Dronfield Junior School

Dronfield Junior School
Reaching Potential

Emotional Health and Wellbeing

Our Mental Health Leads are Mrs R Ryan and Mrs N Wright

There are many ways in which we support our pupils’ mental health and emotional wellbeing.

  • We encourage and support our pupils to understand their feelings and emotions. We do this through our curriculum and everyday school life.
  • We encourage our pupils to be resilient when challenges occur, to be ready to learn through having a positive mindset, and to be respectful to others. This is embedded in our positive behaviour policy
  • We encourage our pupils to be self-confident and develop their self-esteem, ensuring that they all know that they matter.
  • We support our pupils to know that they can talk to us and open up, sharing their feelings and worries.
  • We support our pupils to build and maintain positive social relationships with others.

    Mental Health Policy

    Mental Health and Pastoral Intent Statement

    DfE Staff Wellbeing Charter

Nurturing good mental health and wellbeing

Combining ELSA, trauma-informed and attachment aware training, we are able to offer emotional health and wellbeing sessions. Through these, children are able to explore and develop emotional awareness and understanding, have guidance on finding strategies to self-regulate more effectively, build self-esteem, better recognise signs of strong emotions, develop social and friendship skills, or have support for loss, bereavement or other adverse experiences.

5 Ways to Wellbeing

There are 5 ways to well-being outlined by the NHS. The aim is that you complete something for each of the 5 categories each day. 

Connect

Connect with people around you. With family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. At home, work, school, or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

Be Active

Swap your interactive pursuits with active ones. Go for a walk. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Walk or cycle when making short journeys. Being active makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

Why not have a go at some of the activities below? 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/bedtime-mediation/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/pilates-for-beginners/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/dance-la-bomba/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/wake-up-workout/

Take Notice

Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch, or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you to appreciate what matters to you.

Keep Learning

Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

Give!

Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you. 

Statement of Mental Health Intent

Dronfield Junior School Inclusion Team is passionate about making a difference to the lives of our pupils. We believe in teamwork; working with each other, with teachers and colleagues across the school, with the wider school community and most importantly with the pupils in our school. We act with an unrelenting commitment to developing a sense of belonging. Whatever issues our pupils, their families, the school, our team or the community face, we always support, react and pull together. Finally, we are committed to making a difference; we are not passive players in pupils’ lives but active participants who can, and do, make a real difference. We encourage our staff and pupils to relate well to one another with respect, curiosity and honesty. These are a reflection of the school’s curriculum intent statement and core values, in particular:

Respect and Resilience, Excellence, Autonomy, Curiosity and Honesty (REACH)

Our moral purpose can therefore be summarised below -

  • Team work
  • Commitment
  • Belonging
  • Respect

 

What Inclusion and Effective Mental Health Interventions Means to Us

  • The child stays at the centre of every conversation.
  • We prioritise those who need our help most, but we intervene with all.
  • When pupils are in school, we can support and educate them – attendance matters.
  • Pupils learn best when there are clear rules and simple consequences.
  • Staff teach best when there are clear rules and simple consequences.
  • We use evidence-based practice for all our interventions.

Expectations of Each Other

  • Have read and understood Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education.
  • Keep up to date with our behaviour, Social, Emotional, Mental Health (SEMH), attendance and safeguarding policies and protocols.
  • Attend fortnightly Inclusion Team meetings on time and are prepared
  • Ensure wave one pastoral work is evidenced.
  • Speak to pupils, staff and each other with courtesy, respect and understanding.

Websites and Apps helpful for managing Mental Health

Here is a list of websites and apps that are helpful for managing mental health (from NHS Midlands Partnership including Derby and Derbyshire NHS):

NHS Every Mind Matters

Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

This website offers a range of mental health advice as well as an interactive quiz that designed to help you feel more in control of your emotional/mental wellbeing.

Qwellhttps://www.qwell.io

https://www.qwell.io

Qwell is a free online Mental Health and Wellbeing resource for parents and carers of young people under the age of 18 that requires no formal referral, instead only requiring the user to set up an account on the website. Available 365 days of the year via mobile, tablet and desktop devices from 12 noon to 10pm Monday-Friday and 6pm-10pm at weekends, the service provides access to accredited counselling support, peer support via online forums and relevant articles detailing a variety of topics.  

Kooth (for older children)

www.kooth.com

This site contains free mental health support with their online counsellors.  It is a free sign up service that has resources such as discussion boards, helpful tips/articles written by young people and an option for them to write mood journals and set positive goals.

Childline

www.childline.org.uk/kids/  

Childline Kids is an area dedicated to supporting children under 12 years old.  It allows young children to access child-friendly advice covering a wide range of topics such as bullying, self-esteem and staying safe.  The site also features games, videos and friendly illustrations, providing a fun, reassuring and safe space for children online.

