Wellbeing and Mental Health
We think it is important to remember that we all have physical and mental health. Our wellbeing, or mental health, affects how we think, feel and behave, and determines how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Our mental health can change over time. In the same way that sometimes we get physically sick with a cold or flu, sometimes we can feel mentally unwell too. You might also hear mental health called emotional health or wellbeing.
Talking about how we feel can help others speak out and can help us to keep emotional well. Children with good mental health feel loved, safe and secure in their environments. They also feel happy and positive about themselves most of the time. They’re kind to themselves during tough times or when things don’t go the way they expect. This means they feel OK about trying new or challenging things. They enjoy life, learn well and get along well with family and friends. And they can manage sad, worrying or angry feelings and bounce back from tough times. Sometimes, we might need help or support to be able to do these things and this is normal, having difficulties which we need help with is nothing unusual and nothing to feel worried about.
Here at St Catherine's we aim to help children understand their emotions and develop strategies to help them to cope with emotions and situations which are difficult. We can do this through whole class provision such as PHSE (personal, health, social and emotional) lessons, metacognition (understanding how we learn) lessons, classroom support and discussion with teachers and support staff. Sometimes, we may need a little extra support with feeling emotional and mentally well and we offer a range of support at these times such as: parent workshops and forums, drop in sessions for children or parents with our Mental Health Lead and group sessions with our Trauma informed Schools practitioner, groups sessions or individual referrals with our Mental Health Support Worker from the Mental Health Support Team (NHS). When someone needs more specialised support there a range of agencies we support referrals to, such as CAMHS (the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team).
Anna Freud - National Centre for Children and Families is an excellent website full of useful information and resources.
https://www.annafreud.org/
- An understanding of what mental health is and the difference between every day small feelings and a big feeling
- Consistent and accessible language to talk about mental health
- An understanding of how to be a good listener
Place2Be Parenting Smart
The
Parenting Smart site https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/ is filled with a number of resources for parents and carers of 4-11 year olds. The latest articles on supporting healthy gaming habits, developing a child's talent and safe social media for younger children can all be read or watched in under ten minutes. These are perfect for those with limited time.
We pledge to do everything we can to support children, their families and the staff here in our school to have their emotional well-being at the heart of everything we do and to offer support and advice when it is needed in a calm, kind and proactive way. If you would like any further information about any of the work we do in this area then please contact us and our Mental Health Lead Practitioner will get in touch with you. Thank-you.