Supporting the mental health and well-being of all members of our school community is important to us whether it be staff, pupils or parents. We have strong links with a range of outside agencies (School Nursing Service, Child and Family Well-Being, CAHMS) who can offer all kinds of support and we work with New Start who are a private counselling service. Our families are encouraged to share their concerns or worries and we will signpost them to the relevant agency.
Michelle Potter is our SENCO and Learning Mentor.
Within school, we can offer start of the day 'check-ins' with pupils; 1-1 sessions; friendship group activities; social skills groups; self-esteem and confidence building groups plus many more. We are blessed with a beautiful woodland area and find that outdoor or forest school sessions help enormously when pupils are feeling socially or emotionally vulnerable.
In Year 6, we train two pupils to be Peer Mentors at the start of each year. Other pupils in school will use them to share worries with and to talk to about friendship issues or other difficult situations, under the guidance of a trained adult.
Our teachers will use strategies such as worry boxes or feelings boards in their classrooms to encourage the children to talk about how they feel and we link closely to our Christian values to our pupils develop empathy and consideration for each other.