Emotional Health and Mental Well Being at St Mary's
Over the course of their education, children spend over 7,800 hours at school. With such a huge amount of time spent in the classroom, schools provide an ideal environment for promoting good emotional wellbeing and identifying early behaviour changes and signs of mental distress. The social and emotional skills, knowledge and behaviours that young people learn in the classroom can help them to build resilience and set the pattern for how they will manage their mental health throughout their lives. Emotional wellbeing is a clear indicator of academic achievement, success and satisfaction in later life. Evidence shows that mental health and wellbeing programmes in schools, can lead to significant improvements in children’s mental health, and social and emotional skills. Wellbeing provision in schools can also lead to reductions in classroom misbehaviour and bullying
At St Mary's we take emotional health and mental well being very seriously. Every class provides a wide range of activities that promote emotional health and mental well-being including the daily mile, Worry Monster's/Boxes, class and team building activities. Every week we also hold two emotional and mental health well-being groups- The Friendship Group and Well-Being Group.
To see our latest Wellbeing Policy, please visit our School Policies page by clicking on the link below.
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5 Ways to Wellbeing Presentation | [pdf 2MB] |
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Ms Rowan
Emotional Literacy Lead Support
Meet Our Wellbeing Ambassadors 2021-22
Wellbeing Ambassadors Newsletters
To visit our Wellbeing Gallery of events, please click on the picture link.
Please select from the documents below.
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Autumn Letter from Wellbeing Ambassadors - October 2021 | [pdf 63KB] |
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Oldham Brokerage Service (OBS)
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Oldham Brokerage Service |
Mental Health Week: Nature - 10th May 2021
Classes will be organising activities based on nature to mark this important week. Please see the useful resources below.
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Nature Guide for Parents and Caregivers | [pdf 18MB] |
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Parenting Smart Place2Be Flyer | [pdf 287KB] |
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Government Mental Health Resources
Please click on the picture link to access the resources.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
The last year has been extra stressful, especially if you’re a parent. It's normal and entirely understandable if you're feeling overwhelmed frustrated, worried or exhausted about the situation.
You might be finding it harder than ever at the moment to know how to best look after your child’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as your own. If you’re struggling, you are not alone. Here are some resources that can really help. Please click on the picture link to access the resources.
Lockdown Wellbeing Resources
Please select from the documents below.
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Helping Your Child Cope in Lockdown | [pdf 407KB] |
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How to Support Your Child's Wellbeing | [pdf 136KB] |
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Online Resources for Supporting Wellbeing | [pdf 197KB] |
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Other Ways to Stop Crying | [pdf 320KB] |
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Self-care for Kids | [pdf 222KB] |
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Surviving for Parents | [pdf 59KB] |
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The Emotional Cup | [pdf 94KB] |
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The role of the Wellbeing Ambassador
The role of the Wellbeing Ambassador was decided by the team and is listed below:
1) To spread happiness and peace throughout the school.
2) To welcome new children and staff to the school.
3) To be kind, caring and helpful towards others.
4) To always treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
5) To promote and put into place the 'Five Ways to Wellbeing'. (Connect, Take Notice,Give, Keep Learning and Be Active)
6) To always follow God's word
As our termly activities regarding our wellbeing focus of 'Connect' draw to a close , our new focus of 'Take Notice commences. A key activity this term is to ask each class to use the Team GB approach of togetherness to create a class flag naming each individual child alongside a positive statement. All the flags will be displayed on the Wellbeing display board and in the classrooms
Take Notice reminds us to take notice of everyone and everything. It can strengthen and broaden awareness of self and of others- to enjoy the moment!
Oldham Council Support and Resources
The Oldham whole school and college approach to emotional health and mental wellbeing aims to promote social, emotional and mental wellbeing.
The framework offers practical guidance to schools and colleges to develop knowledge and skills to promote mental health and wellbeing and prevent minor problems from escalating into more serious long-term issues.
