Wellbeing & Mental Health Support

Here at Millfield Primary School we take a Whole School Approach to the Mental Health and Wellbeing of our staff, children and parents/carers. 

We are dedicated to becoming an attachment aware and trauma informed school. Embedding this within our culture is our aim, so that our school is a secure and safe base for our children and our staff. To support this in school we have whole school training around being trauma informed. We also have ‘Recovery Discussions’ to support staff with meeting the needs of the children with a therapeutic approach at the heart of our practice.

We are committed to achieving excellence in all aspects of school life. We have the highest expectations for teaching, learning and achievement across the school.  Our aim is to make learning enjoyable, allowing every individual to achieve their best and to nurture their talents, as well as giving them safety, security and the skills they will need to be active, responsible citizens and happy, caring adults in the future.

We recognise that to achieve this and for children to succeed, children need to be physically fit, resilient and mentally healthy; that is to say, they have good emotional well being and as such we are committed to:

• Ensuring children have the knowledge and skills to develop good physical health and healthy minds.

• Developing in children a range of skills and strategies that will stay with them into adulthood and will help them to cope with the worry and stress of life’s ups and  downs.

Children who are mentally healthy have the ability to:

• develop psychologically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually

• initiate, develop and sustain mutually satisfying personal relationships

• use and enjoy solitude

• become aware of others and empathise with them

• play and learn

• develop a sense of right and wrong

• resolve problems and setbacks and learn from them

This ethos is embedded in all aspects of our curriculum and school life. 

Our Family Support and Mental Health Lead, Mrs Sampson is working towards becoming an accredited Play Therapist and is an Advanced Drawing and Talking Practitioner. She also runs and facilitates the Circle of Security Parenting Programme, which is a course designed around Attachment Theory to support parents/carers understanding their child/ren’s emotional needs. 

What is Wellbeing?

Wellbeing is all about our holistic health, including the physical and emotional. When we have good levels of wellbeing we feel that life is in balance and that we can generally cope well. We feel motivated and engaged, we’re resilient and able to deal effectively with daily troubles, as well as ’bounce back’ from life’s challenges. Good wellbeing is essential for cultivating a mentally healthy school, for retaining and motivating staff and for promoting children's wellbeing and attainment.

As school, staff and children juggle a multitude of different tasks and demands, it is important that everyone is given the right emotional and practical support so that they can, in turn, support others within our environment and community. In addition to having a positive impact on colleagues and children, good levels of wellbeing can improve performance and help to reduce absence, increase productivity and promote engagement. We aim to drive this message forward, and to ensure that mental health and wellbeing is “everyone’s business” across the whole school community, creating an environment where everyone feels supported, heard, secure, accepted, valued and empowered. 

Supporting Wellbeing

As a school our caring ethos and environment has a major impact on the wellbeing of our staff and children. We clearly define our culture and vision, making it clear what behaviours, values and beliefs underpin it. We recognise that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement. All children go through ups and downs during their school career and some face significant life events.

We prioritise building a culture of trust where school staff and children feel valued, can be open about their health and wellbeing and know how to access support if they need it. 

Millfield Young Carers

Millfield is committed to meeting the needs of young carers so they can attend and enjoy school in the same way as other pupils, have fun and take part in additional activities together, support their well-being and achieve their full potential.

Young carers are children and young people who often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. (Carers Trust, 2012)

The school has designated Young Carers Leads, who have responsibility for young carers and their families.  They are Mrs Lee (Headteacher) and Mrs Sampson (Family Support and Mental Health Lead). 

The school will look to use Pupil Premium funding to minimise any barriers to education and learning experienced by eligible young carers.  We actively seek feedback and ideas from young carers and their families to shape and improve our support.  We will only share information about young carers with professionals and agencies on a need to know basis in order to support children and their families.

If you believe your child to have a Young Carer role in your home, please contact the school either by email or phone and ask to speak to Mrs Sampson.

Centre 33, Centre 33,  is our local service, which offers young carer's support and advice.  

Useful Links and Resources:

Talking about Mental Health with Children Video

Mental Health Support Team - supporting parents with their child’s mental health needs around fears and worries or behaviour difficulties. (attach posters)

YouNited 

YOUnited is available to those up to the age of 25 and offers a range of support including therapies, counselling and guided self-help.

Referrals can be made to YOUnited by a GP or any professional working with children or young people, but accepts professional referrals only.

YoungMinds

Young minds provide young people with tools to look after their mental health. The website is full of advice and information on what to do if you're struggling with how you feel. They empower parents and adults who work with young people, to be the best support they can be to the young people in their lives. 

Anne Freud National Centre for Children and Families

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families has a dedicated website which covers many areas of mental health. They have designated areas for children, parents/carers, Early Years and schools. Click on the Anna Freud logo to access the website. 

Childline 

You can contact Childline about anything. Whatever your worry, it's better out than in and they are here to support you.

There are lots of different ways to speak to a Childline counsellor or get support from other young people - you can call, chat online or email.

NSPCC

The NSPCC has a website section dedicated to children's mental health - click on the icon to see this.  They can be contacted via the Helpline on help@nspcc.org.uk or 0808 800 5000. 

Embrace

Embrace provide face-to-face emotional support and counselling in schools to children who’ve witnessed or been victims of crime.

They also provide telephone and online emotional support to help young people understand their feelings, rebuild their self confidence and self esteem. They can also offer practical support to help families, by providing every day essentials.