Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our pupils is of great importance. We understand that children need help to manage their emotions and to develop resilience and self-confidence. Opportunities to be calm and reflective help to self- regulate behaviour and half-termly wellbeing and mindfulness lessons are delivered by specialist teachers. These develop breathing, yoga, relaxation and meditation skills.

Further opportunities to use and reinforce these skills in other lessons are identified by staff, who have had relevant wellbeing and mindfulness training.

St Hugh's commitment to emotional wellbeing has been enhanced further by the Wellbeing Award for Schools accreditation.

Please refer to the following documents to learn more about our wellbeing commitment at St Hugh's:

St Hugh's Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy

Pupil Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy

WELLBEING AWARD FOR SCHOOLS

We are delighted that St Hugh’s has been accredited the Wellbeing Award for Schools (WAS) (Awarded September 2019).

Developed in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), the Wellbeing Award for Schools is intended to help schools prepare and equip themselves to promote emotional wellbeing and positive mental health across the whole-school community. NCB’s vision is an education system where good emotional wellbeing and mental health are at the heart of the culture and ethos of all schools, so that pupils, with the support of their teachers, can build confidence and flourish. Evidence shows us that wellbeing is of central importance to learning and attainment, with high levels of wellbeing associated with improved academic outcomes. Conversely, pupils who have mental health problems are more likely to have academic difficulties at school and experience social disadvantage later in adult life.

To achieve this vision, NCB advocates the use of a ‘whole-school approach’ where all aspects of the school experience are harnessed to promote the emotional wellbeing and mental health of pupils and staff. It is an approach where emotional wellbeing and mental health is everybody’s business.

There are four key principles driving the ideas and recommendations behind the award:

1. Emotional wellbeing and mental health are a continuum. Related issues can range from positive attitudes and behaviour, through to experiences of emotional distress and mental disorder.
2. Schools already experience and manage emotional issues on a daily basis; the objective is to minimise the impact of such issues and maximise the effectiveness of any responses.
3. Emotional wellbeing covers a range of dimensions, such as resilience, character building, relationships and self-esteem, etc. Understanding both developmental and mental health awareness is critical.
4. Creating a positive school culture requires a whole-school approach that is led from the top while involving all in the school community.

The WAS has eight objectives which focus on areas of evaluation, development and celebration of the work of schools in promoting and protecting emotional wellbeing and positive mental health. Each of these areas is further broken down into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Objective 1: The school is committed to promoting and protecting positive emotional wellbeing and mental health by achieving the Wellbeing Award for Schools.

Objective 2: The school has a clear vision and strategy for promoting and protecting emotional wellbeing and mental health, which is communicated to all involved with the school.

Objective 3: The school has a positive culture which regards the emotional wellbeing and mental health as the responsibility of all.

Objective 4: The school actively promotes staff emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Objective 5: The school prioritises professional learning and staff development on emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Objective 6: The school understands the different types of emotional and mental health needs across the whole-school community and has systems in place to respond appropriately.

Objective 7: The school actively seeks the ongoing participation of the whole-school community in its approach to emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Objective 8: The school works in partnerships with other schools, agencies and available specialist services to support emotional wellbeing and mental health.

For more information about the award, please visit the following website - https://www.awardplace.co.uk/award/was

The following websites may be helpful to aid parents and pupils to improve wellbeing. These cover mental wellbeing, bullying, anxiety, social media and digital wellbeing:

1.   Mental Health.org.uk - Mental Wellbeingwww.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/c/children-and-young-people

2.    Youngminds - feature on the Hello Yellow website - they cover wellbeing, bullying, anxiety and social mediawww.youngminds.org.uk

3.     Kidscape - help with bullying: www.kidscape.org.uk

4.    Childnet.com for help with digital wellbeingwww.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/hot-topics/digital-wellbeing

5.     Childline: www.childline.org.uk