London, Oct 3 (IANS) A primary school in Britain trains its students in head massage, a daily practice which is claimed to have helped them in remaining calm.
Pupils as young as five have been trained in massage techniques, which they practice on their peers every day after lunch, Daily Mail reported.
According to the teachers at Franche Community Primary School, in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, the daily massages are having a positive effect on pupils’ behaviour by calming them down before afternoon lessons.
The initiative was introduced by teacher Tabitha Smith into her Year One classroom two years ago, as part of a pilot initiative. It proved to be such a success that the child-on-child massages were later applied in the entire school.
After the children have had their lunchtime play, they spend 10 minutes soothing their classmates with special head massage movements.
Smith, 41, said: ‘The scheme has had a brilliant effect on the pupils, giving them a real self-esteem buzz… It doesn’t impact on their learning either, as the massage only takes 10 minutes a day.’
‘There are routine moves which the children learn and remember by looking at pictures…One of the movements is called ‘Hearts’ and is particularly lovely as it promotes caring for everyone,’ she said, adding: ‘We didn’t introduce the massages to tackle behavioural problems, as we don’t tend to have any.’
