“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)

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As part of our Cofton ethos to be ‘happy and successful’, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers), and recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing 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 wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement. All children go through ups and downs during their time at school and some face significant life events.

 

Our aim is to help develop the protective factors which build resilience to problems with mental health, and to be a school where:

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· All children are valued.

· Children have a sense of belonging and feel safe.

· Children feel able to talk openly with trusted adults about their problems without feeling any stigma.

· Positive mental health is promoted and valued.

· Bullying is not tolerated.

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Mental health is not just the absence of mental health problems. We want all children to:

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· 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:

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· Having a caring and nurturing school ethos

· Weekly SCARF PSHE lessons and also Social, Emotional and Mental Health assemblies

  (class and whole school). PSHE is at the centre of our curriculum. 

· Weekly 'My Happy Mind' lessons

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

· Working towards becoming a silver Rights Respecting School (we have achieved bronze)

· 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

 

In addition to children’s wellbeing, we recognise the importance of staff mental health and well-being. Our Staff Well-Being Team are working together to ensure positive mental health is actively promoted.

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For parents/carers, there are a wide range of resources and support available on the following website:

 

https://the-waitingroom.org/

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NHS Support

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https://www.birminghamandsolihullccg.nhs.uk/your-health/mental-health-support-offer

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