The document contains key actions that head teachers and college principles can take to embed the whole school approach to emotional health and mental wellbeing.
The actions are based on the eight principles.
These are:
- The school ethos and environment
- Curriculum, teaching and learning
- Student voice
- Staff development, health and wellbeing
- Identifying need and monitoring impact
- Working with parents / carers
- Targeted support
Please select from the documents below or click on the picture link to access Oldham Council Wellbeing page.
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Supporting Young Minds Through Tough Times | [pdf 6MB] |
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Emotional Health and Mental Wellbeing - Emotional Health and Wellbeing Services | [pdf 1MB] |
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Emotional Health and Mental Wellbeing - Graduated Response | [pdf 1MB] |
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Emotional Health and Mental Wellbeing -Self Assessment Check List | [pdf 1MB] |
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Key Partners and Quality Assurance Process Booklet - January 2019 | [pdf 856KB] |
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Mentally Healthy Schools
St Mary's is now registered with Mentally Healthy Schools to access a wide range of useful resources and materials to support good mental health for both pupils and staff.
Friendship Group
Every Tuesday afternoon is dedicated to the nurture and care of our most vunerable children. Sessions include activities covering all aspects of emotional health and mental well-being. Including gardening, art and craft, role play, sensory play and many more.
Well Being Group
Every Thursday afternoon the school facilitates an inclusion programme of whole school well-being. This programme enables each child from each year group, from Reception to Year 6, to access a wide range of activities which promote a positive well-being ethos in our school.
Gardening Club
Gardening Club is an integral part of the Whole School Wellbeing Programme at St Mary's. All the children throughout the school can access the school garden.
The children are encouraged to explore this environment, grow bulbs and various plants and vegetables, tend and look after this area and encourage wildlife.
Many bird boxes attract birds to nest year after year. Wellies are used as planters and children create bird feeders and bird baths from recycled materials. There are different areas to the garden including grassed area, compost bins, huge planters for vegetables and strawberries, digging areas and a patio.
Mental Health Support Teams
St. Mary’s are delighted to welcome Laura Redford to our school team. Laura is a member of Oldham’s MHST (Mental Health Support Teams) The service promotes the early detection and prevention of mental health issues across the schools population by providing direct, ongoing support around mental health and wellbeing, including face-to-face support for pupils with mild to moderate mental health needs.
The teams will also deliver training for school staff to help them support their pupils; to encourage good mental wellbeing and resilience across the school and provide guidance around issues such as bullying and coping with exam stress.
The teams will work alongside other staff and professionals who already provide mental health support in schools such as:
- School nurses
- Educational psychologists
- School counsellors
- Voluntary and community organisations
- Social workers
When it comes to mental health, early intervention and noticing the warning signs is paramount. Introducing this service will enable staff working closest to pupils to recognise and act on any early signs they may see.
It allows the child or young person as much time and support as possible for them to build the important coping mechanisms they need in order to manage their mental health and wellbeing.
Councillor Shaid Mushtaq, Oldham Council Portfolio Lead for Education, said of the MHST: “Oldham is leading the way in Greater Manchester and beyond in tackling mental health issues among our young people and this is another significant piece of work that will benefit them.
“Schools and colleges already do a tremendous amount of work in this area and this extra funding and resource will help them do even more.”
If you have a mental health concern regarding your child please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher or ask to speak to Mrs O’Leary our school wellbeing co-ordinator.
Every Mind Matters Mind Plan
KS1 Growing Together Activities - February 2022
Children's Mental Health Week - February 2022
To show start of Children's Mental Health Week Y4 wellbeing ambassadors organised today's lunchtime activities for their class mates including mindfulness colouring, chalks, dodgeball.... the weather didn't dampen their enjoyment!
'One Kind Word' - November 2021
Harvest - October 2021
Just SOME of the food and toiletries etc gathered for the Harvest Appeal with the Well being Ambassadors.