At Crowle First School we believe that for every child to achieve their best, they have to be fit and well (both physically and mentally).  We recognise that life can be difficult for children, at times, and we are here to work with every child, and their family to ensure support is put in place to help them with whatever is causing them upset.  We care, because you care.

As a school, each member of staff is committed to the mental health and well being of every pupil.  We have a nurturing, loving environment that children feel they can talk to all staff members regarding any problems they may feel they are facing.  

 

Health and Well-being Day

Every year we also have a whole school "Health and Wellbeing Day" with the overarching theme of "healthy body/healthy mind."  We invite people in to work with our children to to give them strategies for if they are feeling anxious, worried or down.  Examples of some of the visitors we have previously invited in are:

• Pet Therapy - how to use your pet if you feel anxious
• Story Massage
• Yoga and Relaxation
• First Aid Classes
• Healthy eating workshops 
• Sport Therapy - how to use sport to support your emotions

 

Inside Out

Mrs Dixon has completed her diploma in Trauma Informed practise (that we call Inside Out) which has enabled us as a school to gain further understanding of children's mental health and introduce further strategies across the school to support children on a daily basis.  Some examples of this has been social stories immediately for children who find it difficult to separate from parents in the morning, "I wish my teacher knew..." time to offer children the opportunity to communicate their teacher about anything that is on their mind (positive or negative!), emotional well-being cards used to support children to express how they are feeling, sand play to offer children the opportunity to express their feelings when they may not always have the words ... and many more!  

 

Relax Kids

Every week we have Charlotte from Relax Kids who works with us.  Charlotte is fantastic with our children, she works with them in small groups or on a 1:1 basis, giving them the time and freedom to talk about anything they may have on their mind and working on strategies to support them.

Charlotte then offers a Relax Kids after school club to all children, should they wish to attend.  This group is all about yoga, meditation, relaxation and enabling children to have strategies for if they feel overwhelmed etc. 

We also access support from our school link worker Louise Auty.  Louise comes in to school to work with children, to talk to them about their emotions; to recognise what they are and how they can support themselves if they are feeling low.

 

Reach 4 Well-being

We also access "Reach 4 Wellbeing" which is a Worcestershire project that the parent and child attend together; to talk about feelings of anxiety and how they can work together as a family to support their child.  This has always had excellent feedback and has been a really great resource for our families.

 

CAMHS

For those children that we feel further support is necessary, we have made referrals to CAMHs and have supported families with individualised support, based on their child needs.

 

If you feel that you, or your child, is suffering at the moment (no matter how small you think the issue is)  then please do not hesitate to email the Headteacher (who is also the Mental Health First Aid trained member of staff) on martina.abbott@crowle.dowmat.education to discuss this and we can support you through this time.