10 Good Habits meeting place at United in Oskarström

Today, we know that many children and young people suffer from stress. We see that students need sustainable strategies for well-being and knowledge development. In this context, Halmstad has developed the Smart Brain project which aims at understanding how the brain works in different situations and how the students can draw lessons and use them for their own benefit when they study.

The goal is to create a platform on which neuroscience, psychology, pedagogy and information technology are linked. The long-term goal is expressed as "that staff and students should develop sustainable strategies for well-being and knowledge development in the school that can also be used in other contexts and later in life".

Among the Smart Brain project actions, the educational company Hjärnberikad, together with teachers and students at the school, are working with the concept of “10 Good Habits”, behaviours that according to research lay the foundation for good brain health. This work also includes Gothenburg University and the neuroscientist Rolf Ekman.

The project initiative tries to promote healthy habits that improve student’s learning, health and motivation.

On the other hand, Viladecans’ Emotions project aims to provide teachers with tools so they can work on emotional competencies in classrooms. How? Developing a project of emotional education which is being developed at city level with the goal of involving all those agents that are part of the educational community: teachers, students and families.

In Oskarström, the district where Halmstad is transferring the Educational Innovation Good Practice from Viladecans, all local stakeholders will work with 10 Good Habits and Emotions as a common ground. Three schools and nine preschools will start this health promotion effort during the spring term of 2020.

The 10 Good Habits project, enriched with some ideas from the Viladecans Emotions project, has been the result of the exchange and learning within the On Board project.

The first contact for parents was last fall, when they were invited to a lecture on 10 Good Habits. However, it won’t be until early spring, when different theme nights based on both Good Habits and Emotions projects, will be followed up with the school's staff and SISU (Sports Educational Association).

During the following weeks other initiatives will come too. At one of the schools, staff and students have created a "Lekotek" that will, on breaks, promote relationship building, creativity and joy of movement.

United (the youth recreation centre) and the library in Oskarström will have activities linked to 10 Good Habits that will contribute to show how easy it is to make our brains feel good. There will also be weeks filled with laughing walls, challenges and new lessons to be learnt, as in the Emotions pilot project.

Students will also receive a start-up kit with overall material for all 10 Good Habits but can also start participating in the activities whenever is it is possible to catch up on missed weeks.