Teaching everyday skills for life’s ups and downs. A practical movement and mindfulness toolkit to fit around your life and transform your classroom.
When you think about mental health support in your school, how do you feel?
◖ Overwhelmed: The massive need for support seems to increase every single day, but with limited time and capacity you often feel helpless.
◗ Exhausted: You see signs of burnout in your students, colleagues, and perhaps in yourself.
◖ Left out: You hear about the positive effects of yoga and mindfulness for wellbeing, but those kinds of classes aren’t available or accessible for the children and communities you work with.
What if you could introduce some simple strategies that will:
◖ Help your pupils to regulate their energy levels, focus in the classroom, and improve their sleep.
◗ Give you ways to take care of your own wellbeing, even in the middle of a busy day.
◖ Support pupils and fellow teaching staff who are coping with ongoing stress and anxiety.
◗ Equip young people for the future, with the tools to manage their own mental health and develop resilience.
Shift Wellbeing Ambassador Course for Educators
Bespoke Yoga Training currently fully funded for Primary & Secondary schools in Gloucestershire
What makes our program different?
Tested by Gloucestershire schools and organisations.
Having worked with hundreds of teachers and TAs, we know that every school is a unique and individual place. With this in mind, we tailor every course we run so that it’s inclusive, relevant, and easily adaptable for the children, adults, and values of each school.
Our team of experts work directly in schools and with young people through classes, workshops, and mentoring, and we run regular focus groups with young people so we understand the ever-changing challenges they face, and what's important to them when supporting wellbeing.
This course has also been officially approved by Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning as an intervention that can count towards their Healthy Schools Award and Mental Health Champions Award.
Find out more about the academic study that led to this recognition and funding here.
Not your traditional training course…
Shift offers training created specifically for educators, by a skilled team of experienced yoga instructors and teachers currently working in education.
This course will:
◖ Support you to experience all the benefits of yoga for yourself.
◗Equip you to manage your emotions and regulate your nervous system.
◖Empower you to bring movement and mindfulness techniques into the school day and share them effectively with the young people you work with.
As you work through the sessions, you’ll develop a toolkit that is sustainable, creative, and realistic for your day-day life.
About Our Founder
Robin’s vision is for yoga to be a normal part of daily life, as natural as brushing your teeth every morning.
As a teenager, Robin experienced bullying and was struggling academically and in family relationships. Concerned about her mental health, her Dad encouraged her to give yoga a try. As she practised yoga and meditation, she noticed her outlook slowly transform and shift into deep awareness and confidence, feeling empowered to make positive choices for health and happiness, and to navigate life going forwards.
“Robin believes that young people are an essential part of the solution to their own wellbeing needs.”
With lots of her peers facing severe mental health issues, Robin’s dream was that they’d be able to discover the same benefits… but she realised that the standard wellbeing industry is not accessible for many. So she completed the training to teach at the age of just 16, becoming the UK’s youngest certified yoga teacher, and began to reach her fellow students directly.
She started running clubs at her own school, then contacted others nearby, leading assemblies and mentoring other young people to train in yoga. Soon she’d set up her own business, running classes in the community, and developing impactful programs like Shift.
By making opportunities available, and helping people to support their friends, students, colleagues and communities, the positive effects can ripple out to help many more individuals to feel connected, healthy, and more resilient.
And you can be part of this vision too…
Shift offers training created specifically for educators, by a skilled team of experienced yoga instructors and teachers currently working in education.
By the end of this course you will:
◖ Develop a wide range of yoga and mindfulness tools to take care of yourself, and feel calm and grounded at home and at work.
◗ Gain confidence to apply these tools in your school in a flexible and effective way.
◖ Feel supported and connected with other educators making a difference to young people’s lives, now and for the future.
What’s involved?
◖ Online learning modules released each week or fortnight that can be completed at a time that suits you.
◗ 4 x 30 min mentoring calls 1:1 with one of the Shift team.
◖ A private 1:1 yoga class to build your confidence in the poses.
◗ Fortnightly group Q&A Zoom sessions, to give you support as you follow the course and implement ideas.
◖ Access to our learning platform, and video tutorials that you can keep practising and referring back to.
What do previous participants say?
Listen to Charlotte and Danielle explain how taking part in this course has changed their personal life and work for the better.
“I was a complete beginner to yoga and can teach it confidently now. It feels really rewarding to be able to pass on those skills to the children in my class.”
“It has been really beneficial for staff, for myself and for the students. The course has been really informative and really thorough. I’ve already seen positive effects from the course!”
Is it really completely funded?
Yes! Having seen the life-changing effects of movement and mindfulness over and over again, we want to open up these wellbeing opportunities to everyone – no-one should be left out because of a budget constraint.
