London primary school installs a meditation pod to promote wellbeing amongst pupils

From stressed-out city workers to primary school pupils, Inhere's meditation pods aim to improve mental health

Wellbeing: pupils are encouraged to relax in the pod

Sophie Goodchild19 December 2018

Primary school pupils are getting meditation sessions to promote wellbeing and improve mental health.

Longwood Primary Academy in Harlow, Essex, has installed a wooden anti-stress “pod” where children, as well as teachers, can take time out.

Mindfulness and resilience classes are already taught by schools to combat mental health problems. Almost 400,000 young people are in contact with the NHS about their mental health. The classes are to help combat conditions such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

But Longwood, which has more than 300 pupils, is understood to be among the first schools to offer special meditation breaks. Children will be encouraged to spend from 15 to 30 minutes “thinking time” in the pod.

They will be able to listen through headphones and via an MP3 player to a selection of soothing tracks.

The pod has wooden slats to let in light and prevent children from feeling claustrophobic. Headteacher James Hollinsley said: “Making sure that all our pupils feel happy and secure in the school is a top priority.

“This will further enhance staff and pupils’ state of mind and create an environment of calm and focus.”

His school has been innovative in its approach to improving children’s emotional wellbeing. Former pupil Cerys Kenny, now 13, was presented with a national award by the Duchess of Cambridge in 2016 in recognition of her work creating booklets to help young people overcome anger and deal with upsetting problems.

Stressed-out City workers have already benefited from pods. London’s first one was installed in October at co-working space Uncommon in Borough.

The meditation “sanctuary” is the brainchild of business partners Adiba Osmani and Ghazal Abrishamchi.

Ms Abrishamchi has a degree in neuro-science from King’s College London and helped to curate the pod’s meditation tracks with Ms Osmani. The pair run meditation studio Inhere. They launched the capital’s first drop-in meditation studio in the City in 2017.