Mental Health & Wellbeing
At St Mary’s we are making it our mission to promote positive wellbeing for all of our pupils and staff.
What is wellbeing?
Our Wellbeing Lead Practitioner is Ms. Amy Elsden.
We understand wellbeing as a state of being comfortable, healthy and happy. We believe that mental health is everyone’s business, whoever you are in our community.
Education is about so much more than delivering a curriculum. Our children need to know how to learn and they need to be in a state of positive mental wellbeing before they can begin to learn. Wellbeing is fundamental to the learning journey.
Having positive wellbeing doesn’t just mean “being nice”, but rather that we are able to cope with the challenges of life with resilience. Our relationships help us to thrive and our culture and community supports us, and we it.
Wellbeing is for every day: positive wellbeing helps us to thrive in an uncertain world. We believe this is crucial for our children and community as we learn how to learn and how to thrive throughout our lives.
The whole school
We are striving to create a whole school approach to provide mental health support, understanding and intervention whilst also giving children (and adults) the tools to proactively manage their own mental wellbeing. This is at the heart of the culture and ethos of our school.
The whole community
Our vision is a community where everyone is supported to build on their strengths and to achieve their goals.
All pupils, parents and staff will become part of this journey and will contribute towards a healthy understanding of the importance of emotional health. Our hope is to enable every person to flourish.
We are putting wellbeing at the heart of our school to ensure successful learning and to make a difference in people’s lives.
What are we doing?
We are encouraging an understanding of wellbeing based around 5 ways to wellbeing:
- Connection
- Be active
- Take notice
- Keep learning
- Give
We will be discussing these with the children and will be developing these themes though PSHE sessions, circle times and wellbeing one-offs such as Nature walks, wellbeing days or themed weeks. We ensure that all children will receive this support.
- PSHE curriculum – our JIGSAW program is robust, mindful and fun!
- PE provision – weekly PE lessons, supplemented by daily active time and the Daily Mile
- Breakfast club provision and afterschool clubs enrich our curriculum
- Speech and language and SEN interventions
- Gardening club
- Planned special activities such as craft, sewing, cooking, yoga and mindfulness
Our future wellbeing work
In the future we hope to offer:
- Wellbeing working group and wellbeing ambassadors
- Draw and talk sessions, confidence building sessions, transition groups, lunchtime support group
- Family support groups
- Support groups run by the community for the community