Blakehill Primary School

Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing at Blakehill

Intent

Here at Blakehill Primary School, we recognise that in order to help our pupils develop and succeed, we as a school community have a role to play in supporting them to be mentally healthy and emotionally well. It is our intent that our pupils will be happy, resilient, caring and outward looking, knowing how to identify the signs of mental ill health and, in doing so, how to support themselves and others. We believe that learning these skills in primary school will help our pupils throughout their education and into adult life.

Implementation

In achieving these aims, we take a ‘whole school’ approach. As part of our Physical, Health and Social Education (PHSE) curriculum, each year group learns about health and wellbeing; relationships; and living in the wider world. All objectives are appropriate to the ages being taught. However, at Blakehill, we aim to move beyond simply teaching and learning about mental health and emotional wellbeing, interweaving mental health and emotional wellbeing into all aspects of school life.

Here are just some of the ways we promote mental health and emotional wellbeing at Blakehill:

Staff that are well equipped to provide support to its pupils
Dedicated 1-2-1 or small group intervention provided by our Learning Mentor, Teaching Assistants and / or Teachers.
A fully developed Physical, Health and Social Education (PHSE) curriculum in line with the latest guidance.
An updated Relationship, Sex and Health Education Policy (RSHE) that is fully compliant with national guidance.
The appointment of two Mental Health Champions to develop the school's approach to this important area and the creation of a Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing team within school to oversee its development for pupils, staff and our community.
Signposting parents, carers and guardians to support agencies, making referrals to other key stakeholders, including the School Nursing Team, where necessary.
Key assemblies exploring a range of issues. Assemblies have included: 'the power of yet', bullying, being kind and resilience.
Developing nurturing, respectful and open relationships between staff and pupils. We place an important emphasis on establishing these relationships at the beginning of the school year and maintaining them throughout.
Mindfulness after-school Club for all year groups.
A well-established transition programme for pupils in Y6.
A robust schedule of staff training to ensure colleagues have the appropriate skills and knowledge necessary to support pupils with their Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

In the next section of the school website, you will find links to resources that you can use to support your child.

Impact

Through our 'whole school' approach our pupils will develop the knowledge, skills and understanding to be able to know and identify the signs of mental ill health and most importantly, be equipped with the tools to address these; knowing where to seek support and guidance. Moreover, by embedding this approach throughout school, our pupils can then take these tools with them when they transition to secondary school and later into adult life. It is also our aim that by addressing mental health and emotional wellbeing issues, we will be able to breakdown the stigma that can sometimes exist in pupils, staff and the wider school community related to these issues.

This page will be updated throughout the school year.