Mental health and Well-being Curriculum
As a school we value each person within our school community and strive to provide an environment that is supportive, allows reflection and ensures everyone is able to thrive.
Our school is a happy place where we recognise a healthy mind is as important as a healthy body and therefore we work hard to nurture these attitudes within our school culture.
This section provides you with information about how we support children’s well-being and mental health through a wide and ever increasing range of strategies which are summarised on the flow chart below:
We have introduced Wellbeing Ambassadors from our Foundation 2 class to our Y6 class. These children will be known by all of our children and staff and will help to support the importance of Wellbeing. They will meet half termly to plan and put forward ideas and initiatives that will support our school and feed these back to our Governing body.
Our staff access termly well-being meetings with our Well-Being Champions and more often as required. Staff also have access to counselling and other support services including a helpline. .
We are always looking for ways to address the importance of work life balance for our staff and have included a section for feedback on our annual Performance Management appraisals.
We have good links with our Local Authority CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and their Mental Health Support Team (MHST) work with us each week to support some children in KS2 (Years 4-6) .
Staff attend training and cascade what they have learned to other members of staff in order to enhance our school community.
Parents are able to access support and strategies for issues relating to mental health and Wellbeing through meeting with staff and using our links on our website. There is a direct helpline available where a trained person will discuss issues with a concerned member of staff or parent about their child.
Life is a journey which will take many different turns. How we react may be different at different times in our lives. Irby Primary School is a place where we value each other and strive to keep our school motto… Be Kind, Work Hard, and Never Give Up…
It is a place where we celebrate our strengths and achievements and an environment where don’t have failings only learning opportunities.
Helping your child to thrive
In September 2020, we held a CAMHS workshop for parents called ‘Helping your child thrive.’ It was well received by all who attended and for those who were unable to attend either of the sessions you can find the information that was shared in the PowerPoint by clicking the link below.
Dealing with Stress and Anxiety in Primary School Pupils
In March 2020 a workshop was held at Gayton Primary school about managing children’s stress and anxiety. For those who were unable to attend the PowerPoint is below so you can find out more.
ELSA
What is ELSA?
ELSA stands for Emotional Literacy Support Assistant.
At our school we know that everyone at times can face difficulties and experience challenges that can make us vulnerable. We understand that anyone of us may need additional emotional support. There will always be children and young people in schools facing life’s challenges that can detract from their ability to engage with learning. Some will require greater support to increase their emotional literacy than others. Some children may have experienced trauma or bereavement that means they are not able to operate effectively at school with their friendships or learning and need additional support with their mental health and wellbeing, ELSA will support your child through these difficult periods in their lives.
ELSA is an Educational Psychology led intervention for promoting the emotional wellbeing of children and young people. The ELSA programme is designed to support the emotional needs of our pupils. At Irby we recognise that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are addressed.
In our school Mrs Jacqui Burden is our qualified ELSA. In her role as an ELSA, her aim is to help your child feel happy and confident in school. Through this programme, Mrs Burden will support children to remove the barriers to learning in order that they will be better equipped to reach their potential academically and be happy in school and at home.
ELSA Sessions
Sessions are delivered in a caring, supportive and fun way, helping children find ways to cope with their challenges by helping them build the skills that will help them to succeed.
Sessions take place once a week and can be 1:1 or small group work, through a variety of different activities we cover:
Social skills
Friendships and relationships
Anger management
Loss and change
Self-organisation
ELSA :
relates to our school values - Be kind, Work Hard and Never Give up giving a sense of belonging
involves recognising emotions, self-esteem, anxiety management, social skills, friendship skills, anger management, loss and bereavement
celebrates success and achievement in all areas of life
provides opportunities to develop a sense of self-worth through taking responsibility for themselves
provides opportunities to reflect.
Supporting - not fixing
ELSAs are not there to fix children's problems. What they can do is provide emotional support.
Their aim is to establish a warm, respectful relationship with a pupil and provide a reflective space where they are able to share honestly their thoughts and feelings, learn strategies to manage their needs and feel safe and secure within the school environment.