A nine-year-old boy put his mindfulness lessons at Derby Grammar School into action when his mum slipped and fractured a vertebrae in her back.

Adam Walker’s mum was watching him cycle along the street to meet his grandad when he slipped on the ice, fell off and hurt his knee.

His mum Claire then also slipped and fell, landing on her back and Adam reacted quickly even though he was recovering from his own fall.

He found her mobile phone and took the initiative to dial 999 for an ambulance before passing the phone to his grandad remembering to take deep breaths before making the call – a technique he’d learnt during mindfulness lessons at school.

Adam said: “I took deep breaths before I rang 999. I also rang my mum’s work and told them she wouldn’t be coming in. Some people came out with blankets for my mum while we waited for an ambulance and my grandad took me home with him.

“My mum went to the hospital and they said she’d fractured a vertebrae in her back so she’s at home recovering now but still in quite a lot of pain. I’m living with my nanna and grandad whilst she recovers and I have been missing her but I’ve used things we’ve learnt in the mindfulness lessons, like keeping a happiness diary, to help me.”

Elizabeth Jackson, Adam’s class tutor, said she was extremely proud of Adam.

She said: “I was really proud of Adam when I heard how brave and sensible he had been when his mum had her accident. Ringing 999 and then his mum’s office took great courage and Mrs Walker is lucky that he was there to help her. Adam seemed to take it all in his stride and when he arrived at school later in the morning, he just apologised for being late and got straight on with his work! What an amazing boy!

“In class, we have been learning about mindfulness and how to use our breath to ground ourselves when things don’t quite go to plan. Adam told me that when the accident first happened, he did his Paws B breathing to steady himself enough to phone 999 and then again a few times afterwards when he felt himself getting upset.

“I am passionate about the importance of teaching children learning to look after their mental health as well as their physical health. So it is lovely to hear that when faced with a difficult situation, Adam was able to calmly use the skills I had taught him and get help for his mum.”

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