Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. World Health Organisation, 2018.
Positive mental health is a top priority at St Mark’s School. There are a number of ways in which students can be suffering from poor mental health. It is not always easy to determine if somebody is struggling with mental health issues, so we need to work collaboratively to ensure that children always feel comfortable in speaking about their mental health. As a school we have a strong focus on giving students the tools to focus on their wellbeing as shown in the below clip.
5 Steps to Wellbeing Animation
At St Marks’ School we aim to promote good mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community, students and staff.
We aim to develop protective factors by being a community in which all:
● are respected
● have a sense of belonging and feel safe
● are able to talk openly with trusted adults
● see good mental health as something to be valued and nurtured
We want all members of our community to:
● feel confident in themselves
● be able to express a range of emotions appropriately
● be able to make and maintain positive relationships with others
● cope with the challenges of everyday life
● manage times of stress and deal with change
● thrive and achieve
We aim to achieve this through living out our school vision:
“To promote self-worth that inspires our students to live well, achieve their goals and be a force for good in their school and in the world.”
Other ways in which we aim to achieve this is through:
● PHSE curriculum
● Awareness raising (wellbeing assemblies, tips for good mental health)
● Listening to our students
● Gaining insights via student voice
● Working in partnership with parents/carers where there are concerns about mental health
● Signposting sources of external help and advice
● Making referrals and working with external agencies to provide additional support to those who need it
● Recognising the importance of staff mental health and wellbeing
● Modeling healthy attitudes and habits
Our wellbeing lead looks at ways in which we can support the wellbeing of our school staff and ways in which we can support the wellbeing of our students.
Key Staff
- Mr Leonard, Head of Key Stage 4 and Wellbeing and Positive Mental Health Lead: sleonard@st-marks.org.uk
- Mr Kevin Keely, Assistant Headteacher: kkeely@st-marks.org.uk
- Mr Chris Quirk Head of Key Stage 3 : cquirk@st-marks.org.uk
Useful Information for Parents and Carers
St Mark’s School takes the emotional health and wellbeing of every student seriously. We believe that the school can help students build resilience and support them to be mentally healthy.
We all have ups and downs in life but in childhood it can be particularly hard to cope with sad feelings and worries that arise when things are hard or scary. There may be times when your child is unhappy or struggling emotionally. You may notice that they seem low or worried or that their behaviour changes. We may notice that they seem withdrawn or upset at school.
If you are worried about your child’s mental health then you are not alone. Many parents and carers have similar worries and stresses. There is good support available from local and national organisations.
The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
The leaflet: Mental health problems in children and young people: guidance for parents and carers provides some useful tips for helping your student plus links to local and national services.
Local Services for Children and Young People
St Mark’s School
Please talk to us about your concerns, so that we can work together to help your child feel better. You can contact the Heads of the Key Stages: sleonard@st-marks.org.uk or cquirk@st-marks.org.uk
A GP can check any physical symptoms linked to your child’s health and talk with you about their emotional well-being making a referral to a specialist service if necessary.
Parents/carers can contact the Bath and North East Somerset School Nurse Service for advice and support on a range of health issues.
Student and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
A free NHS service that assesses and treats 0-18-year olds with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.
Children and young people aged 11 and over are also able to access support themselves from B&NES Kooth. This provides links to advice as well as online counseling.
Counselling service for young people.
Emotional Difficulties
The following organisations provide reliable information and advice to help parent/carers to support their child when experiencing emotional difficulties:-
Information about all aspects of student mental health, including a Parent Helpline 0800 802 5544
Lots of information and tips for children of all ages about feelings and difficult situations.
Free learning resource about mental health for parents and carers
Lots of information about health topics including mental health, organised under different age groups including secondary age and young adults
Looking After Your Own Mental Health
In order to support your child, you need to stay strong and well yourself. It isn’t easy being a parent or carer especially when you are experiencing problems of your own such as relationship difficulties, money worries, problems with work. Often it helps to talk to someone, so don’t be scared about doing this, with friends, family, your GP or a support service. The following organisations can also offer information and advice to help you.
Directory and database of groups, activities and courses in the community that can support adult wellbeing.
Accessed through GP or self-referral.
MyScript- Social prescribing service
Available to anyone registered with a GP in B&NES. This service provides support in finding specialist services and community groups to help individuals experiencing mental health and wellbeing issues to take control of their situation.
Tel: 01225 316199
Tel: free 116 123
Helps manage stress, anxiety, depression.
Campaign against living miserably
Agencies and Services to Support Parents and Carers in Vulnerable Situations
B&NES Directory of services: Wellbeing Options
Links to a range of services supporting physical, social and emotional needs across the area.
Rainbow Resource
Signposts to organisations, services, support, activities and groups for children and young people aged 0-25 with additional needs.
Independent charity that provides free, impartial advice and information on a range of issues including housing, employment and debt.
Useful Information for Students
This is an area for all students to come and look at resources to support them with their positive mental health and wellbeing. Materials produced by our student wellbeing committee will be added regularly to this area.
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Self-care is about the things we can do to look after our own mental health
Wellbeing and Positive Mental Health at St Marks
We are extremely proud of our wellbeing offer here at St Marks. Our Pastoral staff are trained extensively to detect and support any kind of issue that a student may be dealing with.
Over the years we have used this training to develop a support system that not only intervenes for students who are facing serious difficulties, but guides students who face relatively minor difficulties.
We use many external agencies in our support structure, but we are also proud of our in-house wellbeing support.