Shakespeare Infant School
We Care
Wellbeing and Mental Health
The national criteria states:
“A healthy school works hard to ensure children experience happiness and when pupils are unhappy, anxious, disturbed or depressed there are open channels for them to seek or be offered support, without stigma and with appropriate confidentiality. A healthy school actively seeks to promote emotional health and well-being and helps pupils to understand their feelings”.
At Shakespeare Infant School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils, staff and community. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.
At our school we:
- help children to understand their emotions and feelings better
- 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 in themselves
- help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks
Aims
General
- Happier and more motivated pupils and staff who get more out of life
Teaching and Learning
- Pupils who are more engaged in the learning process
- Pupils have an awareness of fixed and growth mindsets and use strategies taught to develop themselves as growth mindset learners
- Pupils who can concentrate and learn better
- Improved standards in all subjects, not just English and Maths
- Improved attainment- children striving to meet age related expectations
- More effective teaching
- Parents and carers more involved in school life and learning
Behaviour and Attendance
- Pupils with high self-esteem and confidence
- Pupils who are aware of and practice self-compassion strategies
- Pupils who have a say in what happens at school
- Fewer disaffected pupils, disengaged from learning
- Improved behaviour and attendance
- Less friendship issues and bullying
Staff Confidence and Development
- Improved morale
- Low absenteeism
- Better recruitment levels
- Positive and effective relationships with pupils and other staff
Lead staff members:
Sarah Kesterson: Mental Health Lead
- Mental Health First Aider
- Domestic Abuse Ambassador
- Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health
- Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Domestic Abuse
- Membership of Childhood Bereavement Network
s.kesterson@shakespeare-inf.hants.sch.uk
Jane Aslet: ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)
We are a mentally healthy school
We can offer different levels of support
Universal Support- To meet the needs of all our pupils through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum. For instance developing resilience for all.
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 wellbeing groups or ELSA support
News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Children's Mental Health Week is taking place on 7-13 February 2022. This year's theme is Growing Together. Growing Together is about growing emotionally and finding ways to help each other grow. Challenges and setbacks can help us to grow and adapt and trying new things can help us to move beyond our comfort zone.
1 in 6 children and young people have a diagnosable mental health problem, and many more struggle with challenges from bullying to bereavement.
My Journey Hampshire have created a Funsize Toolkit, providing an activity to enjoy each day of Children's Mental Health Week 7 - 13 February 2022. These fun ideas will encourage families to walk, scoot or cycle on the school run and during the weekend. They provide a fantastic opportunity to spend time talking, having fun and thinking about this years theme for Children's Mental Health week.
We hope you can try an activity each day of the week using the links below or mix them up to suit you and your family. Remember to allow yourself a little extra time each day on your journey.
Parenting Smart (Place2Be)
The children's mental health charity, Place2Be, has launched a new website aimed at helping parents with typical situations they can find themselves in with their children.
Advice can be found on over forty topics including:
Understanding sibling rivalry
My child is lying, what does it mean, what should I do?
My child has trouble going to sleep
My child says ‘I hate you!’
Cultural identity: who am I?
The Parenting Smart website can found here: https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/
Our school is part of Operation Encompass.
Operation Encompass is a national police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse and which is in place in every police force in England and Wales.
Children were recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right in the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act.
Operation Encompass means that the police will share information with our school about all police attended Domestic Abuse incidents which involve any of our children PRIOR to the start of the next school day.
Useful links
Nip in the Bud works with mental health professionals to produce short films and fact sheets to help parents, primary school teachers and others caring for and working with children to recognise potential mental health conditions. The goal is to increase the prospects of early intervention and to reduce the risks of those conditions becoming more serious in later years.
The films cover Anxiety Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC).
https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/
A public health England and NHS site to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others.
https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/
Quality-assured information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children’s mental health and wellbeing.
https://www.annafreud.org/parents-and-carers/child-in-mind/
A series of expert podcasts to help parents understand and manage child and family mental health problems.
Mental health info and guidance
| 0800 1111 (free 24hr)
Confidential listening to support concerns and offer advice
samaritans.org | 116 123 (free 24 hr)| jo@samaritans.org
Confidential listening to support Mental Health and Wellbeing
Resources to move away from depression
https://www.youthaccess.org.uk
Young people’s infomation, advice and counselling
Essential support for under 25s
If parents or carers have any concerns about children’s mental health over the summer break, they should seek support.
You can find a list of support available in your area via the Youth Wellbeing Directory, or a list of helplines in this resource library.
You could also contact:
SHOUT - text ‘Shout’ to 85258 for 24/7 crisis text support
Childline - under 19 s can call 0800 1111 for free support
Education Support - school staff can call 08000 562 561 or text 07909 341229 for 24/7 help and advice
YoungMinds Parents Helpline - Call 0808 802 5544 for free Mon-Fri from 9.30am to 4pm
Yell & Tell - Safety 4 KidsYell and Tell! Read the team's safety tips for what you can do to help you whenever someone makes you feel unsafe. |
Safety 4 Kids is a non-profit organisation designed to help kids make better decisions about their personal safety.
https://www.safety4kids.com.au/safety-zone/stranger-danger/yell-and-tell
Keeping Safe around Strangers
