Supporting Students’ Well-Being

Supporting Our Apprentices’ Well-Being

At Swarm Training, we make sure we support our students as much as we possibly can; not just with their course work and projects, but with their health and well-being too.

In our regular enrichment workshops, we share resources, discuss support mechanisms, have helpful and informative personal development sessions and our tutors provide 1-2-1 support during meetings with their students.

One of our monthly sessions is entitled ‘Ways to Well-Being’. To support Stress Awareness Month (April) we want to share some of the tips and tricks from that session with you!

What is stress?

As defined by Mind, stress is how we react when we feel under pressure or threatened.

 Did you know that stress can be bad and good?

Bad stress makes us feel overwhelmed and triggers our fight/ flight/freeze response. It can impair our performance and functioning

Good stress can inspire us and it cultivates a ‘growth mindset’. It helps to improve our performance and functioning.

 ‘5 ways to Well-Being’ was researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation. We find it a useful framework to share with our Apprentices:

 Connect

Social relationships are critical for promoting well-being. Dr Robert Waldinger found that human connection impacts our happiness more than other factors such as money and fame. Sometimes we can feel isolated, especially if our job requires working from home. Check in with others regularly, whether in person, or on a phone call. Also be aware of friends or neighbours who may be feeling lonely and in need of connection.

Be Active

Exercise increases our heart rate, this triggers endorphins which help the brain to deal with stress more effectively! Staying active is proven to improve our mental health, and our sleep as well as our physical health.

Take Notice

Practice Mindfulness. Fractals are repeating patterns in nature, such as waves or leaves falling off trees. Research has shown that exposure to fractals can help to reduce stress by 60%! Taking notice of what is around and how you feel can help you to reaffirm your values and feel more positive. It stops our mind racing away, with thoughts of our To Do list.

Learning

The practice of setting goals has been strongly associated with higher levels of well-being. Furthermore, learning new skills can greatly boost and improve your self-confidence and self-esteem. That’s why Apprenticeships are good for you!

Give

Offering to help others can help to create a sense of belonging. Additionally, acts of kindness can stimulate the release of dopamine - this can help to reduce stress and increase positive feelings. As a CIC company, Swarm is fully supportive of the idea of supporting others in the community, and we’d encourage our apprentices to do the same.

To find out more about combating stress in the workplace, click here to visit the MIND website.

1st For EPA also have some useful resources to support your apprentices.