Westminster Primary Academy takes part in the global B Kinder Day which promotes the importance of kindness

B Kinder Day was created by kindness charity Fly High Billie, which was set up in memory of Billie Kinder who tragically died in a horse accident aged 12 in 2016.

Held annually, B Kinder celebrates the life of Billie, who was said to perform constant acts of kindness throughout her life, with her legacy now empowering others to do the same.

By taking part in the day, Westminster Primary Academy forged an international collaboration with the charity, and the many other ‘kindness academies’ across the UK and Australia, where Billie’s mum is currently based and contiues to work with the World Kindness Movement.

Author and Kindness Coach John Macgee, who delivers his Kindness Matters course to numerous schools in Blackpool, visitied Westminster on the day to help lead celebrations.

Roger Farley, Headteacher of Westminster Primary Academy said, 'As a Kindness Academy, we were thrilled to be asked by John Magee (our Kindness coach) to support a full day in the memory of the late Billie Kinder. Most people are kind at heart and treat each other with respect. However, sometimes we do forget and it can lead into a negative spiral for us. When we practice kindness (either to other people or towards ourselves) we can experience positive mental and physical changes through lowering stress levels and increasing the body's production of feel-good hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. Basically, kindness matters!'

John Topping, FCAT Community Relations and Estates Lead added: “The Fylde Coast Academy Trust is very lucky to have John Magee working so closely with many of our FCAT schools and we hope that this regular teaching of 'kindness' related behaviours will prepare our youngsters well for their working careers and a lifetime of interpersonal relationships.”

To kick start the B Kinder Day, the children watched an assembly by John Magee, before learning from Billie’s kindness books, which teach children the importance of practising kindness, how this can help their mental health, well-being and make them valuable members of the wider school community.

Pupils then participated in various activities, which included making a class art montage of acts of kindness, playing secret kindness name games (writing a secret kind message about someone), litter picking, card making for people they love and respect, and writing kind stories for younger children.

Throughout the day, the children also planned something to give back to the local Claremont community as their “Random Act Of Kindness.”

John Magee commented: “The pupils at Westminster Primary have sent out a colossal kindness ripple. I was blown away how much the children absolutely loved sharing what acts of kindness they do.”

The Kindness Matters 30-Day Challenge focuses on six areas of kindness: Self, Family, School, Friends, Community, The Planet, and the Westminister pupils regular watch John’s Kindness Matters videos on Youtube,.

The school say that adopting the programme has significantly impacted behaviour as children have become more empathatic towards each other and they have had over 60% fewer behaviour incidents.