Schools using mindfulness to improve well being
Schools in the Channel Islands are teaching mindfulness meditation to students, to improve well being and performance.
Research shows one in 10 children under the age of 16 has a diagnosable mental health condition.
Mindfulness meditation is clinically proven to help with depression and has been used by the NHS for more than a decade.
Studies have also found it helps children to concentrate more, sleep better and reduce bullying and other disruptive behaviour.
One school using the method is Haute Vallee School in Jersey.
GCSE pupils are taking a course called '.b' which teaches them to create space from their thoughts, by bringing attention to their breathing and physical sensations in the body.
ITV News presenter Jess Dunsdon went to meet the students who say the meditation makes them feel energised and more prepared for life's stresses.
In Guernsey primary school pupils are taking mindfulness lessons too.
Chris Robilliard helps pupils as young as 10 to learn to focus on the present.
He explains that research into the practice shows it develops attention and awareness in the brain.
St Martins is one of three schools in Guernsey using meditation for pupils and Guernsey's government wants all schools to be using it as an ethos in the future.
You can see a full report from Jess Dunsdon at 6pm on ITV Channel.