Private schoolgirls use ‘emotional barometer’ app to track wellbeing

Girls at some of London’s top schools will be asked to track their emotions on a mobile phone app to help improve their mental health.

Students at a group of all-girls’ schools will start rating their moods on an “emotional barometer”.

It is part of a project to help them recognise and cope with their feelings and deal with stress and anxiety. All 26 schools belonging to the Girls’ Day School Trust have signed up to the scheme, which will officially launch next week. The app will be available in some schools to seven-year-olds, if they have iPads, but it is intended mostly for use by teenagers.

Under the project, teachers will be targeted first so that they can better help pupils. They are being trained in psychology and human behaviour to prevent burnout. They will also be given a series of tools, including the emotional barometer, to help them manage their own feelings.

Cheryl Giovannoni, chief executive of the GDST, told the Standard: “Mental wellbeing is at the top of our list. It is about self-managing levels of anxiety and stress with simple coping mechanisms and techniques. Teachers need strong positive tools to manage their lives just as much as the girls.”

Putney High School ran a successful pilot scheme of the project. Its headteacher, Suzie Longstaff, said: “Research shows if you have happy students they will achieve and go on to great things.”

Mrs Longstaff, who has been using the emotional barometer herself, said: “At the beginning of term I had huge energy and this week there is a little less energy. By mapping out your moods you can see what causes them and what you can do about it. Positive actions like going to bed earlier.”

The Positive Programme app contains 10 “mindfulness recordings” — guided meditations. There is also a positive data log, on which teachers and pupils can upload pictures and comments which make them happy.

Chloe Simpkins, who helped develop the app, said: “The project is designed to combat teacher stress, and first helps teachers to help themselves. Then we focus on the students.”