Packs were sent home with students to help young people and their families while the school is closed.

A secondary school in Stansted has provided pupils with wellbeing packs to safeguard their mental health.

Suggestions include mindfulness, music and poetry. The packs were sent home with students to help young people and their families while the school is closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Students from Forest Hall School headed home armed with suggestions about ways to look after their mental health during the shutdown.

They are also receiving phone calls from their teachers to ensure they are coping with the set of circumstances they are faced with.

Head of school Hannah Jones said: “It is really important to think of the wellbeing of our young people and their families. So we produced a wellbeing pack of activities our students and their parents can do at home, including mindfulness colouring, reading, listening to music and writing poetry.

“We have supplied them with links to various websites which can help them to keep themselves happy and occupied, as well as giving parents a list of useful services.

“Our children are used to socialising and a daily routine, coming into school every day, seeing familiar faces and knowing when their breaks are.

“That is very familiar for them and a lot of our children like that routine.

“Being at home all day every day is really unusual for them.

“Of course, the academic side is important for them to continue doing, but we also need to be aware of the impact of their being away from socialising and interacting with their friends and teachers.

“It is important our children look after themselves at home,” she added.

The school has welcomed between four and 11 children of key worker parents into school each day since the shutdown.

They are being looked after by a rota of staff, including one member of the senior leadership team and four teachers.

While at school, students have been studying literacy, numeracy, PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education), PE and IT.

They have also been taking part in the daily online Joe Wicks workout, completing laps of the school field and enjoying yoga.