From Performance Target to Practice: A Mindfulness Journey in Year 2
What happens when performance management meets professional curiosity?
Back in the autumn term, Helen, a thoughtful and committed Year 2 teacher, was given a performance management target: engage in a research project of her choosing. It could have been another task to tick off — but instead, it sparked something much deeper.
Working together in a teacher–researcher partnership, we set out to explore a pressing and shared concern: how can we better support children’s emotional regulation and well-being in the classroom?
Why mindfulness? Why now?
Like many teachers, Helen had noticed a growing number of children struggling with focus, anxiety, and self-regulation — especially in the wake of the pandemic. Children were arriving at school increasingly dysregulated and less equipped to manage social-emotional challenges.
Rather than simply accommodate this shift, Helen asked:
"What if we made emotional regulation a daily, embedded part of classroom life?"
She chose to research and implement mindfulness-based practices that could support her students throughout the school day — and the outcomes have been encouraging.
Mindfulness in Action: Tools That Work
Helen introduced a suite of strategies designed to help children regulate, reset, and refocus:
Breathing exercises using visual "breathing cards" and techniques like square breathing.
Singing routines and brain breaks linked to positivity, creativity, and calm.
Flip charts of mindfulness strategies — soon to be streamlined into a single class tool.
Use of "My Monsters" cards and Mindful Games by Susan Kaiser Greenland (https://susankaisergreenland.com/mindful-games-activity-cards) to build emotional vocabulary and attention skills.
Encouraging children to design their own brain breaks and share them with peers.
Children didn’t just comply — they embraced the routines. Many began asking for them daily, even leading their own sessions. These strategies became integrated into the class culture, not an add-on.
“I actually heard them singing it this morning!” Helen shared.
“They love it so much — they’re always asking me, ‘Can we do one?’”Staying Curious: Why Criticality Matters in Teacher Research
One key aspect we’ve discussed throughout this journey is the importance of applying criticality to research — not to find flaws, but to strengthen your own inquiry by exploring multiple perspectives.
While there’s strong support for mindfulness in education, recent research (see: Dunning et al., 2024) urges caution about universal or one-size-fits-all approaches. Their study, examining the My Resilience in Adolescence (MYRIAD) programme, found that for some pupils — particularly those with higher mental health needs — school-based mindfulness could be less beneficial, and even potentially harmful.
This doesn’t mean mindfulness doesn’t work — it means context matters.
Understanding your learners, their early life experiences and the ecosystems they belong to, is key to tailoring any approach with care and insight.
Criticality helps teacher-researchers avoid oversimplification and instead develop deeper, more inclusive and responsive practices.
The Research Process: A Practical 7-Step Model
We followed a simple, teacher-friendly action research structure adapted from BBE’s 7-Step Guide (downloadable in the Teacher’s Resources):
Ask reflective questions – What’s puzzling? What needs exploring?
Dig deeper – Search Google Scholar, use specific terms, start reading widely.
Read existing research – Learn from others and “borrow” successful methods.
Choose a method – Decide how to measure and capture impact.
Review the literature – Focus on 10 recent, peer-reviewed studies.
Create a timeline – Work backwards from the presentation date.
Reach out – Seek support from colleagues, experts, and trusted networks.
Challenges, Lessons, and Impact
Helen found that gathering feedback from families required creativity — so she designed home activities and updated her forms to invite more open responses.
Her observations revealed a notable shift:
More self-regulation from children with additional needs.
Increased agency as students led their own mindfulness routines.
A classroom culture that felt more calm, connected, and resilient.
Her ultimate goal?
“To create a framework and template that other teachers can use.”
What’s Next?
Helen is in the final stages of consolidating her research, preparing to present her findings and share a replicable, flexible framework that other teachers can adapt to their own contexts.
Her work reminds us that teacher research is an effective tool to deepen practice, based on reflection, relevance, and relationship.
Would you like support in developing your own classroom inquiry project? Let’s talk.
📅 Book a free 15-minute consultation with Lisa here →https://calendly.com/lisa-low-bbe
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