Higher Openshaw Community School

Mental Health & Well-being

Mental Health First Aiders

We now have three qualified Mental Health First Aiders in school who are part of a community of hundreds of thousands of people in England trained to support themselves and each other.

A Mental Health First Aider can:

understand the important factor affecting mental ill health
identify the signs and symptoms for a range of mental health conditions
use ALGEE to provide Mental Health First Aid to someone experiencing a mental health issue or crisis
listen non-judgmentally and hold supportive conversations using the Mental Health First Aid action plan
signpost people to professional help, recognising that the role does not replace the need for ongoing support
We also have a member of the Senior Leadership Team who has undertaken Senior Mental Health Lead Training with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families.

Vision

Higher Openshaw Community School seeks to ensure that every member of the community can believe and achieve. We are all aware that positive mental health is key to believing and achieving and we are committed to ensuring that an ethos of positive mental health is at the heart of all that we do.

Key Principles

In an ever changing world, positive mental health is key to everyone’s well being and quality of life. It allows us to respond effectively to the challenges that daily life bring. At Higher Openshaw Community School, we are passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people and we actively promote the values of resilience, be respectful, be ready, be safe which promotes kindness and compassion.

We foster a culture of teamwork: working with each other, with the wider school community and most importantly with the young people in our school. Our behaviour 4 learning strands brings an added sense of connectedness, belonging and community between children and also between staff and children.

We act with determination. Whatever issues our children, their families, the school, our team or the community face, we are committed to supporting everyone to making a real positive difference to their lives. We believe that a resolution to any issue begins with a conversation and so we encourage all of our stakeholders to talk openly about issues that they may be facing.

Aims and Objectives

To have a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing within a culture of high expectations and support.
To ensure that, through the promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing, our children are helped to understand and express their feelings, build their confidence and emotional resilience and therefore their capacity to learn.
To have a committed staff team that sets a whole school culture of positive mental health and wellbeing, support and values that everyone understands, believes in and is prepared to strive for.
To increase the awareness and understanding and reduce stigma amongst children, staff and our wider community of issues involving the mental health and wellbeing of young people and to provide support at an early stage to any child who is or appears to be suffering from mental health issues.
To ensure that, embedded within our curriculum, we are enabling our children to become healthy, independent, responsible and confident members of society.
Children will understand how they are developing personally and socially and many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up will be tackled.
They will be provided with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and to appreciate what it means to live and thrive as part of a diverse society.
This Intent Statement sits alongside our Mental Health and Well Being Policy.
“Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential"

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:

· 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.

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

· 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.

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 Higher Openshaw Community School, 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 our school community
Mental health is not just the absence of mental health problems.

We want all children to:

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

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, mental health lead or Designated Safeguarding Officer (as appropriate) to ensure children are properly supported in school.

We also incorporate a vast array of mental health activities and support:

Therapeutic play
Yoga
Therapy dog
School rabbit
Emotional regulation sessions
Restorative justice practices
Zones of regulations practice

We provide high levels of Pastoral Support including, Positive Play, PSHE Jigsaw and access to many outside agencies including counselling.

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.

In addition to children’s wellbeing, we recognise the importance of staff mental health and wellbeing. Our staff wellbeing team are working together to ensure positive mental health is actively promoted. Please refer to our Mental health and well-being policy for more information.