Mental Health & Wellbeing
Mental Health issues affect children and young people as well as adults, with 1 in 6 children and young people, aged 5-16, in the UK having been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
Since September 2014, Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) has also become a category of Special Educational Needs. Children with a SEMH need will receive support in school.
At Stonebroom, we endeavour to promote positive mental health. We offer a community of support, and will ensure that:
we help our children to build emotional resilience
we help our children to develop self-esteem
we help our children to develop confidence
we help our children to develop their social skills
we help our children to feel valued and a part of Stonebroom
We provide high levels of pastoral support at Stonebroom in the form of 1:1 interventions, nurture groups, a full-time Family Support Worker, positive play, PSHE Jigsaw scheme and access to many outside agencies, including counselling. We encourage children to talk about any issues that are worrying them, and train our staff to be mindful of children's emotional and mental well being. Any concerns are passed to our SENCo or Designated Safeguarding Officer (as appropriate) to ensure children are properly supported in school.
We work in close partnership with outside agencies, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), the Educational Psychology team and Behaviour Support to ensure the best outcomes for our children.
Children's Mental Health Parent Workshop
Sophie Tipple (CAMHS Specialist Community Adviser) came into school to deliver a workshop to parent based on children's mental health. She focused on anxiety, including how it manifests and strategies that both parents and professionals can apply when a child is anxious. Please see the PowerPoint below from the session, which contains lots of useful tips, resources and signposting services to support your child.