Mental Health and Wellbeing

 At Brigg Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff.

We understand that physical health and mental wellbeing are interlinked, and it is important that pupils understand that good physical health contributes to good mental wellbeing, and vice versa. There is mounting research that suggests that a person’s mental wellbeing can have a significant impact on their ability to learn, enjoy life experiences and form positive relationships. We know that everyone experiences challenges that can make us vulnerable, and at times anyone may need additional emotional support.

We offer a high level of understanding and empathy, and staff work closely with children and their families to support wherever needed. Children are actively encouraged and supported in school to build resilience and have a “can do” attitude; this is built into the curriculum and is promoted in all that we do. Our values of ‘Self-belief’ and ‘Determination’ reflect this. Staff have regular training to ensure that they are fully equipped to advise and support.

Forest family

At Brigg Primary, we are lucky to have staff with an extensive range of expertise. This includes trained Forest School leads, a mental health lead, trained councillors and two trained Emotional Literacy Support Advocates (ELSAs).

Our key mental health staff:

Mrs Archer (Deputy) – Level 3 Forest School lead, mental health first aider

Mr Riggall – Level 2 Forest School practitioner

Mrs Taylor (SENDCo) – senior mental health lead, Early Help lead

Mrs Riggall – lead learning mentor, mental health champion, Early Help lead, mental health first aider  

Mrs Kilbee – learning mentor, Emotional Literacy Support worker

Mrs Parker – learning mentor, Emotional Literacy Support worker

Teachers work closely with the Forest Family to identify pupils who may be in need of some Forest Family (Nurture) support. Each term, teachers complete a BOXALL profile for every child in their class, and children also complete the RISE questionnaire twice yearly. These quickly identify pupils who require some social, emotional or mental health intervention. Staff within school can also complete a forest family referral form if they have themselves identified a pupil who requires some nurture based support.

Following referrals and BOXALL profile analysis, a termly timetable of support is established and key work is then planned and carried out with our children. Our lead learning mentor and ELSAs work with children individually and in small groups, focusing on common mental health and wellbeing concerns. These include anxiety, self-esteem, low self-confidence and bereavement, among many others.

Children’s role within school

We are very proud of our pupils, and they too are very proud of their school. So much so that they are willing to give up their own time to take up key roles in and around school to make it the wonderful place that it is. Children can apply for these roles and receive training and support to carry them out effectively.

Some of the roles include:

Respect ambassadors

Buddies

Pupil council

Wellbeing ambassadors – new for Spring 2024

These roles provide positive role models, develop relationships, and teach the children about responsibility and respect for their school and the people within it.

Our partnership with ‘With Me In Mind’

Mrs Taylor and Mrs Riggall meet with our assigned WMIM practitioner termly to embed a whole school approach to mental health through consultations, policy writing, staff training and pupil workshops.

Aims, Service and Purpose:

With Me in Mind is an education based service focusing on early intervention and prevention for children aged 4-19. The service is built upon the green paper, ‘Transforming Mental Health for Children and Young People’ and is underpinned by three core functions:

1.      To provide evidence-based interventions for children with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

2.     To work in partnership with the schools identified mental health lead and develop the whole school approach to mental health. This may include group sessions, workshops, assemblies, staff training, parent workshops, personal, health and social education (PHSE) support and much more.

3.     To give timely advice and consultation to schools and colleges including home educated students about individual children’s emotional health and from this we signpost to appropriate services to ensure that young people get the right support.

The team is made of a Clinical Lead, Team Leader, Senior Mental Health Practitioners, Whole School Approach Lead, Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Therapist and Support Workers. We are proud to be working alongside With Me in Mind at Brigg Primary to enhance the support already in place at school.

Through consultation with the Senior Mental Health Practitioner, the service can also help children and young people with more complex and/or severe needs to access the right support and provide a link to specialist NHS services, including CAMHS.

With Me in Mind offers support around low level and emerging mental health problems. The aim is to address any problems as early as possible, working towards stopping problems becoming more serious and engrained. These include:

Low mood

· Worry

· Anxiety

· Simple phobias

· Sleep problems

· Panic attacks

· Behavioural and emotional problems

They can also help to educate students around:

· Resilience and assertiveness

· Managing exam stress

· Transitions

· Guided self-help

Helpful resources and local links for accessing more support. You can read more about the service offer here.

Further information and links

RISE – The Children’s Society

Well-being resources | RISE | The Children’s Society (childrenssociety.org.uk)

Young Minds

Parents Mental Health Support | Advice for Your Child | YoungMinds

NSPCC – children’s mental health

Signs That a Child Is Suffering From Mental Health Issues | NSPCC

CAMHS resources

HOME | CAMHS Resources (camhs-resources.co.uk)