Do you sleep well?

Sleep is something that is important to everyone. Yet, many barriers can get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Tees Valley Education are proud to be working with the Sleep Charity and Zarach (the bed charity) to support more families and children across Teesside with access to a good sleep.

Sean Harris (Director of PLACE) and Emma Lowe (Director of SEND and Inclusion) at Tees Valley Education, reflect on some of their insights from training with the Sleep Charity in our academies.

With thanks to generous funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, we have been able to help develop the work of the Sleep Charity and Zarach across the communities that we serve here in Teesside.

One of the important parts of this partnership is that have been able to develop Sleep Champions training for staff working across our academies. We have also been able to support this for other schools. Recently, we had over 40 schools from Teesside come to Discovery Special Academy to learn more about sleep and what it means to be a sleep champion in communities.

What is a Sleep Champion?

Research shows that sleep patterns alter as children get older meaning youngsters often don’t fall asleep until much later at night. This can result in difficulties waking in the morning and sleep deprivation impacting on their education.

The Sleep Champions training explores reasons for the sleep issues, practical strategies to support youngsters to improve their sleep and useful resources to start conversations with young people, information that can be shared with them and parents and carers.

With thanks to the Sleep Charity, we now have over 40 Sleep Champions working in Tees Valley Education schools and across other schools in Teesside. This will help adults to understand more about the benefits of a good night’s sleep and spot the barriers to this. It will also help adults support families and children by signposting resources, help and advice where this is needed.

Why does sleep matter?

Even as adults, we know that a bad night’s sleep can affect how we go about work and day-to-day tasks. A lack of sleep can impact concentration, focus and energy levels amongst many other things. But, for children in classrooms, this is equally if not more important.

Some of the things that stand out about sleep include:

• Beds have become a luxury item for many families, who face hard decisions to pay household bills, for food or to buy their child a comfortable mattress/bed.
• Poor sleep can cause increased hyperactivity and other behavioural problems, as well as damaging physical and brain development.
• Poor sleep habits from an early age can lead to long term sleep problems.
• When routine is changed it can impact on sleep issues. Christmas for example is a wonderful time of the year but in January many families are still struggling to get their children to sleep.
• Sticking to routine as much as possible is helpful and will ensure your child feels secure.  If your child sleeps in more than one household because of shared care arrangements, then think about making sure all of the primary care givers know what routine works and they all consistently follow this.
• Some children may genuinely be fearful of the dark. Stories normalising this fear can be helpful and there are lots of lovely ones available.
• Children may also want a parent with them during the night. Where fear or anxiety is severe it may be necessary to seek advice from your GP to see if more specialist support is required.

How can I sleep well?

Our partners at the Sleep Charity have lots of online resources to help support schools, adults and families. They also have some online resources to support children in understanding the benefits of sleep.

The Sleep Charity resources: These can be accessed for free by visiting: https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/information-support/useful-resources/

Zarach: If you think that you may need further support with sleep and accessing a bedding pack through our partners at Zarach, please speak to your academy pastoral and welfare team. Our close partnership with Zarach means that you can access this confidential service promptly through a simple and free referral from us to the charity.

The National Sleep Helpline: If you’d like to talk about your sleep and accessing free advice, you can call the National Sleep Helpline on 03303 530 541 between 9am and 11am on Mondays – Thursdays and between 7pm and 9pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Calls are charged at your standard network rate.

To find out more visit https://www.teesvalleyeducation.co.uk/partners-with-zarach-and-the-sleep-charity/

And do sleep well 😊