Mental Health

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 Organization)

At our school, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community through the PSHE curriculum, assemblies, school council and the school website. We understand how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is 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.   We pursue this aim using both universal, whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable students. 

In addition to promoting positive mental health, we aim to recognise and respond to mental health problems.  In an average classroom, three children will be suffering from a diagnosable mental health issue.  By developing and implementing practical, relevant and effective mental health policies and procedures we can promote a safe and stable environment for students affected both directly, and indirectly by mental health issues.

At Crosslee we use Zones of Regulation to support pupils to self regulate and to identify their feelings. The Zones improve their ability to recognise and be able to talk openly about how they are feeling, in a non-judgemental way. Pupils  can tap into strategies or tools to help them become a successful learner.  

Follow the links below to find out more information on mental health and parenting:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

https://www.childline.org.uk/

Supporting your child's mental health  An A-Z guide that gives you advice on how to help your child with their feelings and behaviour, as well as mental health conditions and life events. It also shows you where you can get help.

A parents guide to eating disorders and problems  A simple guide and information that helps parents dispel myths and support their child appropriately around the topic of eating disorders.

Coping with self harm: A guide for parents and carers  Developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, this guide includes information on the nature of self harm and how to support a young person for parents and carers.

Parents guide to looking after yourself  Parenting isn't always easy. Although it's often amazing and rewarding to watch your children grow up, and to help them learn to be independent, it can also be really hard work. Here are tips for looking after your child while also looking after your child.

Supporting your child with self-esteem  This resource for parents looks at the importance of self-esteem and provides some simple, easy to follow top tips to help build childre's self-esteem.

Place2be website has parenting advice from their child mental health experts with practical tips to support children's wellbeing and behaviour. Topics range from dealing with anxiety, supporting healthy gaming habits, bedtime routines, family mealtimes, preparing for high school to understanding cultural identity and many more! Click on the topics below to find out more.

Follow the link below to see the full range of topics:

Practical tips to support children’s wellbeing and behaviour

More help and support can be found on Supporting mental health of children Resource and service directory file attached below which has lots of helpful websites and organisatons that can also support families. 

if you are looking for advice on how to talk to your child about mental health check out the downloadable parent leaflet below for ideas on how to start a conversation with your child.

Our school mental health team is: Miss Waddell and Mrs Mack (Mental Health leads). Miss Crew (HT), Mrs Dawson (DH), Miss Hodson (AHT), Mrs Dickson (SENDCO), Mrs Addy-Boye (SEND TA) 

Files to Download