Mental Health and Wellbeing

At St John the Evangelist CE (VA) Primary School, we aim to promote the positive mental health and well-being of every member of our school community and recognise how important mental health and well-being is to our lives, as is physical health. We recognise that children’s mental health and overall well-being can affect their learning and achievement.

A key aspect of our role in school is to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role to ensure that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and where they can go if they need help and support.

Definitions

At St John’s we have defined well-being and mental health as:

‘The capacity to live a full productive life as well as the flexibility to deal with its ups and downs. In children and young people, it is especially about the capacity to learn, enjoy friendships, to meet challenges, to develop talents and capabilities.’ Young Minds 1996

“Mental health is defined as a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” World Health Organisation

A holistic approach to promoting positive mental health and well-being

We have a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health and well-being. Our vision is for all pupils to flourish and have ‘fullness of life’.

This is achieved by:

1. Creating an ethos, policies and behaviours that support mental health and resilience and which everyone understands
2. Helping children to develop social relationships support each other and seek help when they need it.
3. Helping children be resilient learners
4. Teaching children social and emotional skills and an awareness of mental health
5. Early identification of children who have mental health needs and planning to support their needs, including working with specialist services.
6. Effectively working with parents and carers
7. Supporting and training staff to develop their skills and own resilience
8. Developing an open culture that encourages discussion and understanding of mental health awareness

Our schools’ Christian character contributes to the personal development and well-being of all learners. The Christian vision of the school supports the well-being of pupils by helping the pupils to develop their spiritual growth and moral understanding.

Whole School Well-being Strategy 2019 - 2024

Mental Health and Well-being Policy

Signposting for Emotional Health and Mental Wellbeing 

If you have concerns about the emotional health or mental wellbeing of your child, please contact school or speak to a member of our Pastoral Team for signposting and further support.

If you have concerns about the mental health or wellbeing of yourself or a family member please also look at and follow the links in our signposting guide below:

Links for further support 

The Wellbeing Award

St John the Evangelist CE VA primary School achieved the Wellbeing Award on 24 September 2019.

Developed in partnership with NCB, this whole-school award focuses on ensuring effective practice and provision is in place that promotes the emotional wellbeing and mental health of both staff and pupils.

The award has a focus on changing the long-term culture of a school, and embedding an ethos where mental health is regarded as the responsibility of all.

To successfully achieve this award, the children, staff, parents, governors and the wider community of St John the Evangelist CE Primary School needed to demonstrate how we:

• Commit to promoting mental health as part of school life
• Improve the emotional wellbeing of our staff and pupils
• Ensure mental health problems are identified early and appropriate support provided
• Offer provision and interventions that matches the needs of its pupils and staff
• Engage the whole school community in the importance of mental health awareness
• Capture the views of parents, pupils and teachers on mental health issues

We are now currently working on the reaccreditation of this award and are endeavouring to achieve this by the end of 2023.

Thank you to all of our stakeholders, parents and families who have participated in feedback through our questionnaires and provided valuable feedback and support to the school in this whole school priority.