Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
Everything we do at Fourfields Primary School is based on ensuring the emotional health of every child.
Giving our children the self-assurance and resilience to face challenges will help them lead successful and satisfying lives. The PSHE curriculum, nurture groups, and extracurricular programmes like Forest Schools, Music Therapy, and Dog Therapy are some of the methods used to achieve this.
A lot of people struggle with their social, emotional, and mental health at some point in their lives. These may be the outcome of a more persistent problem or a significant event, such as illness or changes in the family. There are several ways for children to communicate their emotions in the classroom, such as:
- A change in attitude
- Becoming withdrawn
- Becoming agitated
- Friendship problems
With the help of the other staff members at the school and the class teachers, many issues can be resolved.
Teachers, support staff, play leaders and midday supervisors are all diligent in identifying and attending to the needs of the children. When a child confides in a reliable adult, the majority of problems may be resolved, hence it is crucial that parents contact the school if there is a problem. As soon as an issue emerges, parents should encourage their child to talk to someone at school.
If more assistance is required, children can access support from Mrs. Wogan, our Mental Health lead.
Mindfulness for parents and children
Your mental health can be enhanced by paying more attention to the here and now, including your own thoughts and feelings as well as the environment. This awareness is sometimes referred to as "mindfulness". We may appreciate life more and learn more about ourselves by practising mindfulness. It is possible for you to build it in your own life.
Mindfulness exercises are beneficial for children of all ages. Positive thoughts and less anxiety are two benefits of mindfulness. You can teach your child skills to support good mental health for the rest of their lives by practising mindfulness with them. Children can benefit from mindfulness by learning to quiet down and unwind before bed, which will make bedtime easier.
Numerous apps exist that might assist you and your child in developing mindfulness. The following are the top four ideas:
- Timer for insight - There are meditations for both parents and children on this free app. As examples, they concentrate on unwinding, stress management, concentration, and sleep.
- Calm - For children of all ages, this app offers bedtime stories and mindfulness activities. Many use the app to encourage their children to unwind and recharge after a long day of learning.
- Headspace for Children - With this software, parents and children of various ages can learn how to meditate together. Calm, kindness, and bedtime are their main priorities.
- YouTube also has kid-friendly yoga and mindfulness exercises.
Anxiety
Some children experience anxiety which can take the form of tummy ache, tears, worrying etc... One way of supporting your child is to start and end your day with a 5 minute meditation, this will promote calmness. We use this meditation in The Nest to help us be in the green zone. Please click HERE if you wish to try this at home.
tips for supporting a child who is anxious.pdf
How do we keep our minds healthy?
Click HERE to watch a wonderful video made by Mrs Wogan.
This article on children's love language will enable you to support your child's mental health and wellbeing as well as your own. We do hope you find it informative.
Sleep Support
https://cerebra.org.uk/download/sleep-tips-vc/
https://www.scope.org.uk/family-services/sleep-right/
https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/keeping-sleep-diary/
School Activities
Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed a mental health afternoon based in the outdoors where we embarked on a mental health check-in! With our orienteering course as a guide, we paired up to delve into thought-provoking questions like “How can showing kindness impact a person’s mental health?” We recorded our findings.
Under the blazing sun, surrounded by nature and with the music blaring, our spirits soared as we held our very own outdoor dance party! There couldn’t have been a better way to connect, learn and celebrate together.
Mental Health Check in
Mental Health Nook
It is always thrilling when a child benefits from the spaces we create in school to support with mental health and reading. This photograph has been sent in by a parent whose child so appreciated the area in school they wanted to create it at home!
Wellbeing Club
Mrs Wogan has launched the Wellbeing Lunchtime Club for pupils for all ages.
/i/video/WelbeingClubVideo.mov
We enjoyed our second Mindfulness club at lunchtime where we enjoyed a mindful session based on yoga, you can join in by following this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JD2b1g7nro
At our 3rd Mindfulness club today we learnt a relaxation technique to calm our breathing. You can use this link:
Mindfulness Exercises for Children
Emotionally based school refusal
Please click HERE for a useful resource on Emotionally based school refusal.
Transition to secondary school
Please click HERE for a useful resource on the transition for your child to secondary school.
Adult Mental Health
Local services providing support for adults' mental health:
Illuminate - A professional, not-for-profit organisation specialising in mental health and wellbeing coaching and training to help people make positive changes.
Andy’s Man Club - A men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups across the United Kingdom and online.
Make, Do and Mend - An organisation run by and for its members and our aim is to provide a safe space for people who experience mental health distress to meet, socialise and learn new skills.
MIND CPSL - From crisis support to informal opportunities to connect with others, each year MIND CPSL support thousands of local people with their mental health.
RCE Wellbeing Hub - offers short bitesize courses, online and face to face, on a variety of topics aimed at helping us look after our own wellbeing and those around us.
Men’s Shed - kitted out community spaces where men can enjoy practical hobbies. They’re about making friends, learning and sharing skills. Many guys come just for the tea and banter – everyone’s welcome.
