day of the 9th month is International FASD Day, and September is International FASD Awareness Month. In this blog, we draw attention to what primary schools can do to support children with this...
Education Today School & Supplier Awards
We’re very proud to have been nominated for the Education today School & Supplier Awards for Wellbeing Resource or Support of the Year – category criteria being that we’re helping schools address the mental health...
Top 12 tips for teachers to support healthy transitions
Our top 12 tips for teachers to support healthy transitions as children return to school! Research shows that transition from parents and caregivers to the classroom can activate a child’s stress response system in their...
Mental Health and Wellbeing Wales Awards Finalist
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we are a Finalist in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Wales Awards in the category of ‘Best Education Product or Service’. This award is to recognise and celebrate...
Children’s friendships are vital in terms of emotional wellbeing and learning
Having friends and a network of support is a vital factor in our emotional wellbeing and self-esteem. Being with friends and feeling secure in friendships, has a significant impact on children’s learning and engagement at...
Children’s Voice
Giving children a voice and opportunities to feel heard and valued is essential in creating wellbeing cultures in our schools, as well as being vital for mental health, our relationships and social and emotional development.
Children’s Voice Questionnaire
Children need to know that it is safe and that it is important for them to express their view… An important part of measuring the outcome of the Hamish & Milo wellbeing intervention, the ‘child...
Lytchett Matravers Primary School, Dorset
Lytchett Matravers Primary School, Dorset is a relatively large primary school whose ethos centres around children being valued, happy and confident. “I didn’t realise quite the level of impact but now thinking about all we...
Rowanfield Infant & Junior Schools, Gloucestershire
Rowanfield Infant & Junior Schools are part of the Gloucestershire Learning Alliance. “We wanted Hamish & Milo to be used within Rowanfield due to the high levels of deprivation within the school community and to...
Friendships Colouring Page
A little fun around the subject of changing classes, years and even schools. We find joy in making new and unexpected friends just like Hamish & Milo are doing in this colouring page.
SENsible SENCO – Making a difference for children with SEMH
Our author Clare Williams was delighted to speak with the SENsible SENCO last week on creating a culture of wellbeing and providing targeted intervention within schools.
Children missing in Society and Education
1.7 million children, thats a huge 1 in 4 are consistently absent from school states a new report by the Children’s Commissioner.
Helping children with change and transition
As the end of the summer term looms and the end of the academic year, there is a huge focus on transition and change within schools as children are changing teacher, changing class or even...
Pride Month 2022 Celebrating me
This year is a landmark occasion marking 50 years of pride and in honour of the Pride movement and celebration of diversity and freedom to be ourselves, we want to highlight our ‘Celebrating me’ –...
Pride Coin Design Competition
To celebrate Pride Month 2022 we would love to invite all children to design and create their own Pride 50p coin and to enter our competition! Simply download our easy-to-use coin template.
Saltersgate Infant School, Doncaster
Saltersgate is an infant school in South Yorkshire that strives to place wellbeing at the centre for its 350 children. “We have never really found anything before Hamish & Milo that is bespoke enough and...
Supporting children who feel lonely and sad
We’ve recently had Mental Health Awareness Week with the theme and focus on loneliness and the impact social isolation has on our mental health. Loneliness affects millions of people every year and is a critical...
New Sensation & Emotion Cards
Our Sensation & Emotion Cards are a beautiful resource that children can relate to, connect with and begin to recognise and talk about their feelings and the experience and sensation of those feelings in their...
University of Bath Research Project
We are extremely proud to announce that we are working with the prestigious Department of Psychology, University of Bath on a research project that will explore and exemplify the impact of our intervention programme on...
Deaf Inclusion – Deaf Awareness Week
11 million people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing. There are at least 50,000 children who are deaf in the UK and sadly deaf children are at far higher risk of developing mental illness than...
Anger Iceberg and the feelings hidden underneath
We designed this Anger Iceberg poster and activity in response to feedback to help with connected conversations about children’s feelings and experiences to help children understand that it can be difficult to see the underlying...
Be the light – supporting children with high levels of need
Talking with one pastoral member of staff I hear about a child in crisis, sadly not an unusual story, but a child who has suffered multiple losses, including bereavement resulting in him living in care...
Kingsleigh Primary School, Bournemouth
Kingsleigh Primary is a large four form entry school in Dorset. Hamish & Milo is being used for small group work, some 1-1 intervention and as part of the emotional curriculum for the children and...
What happens to our body when we are stressed
We designed this poster for Stress Awareness Month 2022 in response to feedback to help with conversations about feelings and experiences to help children understand that they are not alone and that we can all...
Individual child profile record
We have created Individual Child Profile Records to support pastoral staff in collating information about each of the children in their intervention programme; record detailed information about each child; the context and background and space...
National Day of Reflection: Reflection Daffodils
On #NationalDayofReflection a day that honours and reflects on every life taken too soon we suggest an activity to help any children to reflect and celebrate the memory of a lost loved one. Simply download...
Understanding and supporting children with anxiety
We’ve only just begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel with covid restrictions lifting in schools and the delicate hope of things beginning to improve. Then suddenly, we are hit with...
