Mental Health and Well-being

 “Good mental health and well-being are essential for all of us to lead fulfilling lives, to realise our full potential, to participate productively in our communities, and to demonstrate resilience in the face of stress and adversity”

WHO 2021

At St. Paul’s, the mental health and wellbeing of our community is at the heart of our vision (Flourishing Together, Rooted in Love) and the values we live by.

For children to flourish, they must have good mental health and well-being. We believe this is best achieved through working together as a community of staff, governors, children and their families.

Therefore, our curriculum and every aspect of school life have been designed to develop good mental health through, building resilience, confidence and self-belief. We strive to develop a growth mindset and provide challenge at all levels, as part of our supportive and loving community.

St Pauls Junior School Barrow - woodland school - church of england - art in woods
St Pauls Junior School Barrow - woodland school - church of england - beach
St Pauls Junior School Barrow - woodland school - church of england - Canoeing
St Pauls Junior School Barrow - woodland school - church of england - A and Rabbit
St Pauls Junior School Barrow - woodland school - church of england - woods

Our Universal Offer

Our dedicated team believe in providing the children with a wealth of learning opportunities designed to nurture the whole child, mentally, socially, creatively, physically, spiritually and academically. An emphasis is placed on active, outdoor learning as it improves both children’s wellbeing and their attainment.

As part of this universal offer, our comprehensive PSHE/RSE curriculum is designed to give children the skills and understanding to support their own and others’ well-being and seek help when needed. We celebrate uniqueness and aim to empower children’s voices through school council, ethos group, class/school discussions and special days such as Hello Yellow Day.

Additional Support

All staff are alert to children’s emotional wellbeing - it is threaded through every aspect of our school life. We aim to identify children (and families) who may be struggling and ensure additional nurture and support is offered.

We have a number of emotional health interventions on offer in school, including SERIS (Supporting Emotional Resilience in School), ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant), Decider Skills, Lego Therapy and Animal Care, alongside other individualised support programmes.

We are committed to meeting the needs of neurodivergent children, where possible, in recognition of how unmet needs can contribute to poor mental health. We are part of the PINS (Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools) project and are using this to develop our provision. We also work with other agencies to offer more specialist support such as, Barnardos, Family Action, the school nurse and CAMHS.

School Staff Leaders in Mental Health & Well-being

  • Mental Health Leads: Mrs Newby/ Mrs Last
  • SENDco: Miss Lawrence

Mental Health & Well-being Online Support

  • childline.org.uk - direct contact and support for children, together with a toolbox of strategies for children who feel worried.
  • kooth.com - online counselling for children
  • place2be.org.uk - help to support your child’s mental health
  • nspcc.org.uk - advice and support for children and families.
  • youngminds.org.uk -advice and support for children, parents and carers and professionals.