Wellbeing at Braunston
Mental health and wellbeing plays a vital role in education and impacts on our pupils’ learning.
Pupils should know that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health and they need to recognise and talk about their emotions. It is also common for people to experience mental ill health.
Mrs Craig, Mrs Smith and Mrs Maxwell work alongside Nikki Sawyer (SENCO) as our core Pastoral team.
Trained in:
- Mental Health First Aid – recognising early signs of mental health conditions and how best to approach and support children and their families.
- Protective Behaviours – using the two core principles that Everybody has the right to feel safe all the time and We can talk with someone about anything, no matter how big or scary, all feelings are recognised and validated.
https://www.protectivebehaviours.org/what-does-protective-behaviours-mean
- Drawing & Talking – a gentle, non-intrusive intervention where a child is able to process their feelings through drawing a picture and talking about their feelings through the picture.
- Emotion Coaching – a practice whereby children are encouraged to recognise all feelings, understand how they feed into behaviours and support them to develop strategies to manage those feelings and behaviours.
In addition to the above we have:
- Weekly intervention sessions, either 1:1 or small groups, to promote resilience, self-esteem, healthy relationships and friendships.
- Support sessions for children processing bereavement or separation.
- Calm spaces in school during lunchtimes for children that may need some quiet time. These include The Cabin, the Quiet Zone and The Hub and are used to foster a sense of safety in school through quiet, calm activities with a group of mixed-age children.
- The Blue Butterfly Project – introduced to children by the local PCSO, this project teaches children to recognise those butterflies in their tummies when things do not feel quite right and encourages them to seek out to a trusted adult to share their worries and feelings. Children know that they can approach staff members in school that are wearing the Blue Butterfly badge.
Family Support
We foster a strong sense of community at Braunston and understand that the need for a child to feel safe, happy and ready to learn goes beyond the school building. We believe that forming positive relationships with our families as a whole is fundamental to ensuring children thrive and reach their full potential. Our support for families includes:
- Running Early Help Assessments (EHA’s) which aid families in identifying where they may need additional support and coordinating this support for them.
- Working with the Strengthening Families team – a step-up from Early Help whereby a practitioner can visit the home to offer additional support, for example with housing or challenging behaviours.
- Referring into 0-19 Services to support families with challenges they may be facing at home in areas such as sleep hygiene, anxiety, eating and toileting.
- Consulting with and referring to the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) – a specialist support service that offer 1:1 school-based interventions for children presenting with anxiety.
- Consulting with the Inclusion and Intervention Support Team (IIST) – formerly the SEND Support Service, to coordinate support for families who need additional help in the home to manage challenging behaviours.
CONTACT US:
Telephone 01788 890494
n.sawyer@braunston.pdet.org.uk
At Braunston CE Primary School, we are committed to developing and safeguarding pupils’ emotional wellbeing and good health.
Here are some useful resources to explore at home:
Talking Mental Health
Talking Mental Health is an animation designed to help begin conversations about mental health in the classroom and at home.
What are the 5 Ways to Wellbeing?
We want to promote 5 ways to keep us mentally healthy. Some Rochdale teenagers were asked to work with an animation company and make this short film below about what the 5 ways wellbeing meant to them. Have a watch!
