Mental Health and Well-Being
Mental health and emotional wellbeing are important to our lives in just the same way as physical health and we recognise this in our school. At Stanley Park Infants’ School, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community.
The Department for Education (DfE) recognises that:
"In order to help their children succeed; schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy."
Children's mental helath is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and impacts on their learning and achievement
"Short term stress and worry is a normal part of life and many issues can be experienced as mild or transitory challenges for some children and their families. Others will experieince more serious and longer lasting effects. The same experieince can have different effects on different children depending on other factors in their life." (DfE 2018).
Intent
At SPIS we aim to develop the protective factors which buid resilience to mental health problems:
- Children have a sense of belonging and feel safe.
- Children feel able to talk openly with trusted adults about their problems without feeling any stigma.
- Positive mental health is promoted and valued.
- Bullying is not tolerated.
Implementation
SPIS is a place where children experience a nurturing and supportive environment that can help develop self-esteem and give positive experiences to help overcome adversity and build resilience.
We will provide opportunities through our PHSE curriculum; work in circle time, Zones of Regulation (see below) and ELSA sessions, assemblies, visiting speakers and agencies, for all children to learn strategies to stay mentally healthy; how worries and stress can affect their mental health; develop understanding and empathy for those with mental health issues, and acknowledge of where or who they can go to for support.
Impact
Our role in school is to make sure that our children are able to manage times of change and stress. The impact of learning and support provided in school will ensure that cildren know:
- 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;
- Where or who they can go to if they need help and support.
Mental Health Award
The school is committed to making mental health a strategic priority; please click on the link below for information regarding the School Mental Health Award.