How Does Our School Support Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing?

In school, we teach children about what it means to have good mental health and wellbeing throughout our curriculum and daily practice.

Our PSHE/RSE curriculum focuses specifically on developing children’s social and emotional skills that can prevent poor mental health from developing and help all children cope effectively with setbacks and remain healthy. It is about helping children to understand and manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviour and build skills that help them to thrive, such as working in a team, persistence, coping with setbacks, building positive relationships and self-awareness.

Supporting wellbeing and positive mental health is embedded within our ethos and practices. At Seaton House School, we have taken active steps towards supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils and staff.

• Promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging. Our ethos is to promote supporting the development of skills and character traits such as perseverance, compassion and teamwork.
• Achieving the Wellbeing Award for Schools and using this to continually monitor, review and develop our provision.
• Promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision-making through School Forum, Form Captains, Wellbeing Champions and Wellbeing Ambassadors.
• Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements in order to promote self-esteem, including half termly awards for positivity.
• Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others. For example Prefect roles, Form Captains, Wellbeing Captains and classroom roles of responsibility.
• Access to appropriate support such as Class Teachers and ELSA.
• Helping children to understand their emotions and to feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries.
• Helping children to take on challenges, learn from mistakes and develop emotional resilience. For example, team building days, House Days and regular academic and physical challenges.
• Encouraging self-reflection and a focus on what we are grateful for.
• Weekly Feel Good Friday sessions to develop strategies to support positive mental health and wellbeing.
• Wellbeing Ambassador training for all Form VI pupils.
• Three trained ELSA staff, one per key stage, to offer support and advice.
• Wellbeing and ELSA contact boxes in Junior House and Senior House, for pupils to ask for support.
• Dedicated ELSA email for parents to share concerns and ask for help.
• Lunchtime drop-in sessions for pupils to talk to an adult about any worries they have or ask for help.
• Transition days to support pupils with the move on to the next Key Stage.
• Form V pupils are trained as Playground Buddies to offer support and activities at playtimes.
• Lunchtime clubs, such as mindfulness colour, yoga, lego club and book club, as well as sports clubs.
• All staff have received mental health and wellbeing training.
• We have positive behaviour systems in place to promote positive social behaviour.
• We have mental health and wellbeing assemblies to promote resilience and self-management. These are run each half term by our Form VI Wellbeing Champions.
• Workshops and events to promote mindfulness, growth mindset and positive mental health.
• Termly wellbeing activities and events.
• Wellbeing corner section on our weekly newsletter, providing information, support and sharing wellbeing news from around the school.
• We have a Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy for our school that is regularly updated and shared with all families.
• We have signed the governments Staff Wellbeing Charter. We include World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Week in the school calendar and plan activities for the whole school.