Mental Health and Well-being

Mental Well-being has been firmly placed on the national agenda with an increasing number of children experiencing behaviours that indicate anxiety or stress. These behaviours include attachment issues, attention seeking behaviours, reluctance to come into school, negative thinking traps, friendship problems, anger, lack of focus, and negative or destructive behaviours to name but a few.

We know children learn best when they feel safe, secure and emotionally stable. We also know that providing a mentally healthy, nurturing culture for our children, parent and staff community contributes to good mental health which then improves a child’s prospects of leading a full and active life.

What Is Mental Health?

We all have a degree of mental health just as we have a degree of physical health. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. It is quite natural for children to worry and to be anxious at various stages of school and home life.

However, there comes a point where anxieties and worries can consume a person’s life to a point it affects their emotional, psychological, social well-being and ability to think, act and function.

Risk factors

We are all exposed to risks that can contribute to increased worries, anxieties and ill health.

These risks can be linked to differences in a person's temperament (for example, being more emotionally placid or more volatile) as well as exposure to harmful experiences, environments or events including trauma, family disharmony, loss, separation, parental divorce, domestic violence, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, friendship/school issues, poor self-image/esteem, discrimination, poverty, neglect, homelessness etc. 

Not all children exposed to risks develop mental health difficulties. This is because each of us has different levels of resilience. Resilience is the ability to cope with setbacks and thrive despite the challenges of life. Some children are more resilient. The good news is that resilience can be developed and nurtured with the right support, encouragement and environment. We call resilience a ‘protective factor’.

The ability to stay calm and put things into perspective can be particularly 'protective’ as can the ability to view mistakes as positive opportunities for growth rather than something to dwell on and worry about.

Children learn empowering attitudes and resilience through their interaction with adults around them through their language they use and their own behaviours. These key adults include parents, carers, family members, teachers and friends and all have a role to play in developing a child’s capacity to display resilience and cope with change and setbacks.

We also know that certain harmful experiences in childhood can be detrimental to children’s development. Sometimes these events can go unnoticed and what may seem trivial can result in hidden trauma that later leads to physical and mental health problems, school disengagement and risk-taking behaviours.

These adverse childhood experiences include:

• neglect and abuse – including sexual abuse
• violence between parents/carers
• parental separation
• poor parental/carer mental health
• substance/alcohol misuse 

For this reason, the ability to cope and thrive is not just about children learning skills and empowering attitudes, but also about how adults in children’s lives, in their schools and communities take action to offset the family and environmental factors and barriers that can undermine children’s ability to thrive.

How do we promote good mental health and well-being?

There are a number of ways we promote good mental health and well-being. These include:

Physical health

• Promoting an active life and opportunities for physical exercise, play and outdoor activities as good physical health is a precursor to good mental health.
• Encouraging healthy eating, a balanced diet and the importance of staying hydrated.

Environment and culture

• Creating a positive, safe, healthy and nurturing culture and environment that reduces unnecessary stress and anxiety.
• Focusing on the positives, praising and celebrating achievements in order to build confidence and self-esteem.
• Creating opportunities, time and places within a busy day for spiritual and emotional development in terms of mindfulness, appreciating the intangible, the value of silence, stillness and reflection

Curriculum

• Teaching and reinforcing positive behaviours, decision making and protective factors such as social and emotional competency, growth mind-set and resilience.
• Encouraging and modelling the importance of community spirit, appreciation and helping/supporting others in need.
• Encouraging and teaching about good physical health including healthy eating, exercise and the importance of drinking water and sleep.

Provision

• Ensuring staff are aware of their responsibilities for providing each child pastoral support and informing all staff of the importance of mental health, signs and symptoms and what help is available.
• Developing a shared responsibility or identifying and responding to early warning signs of stress, anxiety and mental health concerns.
• Providing timely in house pastoral support for those in need.
• Signposting parent/carers to the right external routes for support including counselling services such as the Emotional Well-being and Mental Health Service formerly CAMHS or other agencies.
• Raising awareness that staff and parent/carers may have mental health issues, and the routes of support available to them.

Signs and symptoms

Mental health issues are not always obvious and can quickly become progressively worse and more apparent if left unchecked. Early identification and intervention is important to avoid matters escalating. To do this, we need to know when a person is in need as they are not always aware themselves. Concerns may be raised by people who know them well, for example a parent or a member of staff who notices something is not quite right.

We recognise the family plays a key role in influencing children and young people’s emotional health and well-being; and will work in partnership with parents and carers to promote emotional health and well-being.

Signs and symptoms to look out for include:

• Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
• Sleep problems
• Bed wetting
• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Intense worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities

• Sudden overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes with a racing heart or fast breathing.
• Yelling or fighting with family and friends.
• Mood swings that cause problems in relationships
• Persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head

• Pulling away from people and usual activities
• Low or no energy
• Feeling numb or like nothing matters
• Unexplained aches and pains
• Feeling helpless or hopeless
• Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
• Thinking of harming yourself or others
• Inability to perform daily tasks.

