We work hard to support your child’s emotional wellbeing. Good mental health allows us to cope with life's ups and downs, to feel in control of our lives and to ask for help from others when we need support. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Being mentally healthy means that we feel good about ourselves, make and keep positive relationships with others and can feel and manage the full range of emotions. These can range from happiness, excitement and curiosity through to less comfortable feelings such as anger, fear or sadness.
It is important that children are encouraged and supported to look after their mental health every day.
Top tips for how you can support your child's mental health
- Are there things you can encourage your child to do, or do together, each day?
- Talk openly about mental health
- Just as you might encourage them to eat fruit and veg to keep their bodies healthy (and model this behaviour yourself), talk openly about, for example, staying connected with others or being physically active in order to take care of our minds.
- Model good habits
- Children often learn from copying what they see around them. If you are taking care of your own mental health, it's easier for them to see what good habits look like.
- Think about phone usage – both theirs and yours. We don't fully understand the impact of social media on our mental health but using phones and laptops can impact on our sleep, which is important to our mental health. We're also more likely to listen to one another if we're not distracted by technology.
- Notice any changes in your child's behaviour. Young people tell us how they're feeling in many ways, not always verbally.
- Learning what is normal for your child makes it easier to notice when things change, and if this might be a sign that they're struggling.
When times get tough
Sometimes you might worry about your child's mental health. While you might need to speak to a member of school staff or your GP for advice, here are a few things you can do if you're worried.
- Let your child know that you're concerned
- Explain why you feel that way, for example if you've noticed they haven't been interested in activities they usually enjoy.
- Use activities that you do together to have conversations about how they are doing
- Talking whilst doing something together, side-by-side, such as cooking, can help them share their feelings more easily than a face-to-face conversation.
- Let them know that struggling sometimes is normal and nothing to be ashamed of
- Tell them about the mental health spectrum and that we all, including you, go up and down the scale throughout our lives. Reassure them that talking about difficult feelings with the people we trust is a brave thing to do.
- Listen and empathise
- Often the first step to feeling better is feeling connected and knowing that someone is alongside you.
Empathy helps young people (and adults) connect. Empathy involves acknowledging what your child is feeling, trying to understand things from their point of view and avoiding judgement. Empathy is usually more helpful than giving advice or trying to 'fix' their problem.
If you're still worried talk to a trusted member of school staff or your GP who can point you towards sources of help
Support from our senior leadership team is essential to promote and embed emotional health and wellbeing. Leadership and Management champions the eight principles created by Public Health England. Our school is mindful of staff as well as pupils’ needs.
The environment and Ethos of a school affects children’s physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing, as well as impacting on attainment. Some of the opportunities we provide for children to look after their mental health and well-being in school are…
- Informal pastoral care, to support vulnerable children and families
- Signposting to families, including parent support pages on our website
Quality teaching and a good curriculum allow children to gain the skills they need to make good academic progress and benefit their health and wellbeing. At Hauxton Primary we have embedded a new PHSE programme which supports children in identifying and regulating their emotions.
- New PHSE Curriculum embedded
- Pupil specialist training
- Bespoke mental health workshops for Years 5 and 6
We value our children’s opinions. It is important to us that they feel involved in decisions that impact on them and they feel part of the school and wider community.
We offer an open door approach, visual and approachable at opening and closing times of schools and parent courses delivered by Cambridgeshire's Emotional Health & Wellbeing Service
It is important for us as a school to ensure that support is given to all our children and families. We recognise that, at times, some families may need more support than others with their mental health and wellbeing. We work closely with: