Mental Health and Wellbeing


Mental Health and Wellbeing

At Parkhill Junior School, we know our role is to support and educate our learners on how to manage challenges, feelings of being overwhelmed and anxiety-inducing situations by ensuring they know where to access help. We also aim to instil self-belief and resilience in our children through our dynamic and personalised curriculum.

Discussing mental health and wellbeing is intertwined with our PSHE and RSHE curriculums as well as being openly discussed through all pastoral activities and everyday school life. Open conversation erases ambiguity, stigma and shame. We therefore aim for this to encourage our pupils to become young adults who understand their emotions and have the self-awareness to seek help if and when they need to. We also teach pupils about what they can do to maintain positive mental health and learn what helps them as an individual.

Mental health and wellbeing are at the very core of our curriculum and ethos and the learner is at the heart of everything we do.

The aims of our school are:

  • To celebrate our achievements and then set new goals.
  • To empower everyone to develop self-belief, self-respect and self-discipline to live a happy, healthy life.
  • To feed a love of learning through a creative, dynamic, fun and challenging.
  • To provide first class teaching and learning experiences which ensure progress for everyone.
  • To be at the heart of the local community, curriculum suited to the twenty-first century. Preparing everyone to become responsible and pro-active national and global citizens.

In order to develop an understanding of what positive mental health is and promote wellbeing, we would like for all pupils to:

– Understand that change and transition can be challenging and that this can be eased by learning to anticipate and develop strategies to cope with this.

– Develop an inquisitive mind with the desire to learn and achieve.

– Realise their potential and have the self-confidence to pursue their ambitions,

– Understand that life can be challenging at times and develop strategies to help them cope,

– To develop respectful and healthy relationships with others which bring a feeling of safety and wellbeing,

– Understand that experiencing a range of emotions is normal and they can learn to communicate these appropriately.

Strategies to promote wellbeing and mental health in school and at home

 

‘The price of greatness is responsibility.’ Winston Churchill

Allowing children opportunity to help others, both at home and in school, can give them a sense of worth and achievement.

Giving them the responsibility of a job around the house, such as watering the plants or preparing the vegetables for dinner, can give your child the opportunity to feel special as they have accomplished something.

Your thoughts become your words, so encourage your child to think positively about themselves by role modelling positive language. You can do this by speaking positively about yourself, your children and other people.

Instead of…

Try saying…

‘I can’t do it.’

‘I can’t do it yet, but I’ll keep trying.’

‘This is too hard.’

‘With more practice, it’ll get easier.’

‘They’re better at it than I am.’

‘What can I learn from them?’

‘I give up.’

‘I’ll try another way.’

‘I’m so stupid.’

‘I’m only human.’

Acknowledgement and recognition are vital to everybody. It is known to increase motivation and boost confidence. If you’re in a job where you don’t feel acknowledged or appreciated, it can seriously affect your mood and mental wellbeing: the same applies to children.

What a child hears from their parents becomes their inner monologue when they are an adult. If a child is hearing specific and genuine praise and acknowledgement, they know what they say and do has value which, in turn, gives them self-belief and the confidence to try new things.

Celebrating your child’s achievements can help to develop their confidence and motivation for learning. It can also help them to reflect on their own learning and plan appropriate next steps.
Some ways to do this at home may be:
– Praising them,
– Displaying their work in the house
– Create a rewards system (stickers or reward charts)
– Spending quality time with them to celebrate their achievement (family trip to the park, picking the film for family movie night)

This may look like:
– Setting realistic expectations- what are they actually capable of achieving? A child may feel that they are disappointing or letting their parent down by not meeting unrealistic goals expected of them.
– Setting manageable goals. Try to personalise and create goals that are individual to your child.
– Work together with your child to find out what you both want for them. Listen to each other and ensure the other person feels heard and that their opinion is important.

‘Don’t compare yourself to others. There is no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it’s their time.’

‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ Albert Einstein.

Everyone has different strengths, talents and learning styles. Comparing one child to another, one sibling to another, will only lead to one party feeling inferior and not good enough. This attitude about themselves will be taken with them into adulthood. Take notice of the different strengths and qualities your child has and celebrate those whilst aiming to create an environment where individuality is explicitly valued.

‘It’s important to get help early is you think your child may be suffering from anxiety or depression. The longer it goes on, the more likely it is to disrupt your child’s life and turn into a long-term problem.’ NHS 2020

Some early indicators can be:

  • Lack of concentration,
  • Change in appetite, weight or sleep,
  • Lack of confidence,
  • Interacting less with friends and family,
  • Loss of interest in things that used to excite them,
  • Worrying or feeling anxious about things that haven’t happened/are unlikely to happen.
  • Difficulty expressing their emotions.

Speaking to your child’s class teacher is a good place to start. Talk to a doctor, child counsellor or school professionals for further support.

On an aeroplane, they advise that you put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. You need to take care of yourself first before you can take care of anyone else. The same applies in everyday life. If you feel that you are struggling with your mental health, it is important that you reach out for help otherwise it can affect your ability to look after your family. Speak to a friend, doctor, counsellor or the school for more support.

Media

Below are some podcasts for parents to listen to about mental health in children. They can be accessed on this webpage or on SoundCloud.

Increase responsibility at home

‘The price of greatness is responsibility.’ Winston Churchill

Allowing children opportunity to help others, both at home and in school, can give them a sense of worth and achievement.

 

Giving them the responsibility of a job around the house, such as watering the plants or preparing the vegetables for dinner, can give your child the opportunity to feel special as they have accomplished something.

Reframe negative thoughts

Your thoughts become your words, so encourage your child to think positively about themselves by role modelling positive language. You can do this by speaking positively about yourself, your children and other people.

 

Instead of…

Try saying…

‘I can’t do it.’

‘I can’t do it yet, but I’ll keep trying.’

‘This is too hard.’

‘With more practice, it’ll get easier.’

‘They’re better at it than I am.’

‘What can I learn from them?’

‘I give up.’

‘I’ll try another way.’

‘I’m so stupid.’

‘I’m only human.’