Children’s Health and Wellbeing

At St Mary’s, we recognise that good mental health is as important as good physical health.

We use the DfE’s guidance, Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools, as a guide and work to their ideals:

  1. Prevention: creating a safe and calm environment where mental health problems are less likely, improving the mental health and well being of the whole school population, and equipping pupils to be resilient so that they can manage the normal stress of life effectively. This will include teaching pupils about mental well being through the curriculum and reinforcing this teaching through school activities and ethos.
  2. Identification: recognising emerging issues as early and accurately as possible.
  3. Early support: helping pupils to access evidence based early support and interventions.
  4.  Access to specialist support: working effectively with external agencies to provide swift access or referrals to specialist support and treatment.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Provision Map

HOW DO WE SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH AT SCHOOL?

·  Whole School Provision – The foundation for our mental health offer is our Whole School Provision. Learning about mental health is part of our Personal, Social, Health and Relationships Education (PSHRE) curriculum for all children. This teaching and learning for all is part of the Prevention phase of mental health, mentioned above. Children receive dedicated PSHRE teaching each week. Beyond lesson time, our school culture embeds good mental health. For example, our extensive grounds which includes quiet spots for the children to access at playtimes.  Staff are readily available for children to talk to.  We have Year 5 Big Buddies and Year 4 Peer Mentors to support our younger children.

·  We also have dedicated Mental Health Days when we promote and celebrate good mental health.  This raises awareness for our school community that Mental Health can affect anyone of any age.

·  Low Level Needs – This is the Identification phase, from the the DfE model. We have a variety of ways that our children can let us know how they are feeling. Most children feel comfortable talking to their class teacher or teaching assistant.  Children have access to our ELSA, if they have previously accessed ELSA support. We encourage children to write or draw their feelings if they are unable to verbalise them. Some children use a ‘stay safe’ card which allows them to find their trusted adult at any time.

·  Medium Level need – Individualised Support for our pupils who may be experiencing mental health and well being difficulties. After identifying and talking to parents, providing some support for the pupil is the next step. This is the Early Help phase. Getting support in a timely fashion can stop a mental health issue from developing further. There are lots of ways we can support children in school, which can range from being very light touch ( e.g. a simple chat, organising a playtime buddy or a daily check-in to see how they are feeling) to a series of individual or group sessions with a trained staff member using recognised support programmes and interventions such as ELSA. The ELSA  develops and delivers individualised support programmes to meet the emotional needs of children.  We also have access to the Mental Health in Schools Team (MHST) who are able to support children and families with children who are thought of as the ‘worried well’.

·  High Level Need – Signposting to External Support – occasionally, some children may benefit from expert mental health professionals. We can help families to access this support. We will work with these agencies to provide support in school as best we can.

Working with Families

·   Families are an integral part of our Mental Health offer at St Marys. We actively promote good mental health for all and make it part of our mission to further educate our parents, local community and beyond about the benefits of good mental health.

·   Families are always included in any concerns we have about a pupils’ health. We ensure that parents have a voice and recognise their contribution.

·  We try to support families who are concerned about their children’s mental health in a number of ways e.g. Catch up meetings, books to loan on different subjects etc

 

Mental Health in Schools (MHST) Link

MHST Webinars for parents and carers:

Supporting parenting: an introduction

Introduction to Helping your child with Fears and Worries Webinar

HOW CAN I GET HELP FOR MY CHILD?

If you are worried your child may be experiencing mental health issues, please talk to your child’s class teacher, Mrs Board (SENDCo) or Mrs Williamson (Head of School). The following flow chart shows you some of the ways you can access support and what that might look like.

What can I do if I am worries about my child

Though our staff are trained to offer support at school level, we cannot act as mental health experts and we do not try to diagnose conditions. We have clear systems and processes in place for identifying possible mental health concerns, including routes to escalate concerns and clear referral and accountability systems. We endeavour to create a safe and calm educational environment and strengthen resilience before serious mental health problems occur.

Here are some local services to support your child’s mental health

·          CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service) Access to CAMHS is usually through your GP. For all routine referrals to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service  please contact CAMHS on 0300 0134778 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) for advice and a referral form.

·         Deciding you’re ready to see a counsellor is a big step. Let us guide you through the process of finding the right counsellor for you. Counselling Directory – Find a Counsellor Near You (counselling-directory.org.uk)

National helplines and advice website

 

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For more information or to get in touch:

01747 824446
or by Email