Wellbeing for All

At Hobbayne Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.  

At our school we:

• help children to understand their emotions and feelings better                             
• help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
• help children socially to form and maintain relationships
• promote self esteem and ensure children know that they count
• encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
• help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks 

We offer different levels of support:

Universal Support- To meet the needs of all our pupils  through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum. For instance developing resilience for all.

Additional support- For those who may have short term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences such as bereavement.  

Targeted support-  For pupils who need more differentiated support and resources or specific targeted interventions such as wellbeing groups or personal mentors.

Lead staff member:

Mrs Yudolph (SENDCO and Inclusion Lead) 

Children’s Mental Health Week 2022– Growing Together

We are proud to be supporting Children’s Mental Health Week 2022. From 7-11 February 2022, our school will be joining Schools Counselling Partnership in taking part in Children’s Mental Health Week, this year’s theme is 'Growing Together'.

You can ask children how they feel they've grown so far and how else they'd like to grow in the future. This is an opportunity for children to reflect on their growth and be proud of themselves for it. It's also great for us to praise children on how they've grown too!

Set some time aside for children to think about what skills they'd develop, what personal qualities they'd like to cultivate and what goals they'd like to achieve in the coming year. This will help them become even more inspired and motivated to grow!

We can also focus on ways that we can all grow together, through taking time to reflect on how we can all support others with their growth. Children can think of ideas and ways to encourage their friends and family to grow along with them, and how they can all support each other with their goals.

Some activity ideas for Growing Together:

• Children can draw a picture of how they've grown emotionally and personally over the last year.
• Encourage your child to write down their goals for the next year. They could write these on different coloured papers and put them in a jar that they can look at to keep motivated. Alternatively, children could write these on a colourful image like a shield with a different goal in a different quarter, which you can turn into a lovely classroom display or bedroom decoration.
• Have a discussion with your child about mental health and ideas for looking after our wellbeing.
• Get your child to write down ideas about how to support each other on pieces of paper and put these in a suggestion box, which you can read together weekly.

Please click here for further resouces to use with your child at home.

Useful links:

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

A public health England and NHS site to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others.

https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/

Quality-assured information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children’s mental health and wellbeing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/pshe-early-years-foundation-stage-ks1-feeling-better/zm2st39  
A selection of short videos exploring different emotions on the BBC website for Early Years and Key Stage 1

Some Information from our School Counselor Elita

This last year has been a particularly challenging time for everyone, turning all our lives upside down. The hope of returning to some degree of normality is on the horizon and I am positive that brighter days lie ahead.  This global pandemic has affected us all in some way or another, whether it is has been the loss of a loved one, a job, financial worries, home schooling, not seeing friends and family, not being in school. 

I hosted an interactive parent workshop on Tuesday, May 11th 2021.  The theme of the workshop focused on how parents and children are managing with COVID overwhelm!  This was an opportunity to explore what emotions and feelings are present for parents and children, reflecting on how this past year has impacted our lives. I looked at ways in which parents can support their child to learn to emotionally self-regulate. If you missed the workshop, please watch the video below for a recap of the strategies shared.