Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health Lead: Jody Ling
What is mental health?
We all have mental health. Mental health is about our feelings, our thinking, our emotions and our moods. Looking after our mental health is important.
We all have small feelings every day: These sometimes feel strong and overwhelming, whether happy or sad, but they go away before too long.
Sometimes we experience big feelings: These feel strong and overwhelming for a long time. They stop us doing what we want to in our lives.
At Reedings we are committed to supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers).
We have a supportive and caring ethos and our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and contribution is valued.
We endeavour to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress and aim to ensure that they are supported to reach their potential or to access help when they need it.Interventions to support Mental Health and Wellbeing
Staff coordinate interventions for pupils mental health and wellbeing such as:
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Drawing and talking Therapy
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Counselling (Heather Chapman)
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Mentoring
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Lego therapy
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Calm club
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Playground support games
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Worry box support
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Happiness audit
Staff Wellbeing Charter
The Senior Leadership Team and Governing Body are fully committed to promoting and fostering positive well-being for pupils and staff across Reedings junior School.
A happy and healthy workforce is vital for the success of our pupils. The culture of a school therefore is critical in ensuring that staff have an enjoyable, rewarding working environment in which all colleagues believe the demands of their job are reasonable and manageable.
The Wellbeing Charter demonstrates our commitment and offer to staff, and ensures that levels of stress and anxiety are reduced as low as possible in the organisation.
CAMHS
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS is the name for the NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.
For more information, visit the website below
Guide to CAMHS (youngminds.org.uk)
CAMHS also have some excellent resources for parents:
DOWNLOADS | CAMHS Resources (camhs-resources.co.uk)
The Daily Mile
The aim of the Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of our children – regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances.
Research has shown that The Daily Mile can even increase attainment in primary school, and parents have reported an increased interest in health and wellbeing from their children after they have started The Daily Mile (thedailymile.co.uk)
Aspects
Aspects is a family & pupil support service to help you through some of the challenges family life can bring.
They support children 5-19 at school and also offer support to families.
Referrals can be made through the school by speaking to your class teacher in the first instance or contacting the SENCO Jody Ling at inco@reedings.herts.sch.uk
Mindfulness
Mindfulness means paying full attention to something. It means slowing down to really notice what you're doing.
Being mindful is the opposite of rushing or multitasking. When you're mindful, you're taking your time. You're focusing in a relaxed, easy way.
When we teach mindfulness to children, we equip them with tools to build self-esteem, manage stress, and skillfully approach challenges.
Why Do People Need Mindfulness?
Being mindful helps you:
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pay attention better
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be less distractible
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learn more
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stay calm under stress
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avoid getting too upset about things
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slow down instead of rush
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listen better to others
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be more patient
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get along better
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feel happier and enjoy things more
If this sounds like a superpower, it is!
Being mindful helps people in just about every part of life. Learning how to be mindful when you're young gives you a chance to get really good at it and use it always.
Web links:
Mental health services in Hertfordshire
Mental health services are available across Hertfordshire.
https://bounceforward.com/ - We work closely with Bounce Forward who apply the science to develop the skills of mental resilience and emotional wellbeing to create psychologically fit adults of tomorrow: attributes that are critical for success in future.
Their approach teaches children (and the adults around them) how to overcoming setbacks, but the purpose is to help them bounce forward, to problem solve, to think creatively: teaching that develops more helpful and less harmful behaviour.
They also have very affordable parent courses on:
- Raise Resilience
- Navigating Transitions
- Anxiety Unravelled
Talk Mental Health – Leaflet with tips for talking to children about mental health for parents and carers
Every Mind Matters | One You - 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.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/
Mind website - has lots of information for parents, along with a helpline and some courses (at a cost)
NESSie - has lots of resources for parents linked to all different aspects of mental health.
The Mental Health Foundation - This website has a range of publications to download as well as a dedicated area to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Reading well for Children - Reading Well for children provides quality-assured information, stories and advice to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. Books have been chosen and recommended by leading health professionals and co-produced with children and families.
Anna Freud website is a wealth of information on supporting children with their mental health and wellbeing.
Young Minds a fantastic organisation offering free, confidential online and telephone support, including information and advice, to any adult worried about the emotional problems, behaviour or mental health of a child or young person. www.youngminds.org.uk
ChildLine 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) www.childline.org.uk
Kooth Free online support for young people. Kooth counsellors are online Monday-Friday, 12 noon till 10pm and weekends, 6pm till 10pm. www.kooth.com
Winston’s Wish 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) www.winstonswish.org.uk
National Sleep helpline which is open 5 nights a week, Sunday to Thursday, 7-9pm and the number is 03303 530 541 https://thesleepcharity.
Further information and advice for parents on supporting children’s mental health can be found at; https://goodmentalhealthmatters.com/for-parents
https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-for-kids/ - Meditation, mindfulness activities, coping with stress and parenting tips
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-mindfulness-exercises-kids - 10 mindfulness activities for children.
https://www.headspace.com/meditation/kids - Meditation app that can be trialled for free.