At our school, we are committed to supporting the mental health and well-being for our whole school community; pupils, staff, parents and carers. We recognise how important mental health and emotional well-being is to our lives in just the same way as physical health.

We understand that everyone experiences different life challenges, and that each of us may need help to cope with them sometimes. Research conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that one in five children/adolescents will experience mental health issues in any year. However, only 10% of children aged 5-16 have a diagnosable mental health disorder which means the rest are potentially living with a mental health need and not necessarily receiving adequate support.

Mental health issues can have an enormous impact on quality of life, relationships and academic achievement. It can also affect areas such as employment and financial issues in later life. The Department for Education (DfE) recognises that: “in order to help their pupils succeed; schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy”. Schools can be a place for children and young people to experience a nurturing and supportive environment that has the potential to develop self-esteem and give positive experiences for overcoming adversity and building resilience. For some, school will be a place of respite from difficult home lives and offer positive role models and relationships, which are critical in promoting pupils well-being and can help engender a sense of belonging and community.

Our role in school is to ensure that they are able to manage times of change and stress, be resilient, are supported to reach their potential and access help when they need it. We also have a role to ensure that pupils learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and where they can go if they need help and support.

At our school we:

• Support pupils to understand their emotions and feelings better
• Provide a nurturing environment that ensures pupils feel happy, safe and comfortable
• Ensure pupils feel comfortable to share any concerns or worries
• Help pupils socially to form and maintain relationships
• Develop self-esteem to ensure pupils feel valued
• Develop emotional resilience so pupils can manage setbacks
• Encourage individuality while showing respect and consideration for others

We offer different levels of support:

Universal Support – For all pupils we provide support through spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness, living our values of love, hope and justice and through the wider curriculum

Additional Support – For pupils who need short term emotional support, possibly if they have been affected by life changes or challenges  

Targeted Support – For pupils who need more specific support and targeted interventions, possibly if they have experienced a trauma.

Please see our policy below for more information about how we support Mental Health and Wellbeing at our school.

Useful links for further guidance:

NSPCC       Child mental health: recognising and responding to issues | NSPCC Learning 

Childline    Mental health | Childline

Place2Be           Improving children’s and young peoples mental health – Place2Be

Anna Freud Centre           For families | Anna Freud