At St Mary’s Catholic Primary Academy, we understand that our mental health and emotional wellbeing is just as important to our lives as our physical health. Anyone can suffer from mental health and wellbeing issues, including children, who go through many ups and downs during their school lives, some having to face significant life events.
It is widely recognised that a child’s emotional health and wellbeing influences their cognitive development, social skills and academic learning, so is therefore a crucial factor for them in achieving success, developing good, caring friendships and preparing them for life as an adult in modern Britain. We want our children to be happy, confident, resilient, develop good relationships and be mentally healthy. Therefore, to help our children believe in themselves, achieve success and provide them with the best possible start in life, it is our aim at St Mary’s to promote positive mental health and wellbeing amongst our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers).
We aim to achieve this by:
- Creating an ethos, policies and behaviours that support mental health and resilience, which everyone understands.
- Helping children to develop social relationships, support each other and seek help when they need it.
- Helping children to be resilient learners.
- Teaching children social and emotional skills and an awareness of mental health through our PSHE curriculum and class discussions.
- Early identification of children who have mental health needs and planning support to meet their needs, including working with specialist services.
- Working with parents and carers, providing opportunities to develop their own knowledge and understanding around emotional wellbeing and mental health.
- Supporting and training staff to develop their skills and their own resilience.
We have some very exciting news to share at St Mary’s!! As wellbeing is at the heart of our school ethos, and we believe that happy hearts make a happy school, we are currently working towards achieving the Wellbeing Award for Schools. This is a prestigious award, developed by Optimus Education and will provide formal recognition that our school has met very high standards of provision for emotional wellbeing and mental health. The impact of the award on schools is overwhelmingly positive and will have an impact on all of our St Mary’s community (children, staff, parents and carers). We will see:
- Reduced stigma around mental health,
- Improved pupil behaviour,
- Improved pupil wellbeing,
- Improved parental wellbeing,
- Improved staff morale,
- Improved staff wellbeing.
We hope you will help us achieve this prestigious award by completing the self-evaluation forms related to wellbeing when the link is sent to you.
Mental Health Champions
Useful Wellbeing Links
Schools in Mind – The Anna Freud Centre
Free online support for young people. Kooth counsellors are online Monday-Friday, 12 noon till 10pm and weekends, 6pm till 10pm.
Childline is the UK’s free helpline for children and young people. It provides a confidential telephone counselling service for any child or young person with a problem. It comforts, advises and protects. So, if you are worried about anything, big or small – don’t bottle it up. It can really help if you talk to someone. If there is something on your mind, ChildLine is there for you. You can visit the Childline Explore section for advice and information on a range of topics. Also, you can get support on the online message boards. ‘Everyone helps each other out and is going through the same things as me – it’s a really welcoming place’
Freephone 0800 1111 (24 hours and the call won’t show on your phone bill)
Samaritans volunteers listen in confidence to anyone in any type of emotional distress, without judging or telling people what to do.
Call 0116 123 (24 hours, 7 days a week)
Online community information, help and support for anyone affected by eating disorders.
Call 0845 634 7650 (Monday to Friday evenings, from 4.30pm to 8.30pm, and Saturdays, 1.00pm – 4.30pm)
Project created to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. A place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see clips of other people’s coming out stories.
The death of a parent, brother or sister is one of the most fundamental losses a child will ever face. At Winston’s Wish, they believe that bereaved children need support to make sense of death and rebuild their lives. The Winston’s Wish Helpline offers support, information and guidance to all those caring for a bereaved child or young person.
Helpline 08452 03 04 05 (Monday – Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Wednesday evenings, 7pm to 9.30 pm)
YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. Just as people’s bodies can become unwell, people’s minds can become unwell too. Mental health problems are more common than you might think – three children in every classroom have a mental health problem. Young Minds offer information to young people and children about mental health and emotional wellbeing. If you need to talk, they can let you know about organisations that listen, plus they offer online support and info.
Free, confidential telephone helpline finding young people under 25 the best help whatever the problem. Provides free connections to local or national services, and can text information to callers’ mobile phones.
Freephone 0808 808 4994 (7 days a week 1pm-11pm)
Confidential information and advice for anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s drug or solvent misuse.
Freephone 0800 77 66 00 (24-hour service, free if calling from a landline and won’t show up on the phone bill, provides translation for non-English speakers)
Kidscape are the first charity in the UK established specifically to prevent bullying and sexual abuse. The website offers advice and practical skills on how to deal with bullying. Remember, no-one deserves to be bullied. Nearly everyone is bullied at some time in their lives: by brothers and sisters, by neighbours, by adults or by other children/young people. If you are being bullied, you may feel scared, vulnerable and quite alone but you owe it to yourself to try and sort out the situation so that the bullying stops.
The Dove Service is the only grief support charity in Stoke-on-Trent & North Staffordshire, providing services to people within the community from the age of 4+ who are experiencing issues relating to bereavement, loss or life-changing illness.
Tel: 01782 683155 / 683153
CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service)
Tel: 01782 408382
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