Mental health and well-being
At Todwick Primary School, we are committed to supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers). We recognise that mental health and emotional wellbeing is just as important to our lives as physical health.
We endeavour to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress. We aim to ensure that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role in ensuring that children learn about: what they can do to maintain positive mental health; what affects their mental health and where they can go if they need help or support.
At our school we:
- help children to understand their emotions and feelings
- help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
- help children socially to form and maintain relationships
- promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
- encourage children to be confident and celebrate differences
- help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks
We offer different levels of support:
Universal Support – To meet the needs of all our pupils through our overall ethos, explicit teaching of mental health and well-being through our PSHE including RSE curriculum and our wider curriculum. Promoting life skills such as resilience and self-esteem.
Additional support – For those who may have short-term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences such as bereavement.
Targeted support – For pupils who need more differentiated support and resources or specific targeted interventions such as an emotional literacy intervention.
Mrs Gabbitas is the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) delivering targeted support in school. She has undergone training by Educational Psychologists to enable her to develop and deliver individualized support programmes to meet the social, emotional and mental health needs of our children. She works with individual children in school delivering interventions to support children with emotions such as anxiety, grief and self-esteem. We carry out interventions such as 'Lego Therapy' in a safe, inviting area in school so the children feel comfortable and able to share their thoughts and feelings. The aim is for our children to be able to understand how to look after their own mental health and select strategies to regulate their own emotions in times of need. The leaflet attached 'ELSA leaflet' explains the ELSA role in school in more detail.
We all have times when we have low Mental Wellbeing, where we feel stressed, upset or find it difficult to cope.
There are some common life events that may affect you or your child's Mental Wellbeing:
- Loss or bereavement.
- Relationship problems.
- Issues at school.
- Worries about money.
Our Mental health and well-being policy discusses our whole school approach on we support mental health and promote pupil well-being.
This page will be regularly updated with apps, websites or resources to help parents and carers support their children will their mental health and well-being. If you have concerns about your child please contact school where advice or support will be offered accordingly.
Websites
https://www.comparethemarket.com/broadband/content/screen-usage-guide/ (understanding screen addiction)
https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/
http://www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/family-and-friends/parents
https://www.autismhelp.info/primary-years
https://booksbeyondwords.co.uk/
https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/
Free apps
‘Catch It’- - Learn how to manage feelings like anxiety and depression. This app will teach you how to look at problems in a different way, turn negative thoughts into positive ones and improve your mental wellbeing.
‘Chill Panda’ - Free - Learn to relax, manage your worries and improve your wellbeing with Chill Panda. The app measures your heart rate and suggests tasks to suit your state of mind. Tasks include simple breathing techniques and light exercises to take your mind off your worries.
‘ThinkNinja’- Free- is a mental health app designed for 10 to 18 year olds. Using a variety of content and tools, it allows young people to learn about mental health and emotional wellbeing and develop skills they can use to build resilience and stay well.