School nurses provide confidential advice and health information. This advice is available to young people, their parents, carers and teachers. School nurses will help ensure children and young people stay fit and healthy.
“Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
World Health Organisation. 2018
At Five Islands Academy we aim to promote good mental health and wellbeing for our whole community: students, staff, parents and carers.
We aim to develop protective factors by being a community in which all:
We want all members of our community to:
We aim to achieve this through:
Who has mental health?
We all have mental health – some people call this emotional health or wellbeing.
What is mental health?
The World Health Organisation defines mental health as a state of wellbeing in which every individual achieves their potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act.
Good mental health and wellbeing is just as important as good physical health. Like physical health, mental health can range across a spectrum from healthy to unwell; it can fluctuate on a daily basis and change over time.
Most children grow up mentally healthy, but surveys suggest that more children and young people have problems with their mental health today than 30 years ago. It is thought that this is probably because of changes in the way that we live now and how that affects the experience of growing up.
What helps?
Other factors are also important, including:
What happens in school?
In school, we teach children about what it means to have good mental health and wellbeing throughout our curriculum and daily practice.
Our PSHE curriculum focuses specifically on developing children’s social and emotional skills which can prevent poor mental health from developing and help all children cope effectively with
setbacks and remain healthy. It is about helping children to understand and manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviour and build skills that help them to thrive, such as working in a team, persistence, and self-awareness.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Team in school
Senior Mental Health Lead : Maddy Hicks
Mental Health team: Rachel Thornton, Karen Kershaw, Moira Graham, Verity Brascombe
Primary Cabin
This base is full of comfortable furniture, sensory items and resources which can be used when talking with children. We are extremely fortunate to be able to create and provide a wellbeing room for our pupils. This enables us to build and strengthen our whole school approach to wellbeing and mental health. Children access this room through group interventions, one-to-one mentoring and drop-in sessions at break and lunchtime. We want all children at FIA to know there is somewhere safe for them to go if they need to talk.
Secondary Compass
This is the base where pupils can come for wellbeing support or if they need supervised time out from lessons. Compass is a supportive, nurturing environment which supports young people who benefit from a quieter, focused environment. It is designed as a temporary measure to support young people who are unable to access mainstream lessons for a number of reasons. The pathway followed will be dependent on their needs and may include elements of 1 to 1, small group work and online learning together with social and emotional support.
What if my child is experiencing difficulties with their mental health and wellbeing?
Mental health doesn’t mean being happy all the time and neither does it mean avoiding stress altogether. One of the most important ways to help your child is to listen to them and take their feelings seriously.
In many instances, children and young people’s negative feelings and worries usually pass with the support of their parents and families. It is helpful for the school to know what they are going through at these times, so that staff can be aware of the need and support this.
Coping and adjusting to setbacks are critical life skills for children, just as they are for adults, but it is important that they develop positive, rather than negative, coping skills.
If you are ever worried about your child’s mental health and wellbeing then, just as you would about any concerns that you have about their learning, come and talk to us. Sometimes children will need additional support for a short period – this may be in the form of a daily check-in with a trusted adult, time to talk through what they are feeling and support in developing ways of moving forwards with this.
If your child is distressed for a long time, if their negative feelings are stopping them from getting on with their lives, if their distress is disrupting family life or if they are repeatedly behaving in ways you would not expect at their age, then please speak to your child's teacher or tutor.
Looking after yourself
If things are getting you down, it’s important to recognise this. Talk to someone you trust and see what they think. It is easy to go on struggling with very difficult situations because you feel that you should be able to cope and don’t deserve any help.
Come and talk to us, in confidence and let us know when things are tough. As much as you try to hide how you are feeling from your child, they will notice even the smallest changes.
Go to your GP if things are really getting on top of you. Asking for some support from your doctor or a referral to a counselling service is a sign of strength. You can’t help your child if you are not being supported yourself.
There is lots and lots of useful support on the internet. Below are some links that we think might be interesting.
Mental Health Awareness Week, now in its 23rd year, runs from 15-21 May and is hosted by the charity, Mental Health Foundation.
This year, the theme is ‘anxiety’. Across the UK, people are encouraged to get involved by sharing their experience of anxiety and the things that can help with the hashtag #ToHelpMyAnxiety. As part of the campaign, the Mental Health Foundation will be publishing guidance on how we can manage and improve feelings of anxiety and prevent them from developing into a more serious mental health problem.
Alexa Charnley, Director of Fundraising and Communications at the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“We all experience anxiety but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem. However, there are things we can do to manage feelings of anxiety and stop them becoming overwhelming. For example, breathing exercises, physical activity, speaking to a trusted friend, or keeping a diary. You can find more information and guidance on our website mentalhealth.org.uk.
“This Mental Health Awareness Week we’re encouraging everyone to get involved by sharing their experiences of anxiety and the things that help with the hashtag #ToHelpMyAnxiety. We hope people all over the UK will take part and help us to normalise conversations about anxiety and mental health. We hope the week helps people to feel more confident in talking about anxiety and how it affects them. Most importantly, we hope people understand more about what they can do to manage anxiety and what other support is available.”
For more information about this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk/mhaw
We will be sharing monthly Mental Health Newsletters for both primary and Secondary students and families. Please click on the links below: