Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Pupil Mental Health And Wellbeing Policy

Our Inclusion Leader and Senior Mental Health Lead: Jenna Withers

Our named Governor for Mental Health: Jan Havemann Bowser

Our Adult Mental Health First Aider: Mrs Sarah Hibbert

Contact us: For any support with Mental Health and Well-being please email jenna.withers@st-norberts.lincs.sch.uk

At St. Norbert’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, one of our core aims is to promote positive Mental Health and Well-Being for our whole school community (children, staff, parents, governors and wider community). We recognise how important mental health and emotional well-being is to our lives in just the same way as physical health and we ensure this is a high priority building this into all areas of the curriculum.

We recognise that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall well-being and can affect their learning and achievement. All children go through ups and downs during their school career and some face significant life events.

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 and offering positive role models and relationships, are critical in promoting children’s well-being and can help engender a sense of belonging and community.

Our role in school is to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role to ensure 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 and support. The Five Ways to well-being underpin much of this work we do.

We use the World Health Organisation’s definition of mental health and well-being:

“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”.

Mental health and well-being is not just the absence of mental health problems. We want all children/young people 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 with resilience.
  • learn and achieve.

Other sources of relevant support include:

( Parents Information Tab-Mental Health and Well-Being)

  • Our Academy X feed: @St_Norberts
  • Emotional Well-Being and Mental Health Lincolnshire NHS

Mental Health & Wellbeing Support – Lincolnshire ICB

Support Guides for Parents

Well Being Parent Pocket Guide

The NSPCC has created a number of resources to support parents and carers with wellbeing Topics include:

  • Talking to a child  who is worried 
  • How to cope with tantrums and other difficult behaviour
  • Depression, anxiety and mental health

Andrew Hall, Safeguarding consultant, has recommended the following resources:

Beating Your Worries is a useful booklet to use to support your child if they are struggling with anxiety while in lockdown. It is produced by Sophie Wragg and is aimed at children aged 9 +.

Beating Your Worries

Parent Courses – Resolving Conflict

Arguing Better Course

Co Parenting Course

Debt Management Course

New And Expectant Parents Course