• Self-harm or making plans to do so
• Involvement in many fights or desire to badly hurt others
• Severe out-of-control behaviour that can hurt oneself or others
• Extreme difficulty concentrating or staying still that puts a child in physical danger or causes problems in the classroom

Provision

We use a graduated approach based on an assessment of need. In this first instance, we offer a curriculum that teaches all children strategies for good mental health through self-help and awareness.  

Our curriculum includes opportunities to work on developing positive attitudes, resilience, appreciation, gratitude, reflection, self-help, the ability to put things into perspective and a growth mind-set.

Further, carefully planned activities help children to value stillness and silence, the intangible, music, the arts, appreciation, gratitude, a sense awe and wonder and dealing with negative thinking traps. 

Some children may need a little more help and for this group of children we offer school pastoral support. If the need is beyond the school’s expertise, we may advise parents to turn to external providers. If the child is in immediate danger, we follow our Child Protection procedures.

Self-help and the curriculum

Good mental health should not be solely the responsibility of others or circumstances we find ourselves in. Both parents and the school play an important role in teaching and modelling the following strategies and behaviours that can improve mental health and well-being :

1. Tell yourself something positive every day.

2. Try to live in the moment more rather than what might happen or has happened.

3. Regular exercise and fresh air (every day).

4. Make sure you have a good balanced diet and drink sufficient fresh water each day.

5. Get into the habit of talking and opening up to others.

6. Do something for someone else each day (an act of kindness).

7. Take a break including hobbies.  

Pastoral Support

In the first instance, pastoral support is offered by the class teacher. Pastoral support provides a listening ear as well as providing information, advice and guidance to children.

This can help identify what might be the root of a person’s difficulties and prove a forum for solutions. It may also identify a learning need that the class teacher can plan for.

For example, if a child is having difficulty in putting events into perspective, a plan may be put into place to help the child do this. Scaling is a strategy that we use to teach children about perspectives. Zones of Regulation is another strategy we use to teach children to grade their emotions which then offers them a menu of options or strategies to get themselves out of this negative thinking trap.

Unfortunately, we do not have the funds or access to a school-based children’s counsellor but we do have a dedicated person in the school who can assist with and offer more timetabled pastoral support.

Alternatively, pastoral support is offered by another adult in the school. It could be a Learning Support Assistant or Class teacher.

A Focused Plan

If the concern requires more than a listening ear, guidance and support, a plan may be put in place. For example, teaching the child strategies for coping with difficult situations, friendships, bullying, coping with tests etc.

Alternatively, reasonable adjustments may need to be made to reduce the stressors or causes of anxiety. Children diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder for example often require a different approach to lessen the impact of stressors on their anxiety and well-being. Sometimes these adjustments are temporary measures.

Each case is dealt with on a case-by-case basis and the type of support may vary.

Specialist help

Where the needs of the child are such that more specialist help is required, we discuss this with parents and the routes available to seek outside the school setting.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs’ (SEMH) is an overarching term for children and young people who show difficulties in one or more of the following:

• managing their emotions
• social interaction
• mental health

These difficulties may be displayed through them becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as through challenging behaviour.

For some children difficulties in their emotional and social development can mean that they need additional and different provision in their school in order to achieve. It is important that they are able to form and maintain healthy relationships and fully engage in the learning opportunities provided.

In some circumstances, a referral to the GP or Emotional Well-being and mental health service may be appropriate.

www.nelft.nhs.uk/services-ewmhs

In the first instance, EWMHS will look to promote the use of early intervention services, which may include psycho-education, talking therapies, mentoring or support as recommended within the National Institute of Clinical Excellence Guidelines. There are other resources available that can provide a range of supportive interventions. This support includes digital and online resources for example websites and Apps.  These are freely available and may be accessed via the NELFT EWMHS web resource at:

https://mindfresh.nelft.nhs.uk/ 

NHS App library

https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/

We have a list of other website links below which families can access for advice and support.

Where concerns are such that we feel the child is at risk of immediate harm, our Child Protection procedures are followed.

If a parent is concerned about a child’s wellbeing, they should feel at ease to discuss this with an adult at the school. This could be the class teacher in the first, the pastoral leader/Family Support Worker or the head teacher.

If a child has received a diagnosis of a mental health issue, or is receiving support either through Emotional Well-being Health Service or another organisation, we will consider drawing up an Individual Care Plan. This plan should involve the pupil, parents, and relevant professionals.

Above all, promoting good mental health and well-being in schools relies on every member of staff playing their part. Every interaction between a child and a staff member is significant and can shape a child’s thinking or hold a part of the jigsaw that could support a struggling child to move forward.