By working together with our sponsors in Gloucestershire, we are able to offer a number of funded bursary places each year, so that even more teachers and TAs can learn how to use this toolkit for themselves, and share it with others.
Is this course right for you?
◗ You want to see your young people thrive and develop resilience
◖ You want to learn how to be a calm and confident support for others, without burning yourself out along the way
◗ You’re excited to discover ways you could use movement and mindfulness techniques in your educational setting
◖ You’re prepared to dedicate some time outside of the school day to personal growth and developing new skills
◗ You’d love to connect with other teachers and TAs, to share experiences and encouragement as you learn together
Let’s get started!
We know the challenges facing pupils and staff in education right now are more intense than ever before, but you can be part of this movement to help prevent mental and physical health problems and be even more effective in your work and school.
Join the next round of Shift to start the positive ripple effect we’ve seen in other Gloucestershire schools, and let’s work towards better outcomes for mental health and wellbeing in your classroom today.
Ready to re-align, take care of your own wellbeing, and make a difference to the people around you?
Frequently Asked Questions…
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The course runs across 26 weeks, with 6 additional catch up weeks, every four weeks and breaks in line with the school holidays.
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We recommend spending 15 mins a day, 5 times a week and 30 mins a day, once a week on your personal well-being practice throughout the course - this could be going to a yoga class, watching yoga videos, breathing, guided relaxations in bed, mindful walks, or listening to yoga related podcasts. The personal practice is meant to be creative, sustainable and realistic for your day-to-day life.
An additional 2 to 3 hours will involve watching the course content, reading, and doing some homework tasks. (We help manage your workload by only setting a maximum of 3 hours of work per week, with at least 2 weeks to complete homework tasks.)
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No, this is a basic yoga training and does not qualify you to train colleagues or start a yoga business.
As part of your contract, you’ll be able to teach what you’ve learned within a school setting or after-school club. If your colleagues would like to deliver any of the content with their students, they must complete this course themselves.
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Yes, we encourage you to meet your Shift buddy in person. Where possible, we also run in-person meet ups at the start and end of the course, where we can network, practice yoga together as a group, and have a catch up with snacks and drinks.
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We have carefully designed the course so that the workload and deadlines are manageable for someone with a career in teaching. We are also aware that life can sometimes throw unexpected things at us! We try to be as flexible and accommodating as possible – after all, this is a wellbeing program, and we care about your mental health. We just ask that you keep communicating with us throughout the course.
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Lots! As well as the 1:1 support (4 mentoring calls and a private yoga class), we have fortnightly group Q&A sessions online to meet as a group and discuss the content.
You’ll also have a Shift partner/buddy, and where possible, we try to host in-person meet ups at the start and end of the course. You’ll also receive a manual, access to the learning platform, and personal practice video tutorials.
You can message the Shift team for support at any point throughout the course and afterwards.
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No, it’s beginner-friendly. We have a whole range of people who have successfully completed our course in the past, from complete novices to fully qualified yoga teachers!
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The main live elements will be the fortnightly Q&A Zoom sessions, which will be recorded so that you can catch up if you aren’t able to make them. Your 1:1 mentoring calls can be arranged at a time that suits you.
An additional 2 to 3 hours will involve watching the course content, reading, and doing some homework tasks. (We help manage your workload by only setting a maximum of 3 hours of work per week, with at least 2 weeks to complete homework tasks.)
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Everything we use should be fairly familiar to people with standard IT skills, and nothing is too complex or unusual.
We’ll send walk-through videos that explain how to use the platforms, so you may just need to take some time to explore these.
We’re always happy to help with any questions, and can pair you with a Shift buddy that is more confident with technology.
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Yes, we encourage you to meet your Shift buddy in person. Where possible, we also run in-person meet ups at the start and end of the course, where we can network, practice yoga together as a group, and have a catch up with snacks and drinks.
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We have carefully designed the course so that the workload and deadlines are manageable for someone with a career in teaching. We are also aware that life can sometimes throw unexpected things at us! We try to be as flexible and accommodating as possible – after all, this is a wellbeing program, and we care about your mental health. We just ask that you keep communicating with us throughout the course.
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At the end of the course, we’ll give you feedback over a phone call, and you’ll receive a certificate for successfully completing it.
If the objectives haven’t fully been achieved, we will come up with a support plan to help you get your certificate.
Interested in getting involved?
We review applications with a panel of sponsors and factor elements such as: number of previously trained wellbeing ambassadors in your school, school size, location of school, your enthusiasm to do this course, amount of time you have to commit to this course and past relevant experience.