PRIMARY school children are often treated to time out from standard lessons by painting or playing heads down thumbs up. 

But from September, primary 1s across the Borders will have the chance to take part in a more unusual extra-curricular activity: the art of massage.

Scotia Chiropractic, as a member of the Anti Bullying Alliance, has been awarded a grant from the Cash for Kids Charity to provide all Borders schools with a free, four-week taster session of the Massage in Schools Programme (MISP).

Massage therapist and ex-swimming teacher Lorna Jamieson, Scotias’ qualified MISP instructor, believes the very simple programme which teaches children basic massage techniques, has an endless list of benefits for their well-being. 

She explained: “We see improved focus and concentration, a calmer classroom environment, improved relationships and social skills, and an improvement in working together.

“As a member of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, we also see the power these peer massage sessions have in preventing bullying in school. The children learn respect for each other through what we call nurturing touch. They always politely ask their peer if they would like a massage and say thank you, they learn to be gentle with each other, they learn empathy, and we genuinely see a reduction in aggressive, teasing, and bullying behaviour.”

After becoming an instructor, Lorna piloted the massage programme in St Boswell’s Primary School and the special support centre at Langlee. 

She said: “Seeing the change in those with complex needs was amazing. In just six weeks their confidence and interactivity with one another progressed so much, one child even felt confident enough in her group to get up and dance - which she would never have done in a group before - because the sessions are so inclusive and really build caring relationships between the kids. 

“Some of them even thought about moving the other’s hair out of the way and asked if it was ok, it was so lovely.”

West Linton Primary already have class-fulls of budding young masseurs to boast of after they trialled the initiative back in 2009.

MISP Instructor at West Linton, Isabel Fraser, who taught Lorna, implemented the programme into the Peeblesshire school and is very excited about it being rolled out across the rest of the Borders.

“If parents are concerned about it fitting in with the curriculum,” she said, “It fits very well into the Curriculum for Excellence, sharing many of its values and principles, particularly with the ‘health and wellbeing’ framework.

“MISP can also be used as a learning tool, complementing other learning activities. 

“The instructor will have been trained on how to incorporate massage activities into school subjects, helping pupils with memory, creativity, and teamwork.”

Lorna delivers her massages through story telling, and engages children in much-loved narratives such as The Hungry Caterpillar, and has different massage strokes integrated into the different parts of the story she reads out. 

Last week, she sent letters to the region’s 63 schools inviting them to take on the taster-sessions and hopes they will give it a go.