They have a free telephone helpline (0800 1111) and message boards where young people are encouraged to share experiences and support each other in a positive way.  

Cove

A relaxing musical app that helps people try to capture their mood and express it by making music within the program and capturing it in a journal format.  Note: you do not need to know how to play an instrument to use this app.

Combined Minds

This app contains pseudo-education for parents families and friends with practical advice on how to provide mental health support to children and young people.

Clear Fear

An app to help children and teenagers manage anxiety through distractions and helpful activities.

Calm

A mindfulness app that includes various relaxing sounds to listen to as well as 'sleep stories' and some guided meditations.

Young Minds

www.youngminds.org.uk

A mental health charity that gives help and advice for young people as well as encouraging them to get involved in fundraising/campaigning to raise awareness for children and young people's mental health.

Young Minds (parent portal)

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/

Headspace

A mindfulness app that has more of a 'podcast feel' to it with various talks, guided meditations and helpful videos available.

Samaritans

www.samaritans.org

A charity that offers mental health support and information online for everyone.  Their helpline is free and available for all ages. Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org 24/7.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

https://www.annafreud.org/parents-and-carers/

Key stages: early years foundation stage to key stage 2

Description: wellbeing advice for all those supporting children and young people.

Registration: not required

MindEd

https://www.minded.org/uk

Key stages: early years foundation stage to key stage 2

Description: an educational resource for all adults on children and young people’s mental health.

Registration: is required

Educational Psychology Service

Managing anxiety by age

Fear and Anxiety - An Age by Age Guide to Common Fears, The Reasons for Each and How to Manage Them - Hey Sigmund

Also from Hey Sigmund. A guide about what to expect age by age around anxiety, strategies and tips on when to get help.

 

Talking about world trauma with kids

How to Talk to Kids and Teens About World Trauma - Hey Sigmund

Mindfulness

Mrs Hart likes to combine mindfulness with crafts! So with that in mind, here is a lovely activity - some mindful colouring making a mobile.
The template can be downloaded here.

Mrs Hart has suggested this link to a website that hosts free mindfulness scripts, as she knows many of the children love listening to them at the end of their sessions. It's Australian, so the accent might take a bit of getting used to, but there are a mixture of themes and lengths to choose from - some may even have listened to one or two in class:

Meditation made easy • Smiling Mind

Simply create a free account and you can get started!

Emotional Health from Derbyshire Behaviour  Support Service

"Acknowledgement" ideas - click here for parents; click here for pupils; click here for staff.

Derby and Derbyshire Health and Wellbeing

https://derbyandderbyshireemotionalhealthandwellbeing.uk/

This website is for anyone to access; it offers information about emotional health services which are currently available in Derbyshire: 

Emotional Learning Support Assistance (ELSA)

 ELSA support (free resources)

https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/category/free-resources/

 Place2Be

 https://www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/parents-and-carers/

 Place2be (parent portal) - Mental health support for parents and carers.  The site offers advice and resources for parents and carers to help support their child or young person’s wellbeing.

Parenting Smart  

https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/

Practical tips from mental health experts to support children's wellbeing and behaviour.

Action for Children

Action for Children works in partnership with Derbyshire Federation for Mental Health, to provide a service called 'Build Sound Minds Derby and Derbyshire'. The Service is a comprehensive early intervention service for children and young people aged 0-17 who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

Build Sound Minds

https://services.actionforchildren.org.uk/derbyshire/build-sound-minds/ 

Build Sound Minds Derby and Derbyshire has been commissioned by NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)  and will therefore be able to accept referrals for all children and young people who are registered with a Derbyshire or Derby City ICB GP Practice. 

Build Sound Minds offers one-to-one support, group work, telephone support and a digital offer. 

Download the parent leaflet here,

Parent Talk

Parent Talk - Support for Parents from Action For Children

Down-to-earth parenting advice you can trust.

We’re here for you, when you need us. Find answers to parenting questions in our advice articles. Or talk to a parenting coach about anything that’s worrying you. It’s all free, and no topic is too big, small, or embarrassing.

Winston's Wish (grief) 

https://www.winstonswish.org

Winston’s Wish is a charity that helps children, teenagers and young adults (up to the age of 25) find their feet when their worlds are turned upside down by grief.

Calm Harm

An app to help teenagers manage/resist the urge to self harm by providing a range of distraction techniques.

Stem4

www.stem4.org.uk

A charity that promotes mental health in teenagers as well as encouraging them to build resilience and manage difficult emotions via online resources.

 Talking to Children About Cancer

A cancer diagnosis can be very difficult for a family to navigate. It can be especially difficult to tell your child that their loved one has terminal cancer. That said, there are many ways to support your children as they face the challenge of a sick loved one. Learn more about tips you can use when talking to your children about cancer.

Talking To Children About Cancer | Tips For Parents (mesotheliomahope.com)