Mental Health and Wellbeing

At Northleach Church of England Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils, parents and staff. Our school ethos is inspired by ‘We love, We give, We grow’, illustrating our core beliefs in being at the heart of the community, caring about all those around us and striving for the very best that we can be.

At our school we know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s responsibility and that we all have a role to play.

What is 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 Organisation)

Your child may be struggling with their mental health if they are not coping with the stresses of everyday life, not working productively and not seeming themselves.  

Who do I contact if I am concerned about my child's mental health?

Class teacher, first point of contact - Adapting and refining the curriculum to respond to strengths and needs of all pupils. Monitoring progress of your child and liaising with key staff about interventions needed.

Mental Health Lead, second point of contact - Mrs Hortop, co-ordinating provision for children experiencing emotional, wellbeing or mental health difficulties, developing and following the school’s Mental Health and Wellbeing policy.

Mental Health Champions 

We are proud to have achieved The Mental Health Champions Award which acknowledges the high quality provision that our school offers to support the mental health and wellbeing of our school community. We understand the link between good mental health and achievement as well as the importance of staff mental health and wellbeing. We regularly identify areas in our provision that would benefit from further development and encourage our wider community to offer suggestions. The award is reaccredited every three years.

The Listening Room 

The Listening Room is offered most days of the week to all children who want the chance to be heard in a safe and calm space. Mrs Hortop listens to children who choose to share their concerns and together they talk about whatever it is they are worried about ranging from friendship issues, self-harm, home life troubles, changes they are facing or anything they wish to share. We aim to provide pupils will the tools and strategies needed to cope when faced with challenges within school or home life.

Growth Mindset 

At Northleach Primary School, we know that pupils who have a positive attitude towards their learning will make good progress and be successful. We want all our pupils to relish challenges, embrace their mistakes as part of the learning process, value the importance of effort, respond carefully to feedback and take inspiration from others. This will help them to achieve, not only with us, but also in their future lives as adults. It is with this in mind that we aim to establish a "growth mindset" in all of our children.  A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence improves through study and practice. Across all year groups, we believe Children with a growth mindset tend to see challenges as opportunities to grow because they understand that they can improve their abilities by pushing themselves. If something is hard, they understand it will push them to get better.

Click on the links below for more support: 

5 Ways to Wellbeing

Mental Health Services in Gloucestershire

 Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy

Mental Health Parental Survey Summer 2022

Mental Health Provision Map