Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health
‘At Birkenshaw Primary School we care about everyone’s Emotional wellbeing’
Your child’s emotional wellbeing and mental health is very important to everyone at Birkenshaw Primary School. Good mental health is a vital part of your child achieving their full potential in all aspects of their life and we would like to support you with this. We have embarked on an amazing journey which celebrates the existing work we do and will continue to develop to support mental health and emotional wellbeing across all areas of our school. All pupils, parents and school staff are part of this journey and contribute towards a healthy understanding of the importance of emotional health. Thank you for you continued support in helping us raise happy, healthy, resilient young people!
Here are some of the things we offer in school;
• Emotional check in opportunities daily in every class
• Help children socially to form and maintain positive relationships
• Promote self-esteem and confidence through positive praise and reward systems
• Help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks.
• On site Learning mentor offering targeted interventions and signposting to access external support
• Transition (these can also be tailored for individual needs)
• Pupil voice via ‘The Care Crew’, Digital Leaders, School Council, Eco Council and Librarians
• Mindfulness times
• Circle time
• PSHE lessons
A-Z of Well-being
Our Care Crew have written an A-Z of Well-being to help everyone think about ways to promote positive mental health.
The PDF below gives more information on the services available for children and families.
Northorpe Hall Child & Family Trust are based in Mirfield and support children facing challenges to their emotional well-being and mental health. The charity supports children, young people and families who are registered with a Kirklees GP, in partnership with other services and organisations. They also offer workshops for children and their families around such subjects as Autism, anxiety and transition, visit their website for further information. Referral can be made by parents and carers or through school to access CHEWS (Children’s emotional wellbeing service for 5-17 yrs) or CAMHS (Child and adolescent Mental Health Services).
Click on or follow the link to read the most recent newsletter from Northorpe Hall -
https://www.thrivingkirklees.org.uk
Thriving Kirklees is a partnership of local health and wellbeing providers for Kirklees children and young people aged 0-19 years (up to 25 years for children with special needs). They are all working together to support children, young people and their families to thrive and be healthy. By visiting their website you can access a wide variety of information and support about School nurses, ChEWs (Children’s emotional and wellbeing services), CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and other valuable services available in our area for children and families including Cygnet a parenting support programme for parents and carers of children and young people aged 5-18 with an autistic spectrum condition.
Young Minds is a UK charity fighting for a future where all young minds are supported and empowered, whatever the challenges.
The website has lots of links and information on a wide number of subjects which could be effecting a young person’s mental health such as Bullying, Exam stress, Bereavement and anger. They also offer lots of help for parent’s and carers who are worried about a young person’s mental health.
ESCAYP are a local charity based in Gomersal. They offer supportive and empathetic counselling and therapeutic play for children & young people aged 3-21 years experiencing a variety of Social and Emotional issues. Parents and carers can self refer via their website or ring 01274 878117
http://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters
Every Mind Matters has been created by Public Health England, with tips and advice developed with experts and approved by the NHS. It gives you simple and practical advice to get a healthier mind and get more out of life – from how to deal with stress and anxiety, to boosting our mood or sleeping better. Log on to the website to take a short online quiz for personalised tips and advice.
Free, safe and anonymous online support for young people. Kooth is a digital mental health support service. It gives children and young people, aged 11 upto their 26th birthday, easy access to an online team of experienced counsellors. Access is free of the typical barriers to support: no waiting lists, no thresholds, no cost and complete anonymity. It is accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use
https://web.ntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp/
This link to NHS self help leaflets can be accessed for a wide variety of subjects from anger management, sleep problems, anxiety and bereavement. They are accessible on line in
audio, video or leaflet format with lots of information and links to other useful organisations linked to the topic.
Winston’s Wish was the UK’s first childhood bereavement charity. They have been supporting bereaved children since 1992 and continue to lead the way in providing specialist child bereavement
support services across the UK.Winston’s Wish supports bereaved children, young people, their
families, and the professionals who support them. You can access Support online or via the freephone number 08088 020021
In addition to the website links provided there are also some useful apps to help look after your emotional and mental wellbeing:
SAM (Self help for anxiety management) provides users with a symptom tracker, educational articles, external links, relaxation techniques and Coping skills
Calm - Access music to assist with focus, sleep and relaxation
Check in with how you are feeling and choose one of our missions to help create your very own force field of calm.
For children ages 5 – 10.
Headspace - Everyday Mindfulness and Meditation for stress, anxiety, sleep, focus, fitness and more. Find out what Mindfulness can do for you in just 3 minutes a day.
The Happy Child Parenting app grants access to Psychology, Neuroscience and paediatric
research and tips to help raise a happy, well adjusted child.
The link below is a free resource which has a whole host of support videos/information covering a wide range of topics from anxiety, transition, sleep, mealtimes, starting school, helping your child with reading.
parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk
Brighter Grays - Family Bereavement Support Group