MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING 

Understanding and responding to our Mental Health and Well-being needs is something we believe in passionately here at Old Clee Primary Academy. We aim to take away the stigma and negativity around Mental Health and help our staff, pupils and families to talk openly.

At Old Clee, we recognise that good mental health is as important as good physical health. Our pupils are taught self-care techniques, including recognising and managing emotions, exercise, relaxation and how to build relationships through a rich and varied curriculum. We teach our children how they can help others with their mental health in age appropriate ways.

As an academy, we use the DfE's guidance, Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools, as a guide and work to their ideals:

1. Prevention: creating a safe and calm environment where mental health problems are less likely, improving the mental health and well-being of the whole school population, and equipping pupils to be resilient so that they can manage the normal stress of life effectively. This will include teaching pupils about mental well-being through the curriculum and reinforcing this teaching through school activities and ethos.

2. Identification: recognising emerging issues as early and accurately as possible. 

3. Early support: helping pupils to access evidence based early support and interventions.

4. Access to specialist support: working effectively with external agencies to provide swift access or referrals to specialist support and treatment.

HOW DO WE SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH AT OLD CLEE PRIMARY ACADEMY?

• Whole Academy Provision - The foundation for our mental health offer is our Whole Academy Provision. Learning about mental health is part of our Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum for all children. This teaching and learning for all is part of the Prevention phase of mental health, mentioned above. Pupils receive 30 minutes of dedicated PSHE teaching each week. 

• We also have dedicated Mental Health Days when we promote and celebrate good mental health for all through The Five Ways to Well Being.

• Low Level Needs - This is the Identification phase, from the the DfE model. We have a variety of ways that our pupils can let us know how they are feeling. Each class has an emotional register that children fill in on entry to school each morning. Pupils simply self-register themselves and will write their initials next to the thumbs up or thumbs down icons before they get ready for the day. Staff can then pick on pupils' state of mind and chat to them about it. If staff feel further support for the pupil is needed, they will alert a member of the Well-being Team who will further action this. Our staff have been trained by Compass Go, a charity providing health and well-being services for children, families and communities to help them identify when a child may need some additional support.

• Medium Level need - Individualised Support for our pupils who may be experiencing mental health and well-being difficulties. After identifying and talking to parents, providing some support for the pupil is the next step. This is the Early Help phase. Getting support in a timely fashion can stop a mental health issue from developing further. There are lots of ways we can support pupils in academy, which can range from being very light touch (e.g. a simple chat, organising a playtime buddy or a daily check-in to see how they are feeling) to a series of individual or group sessions with a trained staff member using recognised support programmes and interventions. Miss Webster is a trained ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistant - meaning she can develop and deliver individualised support programmes to meet the emotional needs of children. 

• High Level Need - Signposting to External Support - occasionally, some pupils may benefit from expert mental health professionals. We can help families to access this support. We will work with these agencies to provide support in academy as best we can.  

• Capturing the Pupils' Voice - It's important to us that our children get a say in our mental health and well-being offer. We have Academy SUPERB ambassadors who play an active role in supporting their peers to solve problems, prevent loneliness, encourage positive friendships and raise awareness of any issues on the playground. In addition, we regularly capture pupil voice. This gives all pupils an opportunity to tell staff what they think about our school, including mental health and well-being.  

Working with Parents

• Parents are an integral part of our Mental Health offer at Old Clee. We actively promote good mental health for all and make it part of our mission to further educate our parents, local community and beyond about the benefits of good mental health.
• Parents are always included in any concerns we have about a pupils’ health. We ensure that parents have a voice and recognise their contribution.
• We try to support parents who are concerned about their children’s mental health in a number of ways e.g. opportunities for “tea and a chat” with staff in school and facilitating links to external agencies. 

The Environment

• Calm & Peaceful Classrooms – our learning environments are set up to be safe and calming places for pupils to learn. Pupils can feel secure in the expectations within the room. Adults understand the importance of creating spaces that are conducive to good mental health. 
• In response to the Government's Health and Wellbeing Plan, our Student Council have recently been tasked with creating a way of improving well-being amongst the academy and local community, developing new skills within horticulture and agriculture. Pupils will develop our courtyard area to utilise for gardening and growing to bring about positive change. The area will be a safe place for solace and calm creating a sensory and therapeutic experience. Gardening can help support well-being through physical and mental health, developing a community and extending learning. 

HOW CAN I GET HELP FOR MY CHILD?

If you are worried your child may be experiencing mental health issues, please talk to your child's class teacher, Mrs Hazlewood, Mrs Wilding, Miss Webster or Miss Dobbs. The following flow chart shows you some of the ways you can access support and what that might look like. 

Though our staff are trained to offer support at school level, we cannot act as mental health experts and we do not try to diagnose conditions. We have clear systems and processes in place for identifying possible mental health concerns, including routes to escalate concerns and clear referral and accountability systems. We endeavour to create a safe and calm educational environment and strengthen resilience before serious mental health problems occur.