Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health and Wellbeing at Goonhavern Primary School
At Goonhavern Primary School we respect and value everyone in the school community, and we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment, with the aim of promoting good mental health for all pupils, parents and staff. We promote a whole school approach to mental health.
Every teacher promotes positive mental health in their class which is then supported in whole school activities such as school assemblies. School staff encourage children to talk about their feelings, promote ways to maintain good mental health through ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ and teach mental health and wellbeing in PSHE. You can find more information about the PSHE curriculum in the Knowledge Organisers, in the Curriculum area of this website.
Five Ways to Wellbeing
Connect; Be Active; Keep Learning; Take Notice; Give
Goonhavern Primary School is a Trauma and Mental Health Informed school. We understand the impact traumatic or difficult life experiences can have on a child’s mental health. We understand that if traumatised children feel emotionally safe in school and develop trusting relationships with emotionally available adults, then this provides a vital protective factor and children can begin to heal.
Of course many children in our school receive the emotional support they need from their parents/carers and are able to cope well with difficult life experiences, but even these children may need a bit of emotional support in school when their parents/carers are not available, or sometimes it can be helpful for a child to talk to someone outside of the family.
Trauma Informed Schools
The school has undertaken whole school training, provided by Trauma Informed Schools UK so that every adult has the skills and understanding to respond appropriately to the relational needs our children may display. In addition to every adult being “Emotionally Available”, we have specially trained Trauma and Mental Health Informed Practitioners to support children who are identified as requiring additional support. This support may be offered in 1:1 sessions or in small groups. Currently, we are running Forest School sessions for small groups of children.
Support
We believe that our parents know their children best and we are committed to working in partnership to identify the best ways of providing support for your child within school. We aim to develop positive, non-judgemental working alliances with all our parents. Please contact us if you feel your child needs additional Mental Health support. You can speak to Jenny Matthews (Parent Support Adviser and Mental Health Lead) or your class teacher, or if your child has SEN you can also speak to Laurian van der Hoven (SENCO). We can organise a phone call or a face to face meeting.
If you are concerned about your child’s mental health, speak to your GP and they may be able to offer advice and/or refer your child to CAMHs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team). You can also contact the Early Help Hub: 01872 322277. They can suggest agencies that may be able to support your child with their mental health, such as the school nurse team. They may also be able to signpost you to further support.
If a child or adult is having a Mental Health crisis please contact Mental Health Crisis Cornwall on 0800 038 5300.
You may also find some helpful information on the following websites:
Young minds website:
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Advice and information around young people’s mental health
Beacon House website:
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Beacon House is a specialist, innovative, creative, therapeutic service for young people, families and adults. They produce some outstanding free resources available on their website. https://beaconhouse.org.uk/resources/
Samaritans:
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Samaritans offer a safe place for you to talk any time you like, in your own way – about whatever’s getting to you.
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https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/talk-us-phone
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Call: 116 123
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Email: jo@samaritans.org
MIND:
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Provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
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Info line provides an information and signposting service: 0300 123 3393