Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health and Wellbeing at Archbishop Cranmer
C of E Primary Academy
At Archbishop Cranmer C of E Primary Academy, we are committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our pupils, staff and community. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that everyone has mental health, and we have a role to play in supporting this.
At Archbishop Cranmer we:
- Provide a safe and supportive environment with clear expectations for behaviour;
- Help our children to understand and manage their emotions and feelings;
- Help our children to feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries;
- Help our children to form and maintain relationships;
- Foster self-esteem and self-worth to ensure our children know that they are unique and valued by God and others;
- Encourage children to be confident and ‘live life in all its fullness’;
- Help our children to develop emotional resilience and aspire to be the best they can be;
- Provide a structured approach to education about relationships, sex, health and keeping safe;
- Ensure spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is interwoven in through all curriculum areas;
- Support parents as partners in their child’s learning and development;
- Promote positive mental health for every member of our staff and pupil body.
The Importance of Mental Health and Wellbeing:
Recent research by the Department for Education (2020[1]) and The Children’s Society (2020[2]) has shown that 9.1% of 10-17 year olds report being relatively unhappy with their lives, and that this declines as children and young people get older, with wellbeing in this area decreasing since 2009. The Mental Health Foundation[3] has shown that mental health problems affect about 1 in 6 children and young people. Statistics show that 75% of children who experience a mental health problem have not had support at an early age or the opportunity to build and develop their resilience. As a school, we recognise the need to ensure mental health problems are identified early and appropriate support is provided.
[1] Department for Education, 2020. State of the Nation 2020: Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Research Report. DfE: London.
[2] The Children’s Society, 2020. The Good Childhood Report 2020 [online]. The Children’s Society: London. Available via: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-11/Good-Childhood-Report-2020.pdf [Accessed: 30 July 2021].
[3] Mental Health Foundation, 2021. Mental Health Foundation [online]. Mental Health Foundation: London. Available via: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/c/children-and-young-people [Accessed: 30 July 2021].
Our Mental Health and Wellbeing policy describes our school’s approach to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing.
Positive wellbeing is promoted through the curriculum and all school activities. Through a carefully planned approach to RHE (Relationships and Health Education, previously known as PSHE), supported by our ‘HeartSmart’ scheme of work, our pupils are helped to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives, and to become resilient, informed and responsible citizens. Specific themes that promote positive emotional health and wellbeing include: Learning hot important, valued and loved we are; exploring the importance of others and how to love them well; understanding how to process negative emotion and choose forgiveness to restore relationships; unpacking how to bravely communicate truth and be proud of who we are and; knowing there is a way through every situation no matter how impossible it may seem.
Our teachers also use a range of other resources to support the teaching of positive wellbeing and about mental health. Staff have access to a bank of resources on the shared drive, as well as SEAL resources.
In addition, whole school approaches such as assemblies and acts of collective worship are used to further develop pupils’ knowledge of strategies. For example, each class has access to the Calm for Schools[1] resource, which is used to play relaxing music during lesson and reflection time. Reflection and mindfulness strategies are also a key component within each class’ daily timetable where moments of quiet and reflection are used to support lesson transitions. Each classroom also has a designated reflection area, offering space for quiet and calm as required.
Whole school events are held and planned by our Pupil Parliament, led by our Ministers of Pupil Wellbeing, including Anti-Bullying Week and Mental Health Awareness Week. During these events, the focus is on developing resilience and the purpose is to teach our pupils strategies for dealing with anxieties and coping with changes. We take part in awareness days, such as the ‘Hello Yellow’ campaign for Young Minds.
As an active school, we greatly value the impact of sport on pupil health and wellbeing and ensure that pupils engage in a wide range of daily physical activity, including encouraging our children to run The Daily Mile. Pupils in Key Stage 2 are encouraged to ‘Strive for 5’, where children aim to take part in at least 5 sporting activities per week.
To support with transition between year groups, transition meetings with parents and carers, pupils and relevant staff are held, where All About Me pupil and staff passports are used to support sharing of needs. Transition days are also timetabled to support with this process and are planned on a case-by-case basis to best support the children’s needs.
When pupils require addition support for social, emotional and/or mental health, our trained ELSAs (Miss Wilkinson (KS2) and Mrs Chilton (KS1)) provide nurture sessions that are personalised to individual needs. Find out more about what an ELSA is and how this supports children by clicking the below link.
We have a designated nurture and intervention space, The Sunshine Room, which contains a wealth of resources including books, games and equipment to support wellbeing. We regularly review our resources to ensure that equipment is up-to-date. The Sunshine Room also has bean bags, fairy lights and a CD player to allow staff to adapt the space for specific intervention support.
Our Forest School outdoor area also offers opportunity for class, group or individual sessions to be held in the great outdoors, where each class has a timetabled slot within the week to make use of our designated space. At Archbishop Cranmer we recognise the positive impact of outdoor learning and the benefits this can have on wellbeing. Outdoor opportunities form part of teachers’ medium term planning.
Where there is a need for more specialised, targeted approaches that support vulnerable children, the SENCo will make a referral to an outside organisation such as the Mental Health Support Team, School Nurse, CAMHs or Early Help.
If you are concerned about your child's mental health and wellbeing, or would like further information, please contact our Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, Mrs Eleanor Hodgson, via the school office.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Newsletters
The 'Sunshine Room' - Our designated nurture and intervention space
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Useful Links and Resources
Please click on the bold lettering to access the website.
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families – Parent Resources
A trusted source of up-to-date and accessible information and resources that school leaders, teachers and support staff can use to support the mental health and wellbeing of the children and young people in their care.
Free resources, videos, tips in mental health and wellbeing from professionals to support parents.
Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society. We want to see a fundamentally different way of life - where people care less about what they can get just for themselves and more about the happiness of others.
Useful website regarding health and wellbeing support. Contains useful websites such as CAMHS, Mind and NSPCC for both children and parents on separate pages, including school nurse information and phone numbers for advice.
Winston’s Wish supports bereaved children, their families and the professionals who support them.
Winston’s Wish was the UK’s first childhood bereavement charity – supporting bereaved children since 1992 – and continue to lead the way in providing specialist child bereavement support services across the UK, including in-depth therapeutic help in individual, group and residential settings.
Hope Again is the youth website of Cruse Bereavement Care. It is a safe place where children can learn from other young people, how to cope with grief, and feel less alone. Here you will find information about our services, a listening ear from other young people and advice for any young person dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Childline – Anxiety, Stress and Panic
Resource from Childline to help children understand and cope with anxiety, stress and worry.
Notts Help Yourself – Parent FAQs
FAQs from parents regarding mental health and anxiety.
Parent Info - Health and Wellbeing
Support and advice to parents, with contributions from the leading experts and organisations in matters related to young people and families in a digital world.
Tips for self-care which can be used when working with children suffering with anxiety.
Calm - Mindfulness App and Website
"The world's happiest app" - designed to help sleep, mindfulness and relaxation. A fantastic resource.