Friendship Bookmarks
We have created a template with cutout marks and space for the children to write their message, affirmation, poem or quote inspiring kindness, compassion and friendship and place it into a book in the school...
Is targeted intervention as part of a whole school approach to mental wellbeing the answer?
A mentally healthy school is one that adopts a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing and should involve a targeted element making sure that teachers and other staff can recognise pupils with emerging mental...
Children’s Mental Health Week 2022 Growing together
Children’s Mental Health Week coincides with the shocking NHS referrals data analysed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the BBC that saw a 77% rise in the number of children needing specialist treatment for...
Children’s Mental Health Week Activity feature from ‘Amazing me’
As we shine a spotlight on Children’s Mental Health Week we highlight our activity ‘nature gardens’ from our ‘Amazing me’ programme great to do with your children in celebration of the theme of ‘Growing Together’....
Bedales Prep Dunhurst Petersfield Hampshire
Bedales comprises three coeducational independent schools located within a 120-acre estate on the South Downs of Hampshire. “Hamish & Milo is magical. For me as a teacher, it has changed my style. It is allowing...
Sock puppet pets – therapeutic benefits of puppets and tips for trusted adults
The therapeutic benefits of sock puppets to help children express what is troubling them when they are not able to find the words to express their feelings.
Hazlehurst Community Primary School Bury Lancashire
Hazlehurst Community Primary School is a one form entry primary school where there is a focus on wellbeing and enabling children to reach their potential and thrive. “It is our primary go-to resource now for...
Every child matters: The call for equality in mental health provision for all
Current research presents a stark landscape across the country in light of the pandemic and the impact on mental ill-heath. Children are at disadvantage because of where they live. Equality in outcome and provision is...
Ofsted says inspections will ‘carry on as usual’
Ofsted has said it’s following public health guidance but will be ‘carefully’ considering requests from schools to defer inspections. But Tes reports¹ that one in three requests from schools to defer inspections has been turned...
Children harmed by school streaming and the impact on wellbeing
How has it crept up on us, deemed acceptable and in fact policy, that we have moved to a way of telling children they are ‘working towards’ or need ‘catch up’ or are ‘working below...
Creative arts to support the ‘whole child’ with the trauma of the pandemic
Whilst children need to have the structure, the routines, and the opportunities to engage again in learning post covid, they also need greater opportunities for a broad, creative and expressive curriculum that is embodied as...
Mental Health Awareness – Young Minds #HelloYellow
Young minds #HelloYellow campaign has never been more relevant to shine a bright light on children and young people’s mental health and to shout for what is needed to prioritise support and early intervention. Let’s...
Out on location with the Hamish and Milo sock puppets
It was a fun-packed day when we visited Barefoot Barns and took our Hamish and Milo sock puppets to visit the alpacas, sheep and ducks. It is becoming increasingly recognised now how much animals can...
Promoting an Emotions curriculum within the PSHE framework
The now statutory subject of PSHE is vital to prepare children with the life skills and knowledge to equip them for the wider world. With a focus on mental wellbeing, is there enough focus on...
Our Education System – Tidal waves of change – Update
The unexpected announcement of a new education minister as part of the cabinet reshuffle has caused a wave of interest, relief and yet further uncertainty and anticipation as we await the implications of new leadership...
Our Education System – Tidal waves of change
So, it’s a welcome reshuffle, out with Gavin Williamson and in with Nadhim Zahawi. This significant change comes amidst a backdrop of uncertainty, disillusion and lack of confidence. There is a desperate call for schools...
Championing mental health provision in primary schools
After the summer break, schools have opened their doors again to welcome children back with an even greater need for a wide and diverse curriculum with a focus on wellbeing and mental health. The senior...
Mental Health Leads championing mental health provision in schools
With the increasing focus on mental health and wellbeing in schools following on from and exacerbated by the pandemic, there are the beginnings of a strategic approach and the start of funding to support it....
Skills for life – animals and pets in schools
For many children, having a pet is the first time they begin to take care of another living being and to understand what it needs to be able to thrive and grow and be healthy....
The therapeutic benefits of animals and pets in schools
Having animals and pets in school provides great opportunities for enhancing wellbeing and creating a culture of wellness within educational settings. We are only beginning to recognise the powerful role that animals can play and...
Creating a culture of wellbeing with animals in schools
The gorgeous Honey, Florence and Archer! Creating a culture of wellbeing with animals in schools During a recent visit to a primary school in North Dorset, I was met by the Headteacher and her two...
Recovery curriculum for mental health
Recovery curriculum for mental health Over the last 18 months schools have been riding a tidal wave of multiple changes. Children and adults alike have been swept through uncertainty and change like a tsunami with...
Partnership with parents
Partnership with parents It has been widely recognised that schools working with parents in partnership is important for children’s academic learning and achievement. It is often part of a school’s mission statement or in a...
Celebrating the special role of pastoral teams in schools
Celebrating the special role of pastoral teams in schools The mental health needs of our children and young people have never been so high and we, as a nation, are more critically aware of how...
Why we are launching Hamish & Milo
Why we are launching Hamish & Milo – a little background We are so excited to meet you and to share Hamish and Milo with you. We are very aware that in today’s challenging and...
