Bourn Mental Health and Well-being
Mental Health Statement
At Bourn Primary Academy, we understand the importance of children and staff feeling safe and happy in order to be able to live life in all its fullness. Good mental health and emotional and physical wellbeing is fundamental to helping our pupils and staff to be best they can be.
In an ever-changing world, positive mental health is key to everyone’s well-being and quality of life. It allows us to respond effectively to the challenges that daily life presents. We aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for all of our school community. We believe that social and emotional skills, knowledge and behaviours that pupils learn in the classroom will help them build resilience and prepare them for how they will manage their mental health and wellbeing throughout their lives.
“Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her 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 2014)
Mental health is not just the absence of mental health problems. We want all stakeholders to :
- Feel confident in themselves.
- Be able to express a range of emotions appropriately.
- Be able to make and maintain positive relationships with others.
- Cope with the stresses of everyday life.
- Manage times of stress and be able to deal with change.
- Learn and achieve.
We promote positive mental health and wellbeing for the school community by establishing a positive school ethos and environment by:
- Creating a safe and calm environment where positive relationships are key
- Not tolerating bullying and educating and supporting all parties involved in alleged incidents
- Teaching pupils about mental wellbeing through our PSHE curriculum and reinforcing this through school activities
- Equipping pupils to be resilient through our Growth Mindset curriculum
- Making children and staff feel they belong and are valued
- Creating an environment where children feel they are able to talk openly with trusted problems without stigma
- By using our values to improve the way we work together and support each other
- By building compassionate and supportive relationships with parents and other members of the school community
Some of the ways in which we support this are:
- Having a caring and nurturing school ethos based on a restorative approach linked with Cambridgeshire Steps – a therapeutic approach to positive behaviour manage
- Weekly PSHE lessons with extracurricular awareness days to promote and educate children about mental health and wellbeing
- Early identification systems in place amongst all adults who work with children to recognise early signs of poor mental health and wellbeing
- Social and emotional interventions for children with additional needs
- Working in partnership with parents and carers where there are concerns about mental health
- To increase the awareness and understanding and reduce stigma amongst children, staff and our wider community of issues involving the mental health and wellbeing of young people
- Providing support at an early stage to any child or staff who is or appears to be suffering from mental health issues
Mental Health and Well-being Support
The staff in school are always here to provide advice and support. We can also help in signposting to specific support. The following websites are very useful sources of advice and can also provide support.
MIND - information and advice about mental health issues
www.mind.org.ukYoung Minds – charity committed to improving mental health of children and young people
Samaritans - Telephone 116 123 for free
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families – useful advice and links to support families and children
https://www.annafreud.org/parents-and-carers
NSPCC – advice for parents and carers in how to support their children’s mental health
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/
Contact A Family – Promotes support between families caring for children with disability
Family Lives and Parentline Plus - national charity that works for, and with, parents
https://www.familylives.org.uk/
Home-Start – support, advice and practical help to families
