Mental Health & Wellbeing

Our school is now actively working towards gaining The Wellbeing award for schools. The aim of this journey is to promote positive social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and wellness for pupils and staff in our school. To develop our approach to mental health and wellbeing.

Developed in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), the Wellbeing Award for Schools is intended to help schools prepare and equip themselves to promote emotional wellbeing and positive mental health across the whole-school community.

There are four key principles driving the ideas and recommendations behind the award:

Emotional wellbeing and mental health are a continuum. Related issues can range from positive attitudes and behaviour, through to experiences of emotional distress and mental disorder
Schools already experience and manage emotional issues on a daily basis; the objective is to minimise the impact of such issues and maximise the effectiveness of any responses
Emotional wellbeing covers a range of dimensions, such as resilience, character building, relationships and self-esteem, etc. Understanding both developmental and mental health awareness is critical
Creating a positive school culture requires a whole-school approach that is led from the top while involving all in the school community

Taking part in the award process is a way for our school to improve the mental health approach for all students, staff and parents in recognition of the needs and demands of the school and the community.

There are five stages in the WAS process and the school will be supported throughout in order to evidence best practice and to achieve the award:

School self-evaluation
Preparation of an action plan
Implementation of actions and collecting evidence into a portfolio
Interim assessment and progress
Verification of achievement of the award

The award is expected to be achieved within a maximum of 12-15 months. Within this timescale, the process is supportive, developmental and progressive, rather than a box-ticking, target driven exercise.

What are the 8 Objectives we are working towards?

The WAS has 8 objectives which focus on areas of evaluation, development and celebration of the work of schools in promoting and protecting emotional wellbeing and positive mental health. Each of these areas is further broken down into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Objective 1: The school is committed to promoting and protecting positive emotional wellbeing and mental health by achieving the Wellbeing Award for Schools

Objective 2: The school has a clear vision and strategy for promoting and protecting emotional wellbeing and mental health, which is communicated to all involved with the school

Objective 3: The school has a positive culture which regards the emotional wellbeing and mental health as the responsibility of all

Objective 4: The school actively promotes staff emotional wellbeing and mental health

Objective 5: The school prioritises professional learning and staff development on emotional wellbeing and mental health

Objective 6: The school understands the different types of emotional and mental health needs across the whole-school community and has systems in place to respond appropriately

Objective 7: The school actively seeks the ongoing participation of the whole school community in its approach to emotional wellbeing and mental health

Objective 8: The school works in partnerships with other schools, agencies and available specialist services to support emotional wellbeing and mental health

Some facts you should know

Worldwide 10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental disorders. Neuropsychiatric conditions are the leading cause of disability in young people in all regions. If untreated, these conditions severely influence children’s development, their educational attainments and their potential to live fulfilling and productive lives. (World Mental Health Organisation)

How common are mental health problems?

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.

In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.

The overall number of people with mental health problems has not changed significantly in recent years, but worries about things like money, jobs and benefits can make it harder for people to cope.

It appears that how people cope with mental health problems is getting worse as the number of people who self-harm or have suicidal thoughts is increasing.

At Boundary Primary School, we care about your child/children beyond their academic abilities within the classroom and value each child as an individual whilst appreciating the ups and downs of life they each face. The emotional health and well-being of your child is of up-most importance to us, as we want all children that come to our school to be happy and content and to achieve their full potential in life.

We have a highly experienced and trained pastoral team who are able to offer a variety of different interventions and support for both you and your children.

Lancashire Victim Services continue to provide specialist support for victims of domestic abuse. Anyone affected by domestic abuse can contact the service on 0300 323 0085, use the live chat

Lancashire Victims Service

or e-mail them here

#PreventDA