Wellbeing What is Wellbeing?

What's mental health? The World Health Organisation defines mental health as a state of wellbeing in which every individual achieves their potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act. Like physical health, mental health is something we all have. It can range across a spectrum from healthy to unwell; it can fluctuate on a daily basis and change over time.                                                                                                                      

Good mental health helps children: learn and explore the world feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions form and maintain good relationships with others cope with, and manage change and uncertainty develop and thrive. Building strong mental health early in life can help children build their self-esteem, learn to settle themselves and engage positively with their education. This, in turn, can lead to improved academic attainment, enhanced future employment opportunities and positive life choices.

Promoting mental health There is good evidence that schools can help all children develop essential social and emotional skills through delivering bespoke sessions designed to cultivate these skills, through ensuring broader opportunities are capitalised on to reinforce skills across the curriculum and through whole-school modelling of these skills. Social and emotional skills prevent poor mental health from developing, help all children cope effectively with setbacks and remain healthy. These whole-school programmes are noted to benefit all children but particularly those who are at most risk.  Schools can support these children by providing them with additional help to understand and manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviour and build skills that help them to thrive, such as working in a team, persistence, and self-awareness

Coping skills Mental health doesn’t mean being happy all the time. Neither does it mean avoiding stress altogether. Coping and adjusting to setbacks are critical life skills for children, but it’s important that they develop positive, rather than negative, coping skills. Negative coping skills are attitudes and behaviours that have often been learned in the absence of positive support and in the face of stressful and often traumatic events and experiences which, over time, may put good mental health at risk. E.g. children at risk of or experiencing maltreatment in the home may have learned to react quickly and in a certain way (flight or fight or freeze) to survive and keep themselves safe. But in a classroom, these reactions may not work well and could get them into trouble, disrupt learning and make them unpopular with teachers and peers. In the longer term, these learned behaviours may also impact on their mental health and wellbeing, sense of belonging, educational achievements, peer relationships and life chances.  Positive coping skills are ways of thinking, attitudes and behaviours that allow children to deal with stress or adversity and which help them flourish. These positive coping skills form an important part of a child’s ability to be resilient in the face of setbacks and challenges. Children who have cultivated robust coping skills can still thrive with support, even when they are mentally unwell.

Safe You are protected from abuse, neglect or harm. Can you think of anything in your life that makes you feel safe?

Can you think of anything in your life that makes you feel healthy? You have high standards of physical and mental health; you are supported to make healthy, safe choices. Can you think of anything in your life that makes you feel healthy?

Achieving You have support and guidance in learning – boosting your skills, confidence and self-esteem. Can you think of anyone in your life who makes you feel you are achieving?

Nurtured You have a nurturing and stimulating place to live and grow. Can you think of anyone or anything that makes you feel nurtured?

Active You have opportunities to take part in a wide range of activities. Can you think of anything in your life that makes you feel active?

Can you think of a time that you have felt respected? You are given a voice and are involved in the decisions that affect your wellbeing. Can you think of a time that you have felt respected?

Responsible You are taking an active role within your school and community. Can you think of a time that you have acted responsibly?

Can you think of anything in your life that makes you feel included? You can get help and guidance to overcome inequalities; you can become a full member of the community in which you live and learn. Can you think of anything in your life that makes you feel included?

The Science of Happiness Our brains are in charge of our feelings and emotions. There are chemicals in our brains that actually make us feel happy. There are four main chemicals: dopamine oxytocin serotonin endorphins The fantastic news is that there are things we can do to trigger our brains to release these ‘feel-good’ chemicals!

How to Be Happy Find ways to relax your mind. Smile and laugh. Let go of mistakes. Spend time with family and friends. Take up a hobby or join a club. Be fair and honest. Work hard to achieve a goal. Appreciate yourself. Care for others.

Find Ways to Relax Your Mind You could sit quietly and focus on your breathing, practise meditating or yoga, do some quiet colouring, read a book or do a jigsaw puzzle.

Mental health: roles and responsibilities of schools and school staff What part you can play during your day-to-day school activities to promote and support children’s mental health and wellbeing? Model positive, empathetic and kind behaviours as well as good social and emotional skills. Build confident, open, healthy and trusting relationships with children to help them feel safe and strengthen their resilience. Help children understand and manage their emotions as well as know when and how to seek advice. Reflect on and understand what factors might be driving difficulties with behaviour, emotions or learning. Be alert to signs that a child may be in distress. Notice those who may need extra help early; asking how they are and linking children, as appropriate, with buddying/peer support, counselling/other school-based help, or external advice and help. Feel confident about starting a conversation, knowing what to do or who to talk to next. * Look after their own mental health and wellbeing and watch out for the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues; know where and how to get help and support.

Mindfulness After Lunch After lunchtime the children need 5/10 minutes to relax and calm their minds before starting another full afternoon of learning. As the children enter the room it should be calm and relaxing, e.g. lights off, quiet music. The children each have their own mindfulness picture to sit and colour. The expectation is that there is no talking and the children do not rush their colouring (the picture should last a week!). The register will be taken silently during this session. This will take a few weeks. The children will need time to get used to the new routine and you will need to give constant reminders. It is important that the children understand why we are doing this.

Wellbeing Drop-In When: Every Tuesday lunchtime, before or after you have eaten your lunch. Where: In the Year 2’s classroom Why: You may need some quiet mindfulness time to help your Wellbeing. This workshop will be mindfulness colouring with relaxing music and no talking to each other. You may want to talk through a worry or problem with an adult Expectations: The Wellbeing workshop will be there throughout the year. You may never need to attend or you may a be a regular visitor, that depends on how you feel individually on that day. Remember Wellbeing is how you feel about YOURSELF. There can only be space for a limited number of visitors, it will be first come first served, if the workshop is full on the day you feel you need some support with your Wellbeing you can always talk to members of staff and/or come back on another day.