Mental Health and Wellbeing Support in School
Good morning parents and carers, please find attached the latest newsletter from the Mental Health Support Team. Mental health and wellbeing is given the highest priority in our school and is a big focus on our school improvement plan each year. We know that if children, staff or parents aren't emotionally well and happy then this can be a barrier to effective teaching and learning. In school both myself and Mrs Wilkinson are trained mental health first aiders who provide support and signpost support to children, parents and staff. We also have an Educational Mental Health Practitioner called Hazel Broadfield who works with us to provide families with support with mental health issues. We also have two trained ELSA's in school, Mrs Hegarty and Mrs Lyons, who provide emotional literacy support to specific children throughout school. Mrs Gardner, our PSHE lead also has a group of Wellbeing Warriors that help to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing and organise events. They are organising an Odd Socks day next Monday and have led a poster competition to launch Anti-bullying week. If you or your child are experiencing any issues linked to mental health and wellbeing, Mrs Wilkinson and I are always available to speak to on either informally on the yard or through arranging a meeting. Alternatively, there are also sections on our website where different services and groups linked to mental health and wellbeing are signposted. https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/key-information/safeguarding https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/parents/community-groups There are also services and groups signposted on the MHST newsletters. MHST run a Parent Support Group. It is an online group which is currently topic based. It is a space where information is shared with discussion between parents. Last group's topic was Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, where we explored what OCD is and how to support your child. There is no pressure to contribute or have your camera or microphone on, there is a chat function to contribute to the session. The next topic is Social Anxiety Wednesday 23rd November 2022 @ 6-7pm online via microsoft teams Please email [email protected] for a link to the meeting.
Smart School Council -How can our Peace Garden be improved?
In our Smart School Council session this morning, we discussed how our Peace Garden could be used more effectively. We looked at five options. Will was our class leader and Hamza was chief note maker and they did a fantastic job! We looked at British values, especially democracy as part of our discussion process. Our final decision was option 2- to have peace garden monitors.
Year 6 Class Worship- NSPCC
Today, year 6 joined in with a NSPCC virtual worship. The theme was all about speaking out if we ever have any worries and the amazing resource available to the children in ‘childline’.
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NSPCC- Year 5
During our class worship this morning, we watched an online assembly led by the NSPCC, about speaking out and staying safe. We learnt about children's rights and discussed what we feel is most important to us. We all have the right to speak out and stay safe!
Reception Hand Hygiene
Reception have been learning about hand hygiene this morning and how we can protect ourselves from germs and bugs. The children experimented with a special cream which they rubbed into their hands and it acted as the ‘germs’. They then looked at their hands under a UV light to see where all the germs were. Then they washed their hands carefully, making sure they cleaned in between their fingers, the backs of their hands and their fingernails where most germs stay. They checked their hands again with the UV light after washing them and could see the places where they had not washed properly.
Year 1- Hand hygiene
Year 1 have been learning the importance of hand hygiene this morning. We did a couple of experiments to show how important it is to wash our hands. Kasim showed our hands under the special lamp and then showed them again after washing our hands with soap and water. Year one were amazed at the results!
Year 4 - Hand Hygiene Workshop
A huge thank you to LCC for delivering a hand hygiene session to Year 4 today. The children were shocked to discover that their hand washing may not always be sufficient in removing germs, especially those who put their hands under the black light. We will definitely be spending more time washing our hands going forward.
Year 1- what’s special to us?
On Monday year 1 brought in pictures or objects that are special and unique to them, this linked in nicely with Hello yellow day as they also spoke about their feelings and how their special person or object made feel.
Year 3- Mental Health Awareness
Today we continued our discussion around World Mental Health Day. We talked about who we can go to if we feel upset, angry or scared. The children said they would go to their parents, grandparents, siblings or their teachers for help. We also discussed about how we could raise awareness around mental health and what we could do for those who are going through this. The children then had a go at drawing a feelings monster and writing a description.
Year 1- Hello Yellow.
What a super busy day we’ve had in year 1. We loved dressing up in yellow and talking about our feelings. We had a special worship for hello yellow day ran by the minions which was amazing ,they told us it’s ok to not feel ok and to speak up if we ever feel like this.
Year 6 Hello Yellow Day 2022
Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed ‘Hello Yellow Day’. In their PSHE lesson, they specifically looked at the emotional needs we have as humans and how they can ensure they are being met.
Year 3- Hello Yellow Day
Year 3 have had an amazing Hello Yellow Day! We discussed how important mental health is to everyone. We went around the classroom and each child said something kind to the person sat next to them. This gave each child a boost of confidence and positivity.