Mental Health & Well-being

Here at St Columba's, we aim to promote positive mental health and well-being for our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers), and recognise how important mental health and emotional well-being are to our lives, in just the same way as physical health. We recognise that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall well-being and can affect their learning and achievement. 

“Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” (World Health Organisation 2014)

Mrs Yarnold (Sendco) is our named lead in school for mental health.

We want all our children to:

- Feel confident in themselves

- Be able to express a range of emotions appropriately

- Be able to make and maintain positive relationships with others

- Cope with the stresses of everyday life.

- Manage times of stress and be able to deal with change.

- Learn and achieve

Some of the ways in which we promote this are:

- 10% of our curriculum is RE lessons where we learn about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. 

- Weekly collective worship (both in class and whole school)

- Weekly Jigsaw PSHE lessons

- Capturing the children’s views through using 'Three Houses' (house of worries, house of good things, house of dreams) 

-Social and emotional interventions for children with additional needs 

-Working in partnership with parents and carers where there are concerns about mental health

-Working with external agencies to provide additional support to those who need it

-Mrs Yarnold is our designated Mental Health First Aider

-V.I.P system 

- Parent workshops 

Mental Health Awareness Week 10th - 16th May 2021

Birmingham Educational Psychology Service

Do you as a parent or carer at home with your children during the school shut down, feel that you need someone to talk to about how you can cope with this challenging time for families?

Birmingham Educational Psychology Service is providing a telephone helpline for any parent or carers of children, who feel they would benefit from a consultation with a psychologist to support them with any concerns arising at this time, for them or their families.

Areas of concern you may wish to discuss could include:

· Anxiety around the current situation and its impact on your children and family.

· Supporting you to support your children’s emotional needs.

· Concerns about family relationships.

· Concerns about friendships, learning, daily structure and activities.

· How to best look after yourself so you can support your children.

The concerns can be related to school or family life.

You will be offered an initial telephone consultation of 30 minutes with a psychologist and a potential follow up session of another 30-minute consultation at a later date. These will be Monday-Friday, within standard working hours.

If you would like to access this service please email: Stephanie.Bowen@birmingham.gov.uk with the following information:

· Your name

· The telephone number you would like to be contacted on.

· The name of your child’s school.

· Times and dates you are not available for a consultation.

· Whether an interpreter is required for you to access this service.

We will aim to get back to you within 2 working days to confirm a time and date for your consultation.

This service will, as far as possible, be confidential.

Mental Health and Well-Being

The 5 Ways to Well-being are a set of really simple actions we can all take, which have been shown to improve people’s well-being.

• Connect
• Get Active
• Be Mindful
• Keep Learning
• Give to others

Connect

Connecting with each other is a simple step in improving mental health and Well-being.  Taking time out of a busy schedule to sit and talk with each other has a positive impact on how we are feeling and allows us to reconnect and express our thoughts and feelings with each other.

Ways in which this simple step could be carried out are:

• No TV/screen time for half an hour to allow talk time
• Sitting together at a table to eat dinner and talk about daily events
• Visiting family or friends
• Attending playgroups or baby classes with younger children to connect with other Mum's/Dad's or carers.

Get Active 

We all know exercise is good for your body, but it can be good for your mind too.

What’s more, there are so many activities out there to choose from, there is bound to be one that you enjoy! Exercise can be a way to deal with negative thoughts and feelings. The feeling of setting a goal and achieving it – even if it’s just a jog around the block – can really improve your self-esteem, too.

Be Mindful

Noticing what is going on in our bodies and minds is an important skill for staying mentally healthy. Take time to check in with your thoughts and feelings. By paying attention to the present moment, we might enjoy things more, and even notice things we would have missed.

Keep Learning

Lifelong learning keeps our brains healthy, and the sense of achievement we get from learning something new can be great for our mood. Try something new or rediscover an old interest.

• Read a new book
• Start learning a new skill such as knitting or painting
• Take a dance class

Give to Others

Evidence shows that helping others is actually beneficial for your own mental health and well-being, too. It can help reduce stress, improve your emotional well-being and even benefit your physical health. Give to friends, classmates and your community, and help yourself at the same time!