Mental Health and Wellbeing at Birkby Junior School.
At Birkby Junior School, we are committed to supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers). We recognise that mental health and emotional wellbeing is just as important to our lives as physical health.
The Department of Education (DfE) recognises that: “in order to help their children succeed; schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy”. Schools can be a place for children and young people to experience a nurturing and supportive environment that has the potential to develop self-esteem and give positive experiences for overcoming adversity and building resilience. For some, school will be a place of respite from difficult home lives and offer positive role models and relationships, which are critical in promoting children’s wellbeing and can help create a sense of belonging and community.
School is part of the Trailblazer Mental Health Support Team Project and liases closely with Educational Psychology, CAMHS and CHEWs to provide support for children and families within our community.
We endeavour to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress. We aim to ensure that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role in ensuring that children learn about: what they can do to maintain positive mental health; what affects their mental health; how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and where they can go if they need help or support.
Provision within school
At Birkby Junior School, adults are trained to support all children’s mental health and wellbeing. The Additional Needs Team within school have further specialist and accredited training to support the needs of children within school. These include:
- Senior Mental Health Lead - Miss J Gallagher (SENCO)
- 3 qualified Mental Health First Aiders – Mrs E Mills (Inclusion Manager and Assistant Headteacher), Miss J Gallagher (SENCO) and Mrs F Ahmad (Learning Mentor)
- Emotional Literacy Support Assistants – Mrs F Ahmad and Mrs S Hussain (Learning Mentors)
- ROAR response training – Mrs E Mills, Mrs L Walker (SEN Officer) and Mrs R Mir (Learning Mentor)
- Named Emotional Wellbeing Leads – Mrs E Mills and Miss J Gallagher
- Bereavement Training – Miss J Gallagher
In addition to this, each year group has a named pastoral lead who are there to support each child’s emotional wellbeing within school.
- Year 3 – Mrs L Walker (SEN Officer)
- Year 4 – Mrs F Ahmad (Learning Mentor)
- Year 5 – Mrs S Hussain (Learning Mentor)
- Year 6 – Mrs R Mir (Learning Mentor)
Children are able to access a number of interventions to support their wellbeing which include; Golden time, Lego Therapy, Pets as Therapy, ELSA sessions, Craft Club, Mindfulness, Yoga and many more.
Links to External Agencies
At Birkby Junior School, we have a strong links with a number of Mental Health Support agencies including:
- CHEWS (Children’s Emotional Wellbeing Service)
- CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Support)
- EMHP (Educational Mental Health Practitioners)
- ESCAYP (Therapy services)
- Educational Psychology
School can make referrals to any of the above agencies with parental permission and support.
In addition to outside agencies, the following websites provide online resources to support children and their emotional wellbeing:
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