Inclusion

Mental Health, Emotional Support and Well-Being

We have a whole school approach to emotional health and wellbeing; positive mental health is recognised as everyone’s business and has a high profile. We aim for all children and adults to access an environment that develops individual strengths and coping skills that underpin resilience.

Good mental health allows children to think clearly, develop socially and learn new skills. Additionally, good friends and encouraging words from adults are all important for helping children develop self-confidence, high self-esteem, and a healthy emotional outlook on life. We believe that children’s emotional wellbeing is just as important as their physical health. Good mental health helps our children to develop the resilience to cope In an ever changing world in which they can live and grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.

Top tips which can help keep children and young people mentally well include:

being in good physical health, eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise
having time and freedom to play, indoors and outdoors
being part of a family that gets along well most of the time
going to a school that looks after the wellbeing of all its pupils
taking part in local activities

Other factors are also important; including feeling loved, trusted, understood and safe. Children who are optimistic, resilient, have some control over their lives and feel like they belong, are more likely to have good mental wellbeing.

What do we offer?

Team work is important in our work; our Mental Health Leader works together with Equality and Diversity Champions, our Inclsuion Team and our Mental Health First Aider .

Our Early Years Thrive Practitioner ensures our children are supported from an early age, learning about themselves as they start school and manage their feelings. Sessions are provided on a whole class level, small groups and individually to support social, emotional and mental health needs.

Our Child and Family Practitioners provide support to families with initial contact, both with families and children. Links are made with our Attendance Officer and other professionals through the Early Help Team, Citizens Advice Bureau and agencies or charities that may be able to offer support families. 1:1, group or family sessions ensure that we understand the needs of our families. Practitioners also attend Child in Need meetings, Team around the Child and Child Protection conferences.

We work closely with Fortis Therapy to provide trauma informed support two days a week with tailored and bespoke intervention for children with an Adverse Childhood Experience. Our Fortis Child Therapist has extensive experience working with young people helping them to understand their thoughts, feelings and actions. According to the Mental Health Foundation, 50% of mental health problems are established by age 14. The Fortis Team of therapists also provide support to the team with supervision, coaching, mentoring and reflective practice for team professional development.

We are proud to link with the Doncaster programme of mental health support 'With Me in Mind' as one of the national Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) focused on early prevention and intervention; ensuring children and their families/ carers are able to access appropriate support to improve and maintain positive emotional wellbeing.

We pride ourselves on the layered tier support we offer, through our school triage system, Bespoke programmes, work with external partners, whole school approaches and link work with professional partners ensures decisions are well informed and reviewed for progress.

We have recently been accredited with Bronze status from Leeds Beckett University and we are currently working towards the next stage of the award and striving towards Gold. We were also accredited our Enhanced Award for Healthy Learning, Healthy Lives through Doncaster Public Health in the Summer Term 2020.

For further information about services and professionals

https://fortistherapy.co.uk/

http://www.withmeinmind.co.uk/

https://www.evolvesi.com/tag/mental-health/

https://www.healthylearningdoncaster.co.uk/

https://camhs.rdash.nhs.uk/doncaster/

Equality and Diversity

Within our school, we have an Equity and Diversity Champion who works with the Local Authority Development Group to shape the provision and wider curriculum in school.

We ensure our curriculum builds cultural capital with a wide range of experiences, development of knowledge and builds childrens understanding of the world and their local community.

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