I needed to create a visual tool to support young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities) to express their worries but keep them contained so that their anxiety does not manifest itself into something huge and unmanageable. In fact, I think this is something we all need to work, not just young people with SEND, but anyway…….as usual; I digress.

I decided to make a worry jar late on Tuesday evening. My sessions start first thing on a Wednesday morning. So with some washable purple paint, a teeny-tiny paintbrush and a tub of ‘coffee mate’ retrieved from the recycling bin, I set to work. I think what was created can only be described as a masterpiece and I suspect the demand for such items will be huge……. or not! Luckily the students were very forgiving of my home-made efforts.

The worry jar was filled up with the heart felt concerns from the students. Unsurprisingly the majority of the concerns were covid related. Once student bravely expressed their loneliness and unhappiness, whereas another spoke of the fear of another lockdown if things are rushed. Their thoughts and feelings echoed that of the staff supporting them and, no doubt, a lot of people in the UK. We discussed the worries and what we could do to help the situation with the caveat that sometimes we cannot make the worry go away but sharing it is very important, being the loud and clear message.

One of the reasons I love my job is because of the organic responses to situations that the people I support always have. Some are not worried about covid, their worries are more personal and specific. Alongside the worries around family, friendships and covid, were worries about teeth, Bob the Builder, Boris Johnson and having to leave the ‘man-cave’, to name but a few. These worries are as important and just as valid and were discussed in turn too.

This will be something that I touch on every week between now and Easter as the return to education in a school or college is going to be tricky. The students in school, although missing their friends, have got used to not having to share the staff’s attentions. The students at home have got used to getting up later and learning from their sofa. This will all take time to re-adjust and settle back into a new form of learning for the rest of the academic year.

However, I do believe that together we can make great things happen and through consistency and focus we can improve our wellbeing and that of those around us.

So, take care and stay safe. I believe the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched back on.