Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing at Eltham Church of England Primary School

Here at Eltham Church of England Primary School we feel passionately that we nurture children’s spiritual and mental well-being as well as their academic potential. The skills, knowledge and understanding needed by our pupils to keep themselves and others physically & mentally healthy and safe are included across the curriculum, as part of our RHE teaching, and incorporated into wider school life e.g. Our school values, Collective Worship, seeking student views through the ‘Student Voice’ committee, Mental Health Awareness Week, Anti-Bullying events, SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship) workshops and themed weeks for example ‘International week’ and ‘Healthy heart, happy heart.’ The physical, mental and emotional health benefits of exercise are well documented, and the school actively encourages sport for all.

Taught Content:

Mental Health and Wellbeing is taught mainly through our RHE curriculum with an emphasis on enabling pupils to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding, language and confidence in keeping themselves mentally well and to seek help, as needed, for themselves or others. This is set out in the statutory guidance ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’ and we follow the PSHE Association Guidance to ensure that we teach mental health and emotional wellbeing issues in a safe and sensitive manner. Our RHE curriculum is taught in the context of the Church of England’s 'Valuing All God's Children' and in alignment with the school's ethos of; Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with your God. Our RHE planning overview is available on this website. Class teachers, through consultation with the RHE lead and Senior Leadership Team, can respond to local issues through the taught curriculum, for example, if there is a class with difficulties in using a particular online app or with the use of certain language.  

Approaches and Targeted Intervention in School:

We know that some pupils may need support for their mental health and wellbeing above that which is covered in the taught curriculum. With this knowledge, we offer a range of approaches and specific intervention: 

·         Use of the ‘restorative approach’ 

·         Two days provision of a qualified BACP registered counsellor to support pupils, parents and staff

·         Targeted 1:1 and intervention groups to support children delivered by trained adults such as ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) and Welcare (a charitable organisation in South London providing qualified counsellors to run groups and 1:1 therapeutic sessions)

·         Referral to Education psychologist

·         Referral to CAMHS

·         Commissioned Speech and Language therapy service