Mental Health Awareness Week  15th to 21st May 2023

The focus this year is “Anxiety”.

Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem.

Lots of things can lead to feelings of anxiety, including exam pressure, relationships, starting a new job or school, or other big life events. We can also get anxious when it comes to things to do with money and not being able to meet our basic needs, like heating our home or buying food.                                      

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems we can face.           

Focusing on anxiety for this year's Mental Health Awareness Week will increase people's awareness and understanding of anxiety by providing information on the things that can help prevent it from becoming a problem. At the same time, we will keep up the pressure to demand change - making sure that improving mental health is a key priority for the government and society as a whole.

Children's Mental Health Week  6th to 12th February 2023

Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 is this week, from 6-12 February 2023. This year’s theme is ‘Let’s Connect’. We will be encouraging the children to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways. 

We will be supporting and motivating the children to be make positive connections at school, at home, and in the community. Each class will take part in activities and discussions around positive mental health, and how we can support each other to ensure that we are following our school values and supporting ourselves and others in making positive connections.

Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections. Our children thrive in their local communities, and these connections are vital for our on-going wellbeing. When we have healthy connections – to family, friends and others – it can support all of us, our mental health and our sense of wellbeing. 

We are looking forward to sharing some of the activities that we do in school with you.

If you would like to look at further research around supporting you child’s mental health, or to talk to us about any issues you may have, please get in touch with us at: inclusion@rotins.notts.sch.uk and look at the link below.

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/schools/

Stress Awareness Month - April 2023

We all recognise that life brings stresses and strains. In school we work hard through our School Values, and our PSHE (Personal, Social, and Health Education) and broader curriculum to enable our children to build skills for resilience, and to cope with potential stress in a constructive and positive way.

Stress may be felt in social interactions and friendships, when there is challenge, through environments we find ourselves in, when we experience or are exposed to conflict, new or unfamiliar situations, the list goes on. As a school we aim to support these feelings by enabling a nurturing and supportive culture, where all the children are provided with a calm and welcoming environment, opportunity to speak about feelings, and time to manage and understand emotions.

We also recognise that you as parents will also feel stress. At Radcliffe on Trent Infant and Nursey School we offer an open door policy to parents who may wish to discuss their own feelings and stresses, and/or concerns around any issues your children may be experiencing. 

We have opportunities to signpost to external support, and also a listening ear via our class teachers, Inclusion Team, school ELSA (Emotional Support Assistant), and school Mental Health Lead.

If you would like to contact us regarding any issues or concerns you may have around stress, wellbeing, and mental health, please contact us for a chat, or for advice.

inclusion@rotins.notts.sch.uk

We are keen to promote Mental Health and Wellbeing for our parents and children.

We will be talking to the children this month about calming techniques, the importance of healthy diet and activity, and how talking to each other about our feelings is a positive and important thing to do. This is part of our on-going commitment to supporting all children to grow, learn, and achieve together in all areas of their lives.

Five things we will be addressing in school to help manage stress:

• Talk about Stress and it’s effects –  working together to reduce the stigma that is associated with stress by talking about the topic openly and freely with friends, family and colleagues.
• Share coping mechanisms – if something has worked for you why not share it. It might benefit someone you care about and in the meantime, it might help you take your focus off your own challenges.
• Be nice to those who are stressed and anxious – we are all undoubtedly going to experience stress and anxiety in our lifetime so treat others going through it with compassion and empathy.
• Look after yourself – we all need to think more about self–care. Take time out of your day to relax or do something that you enjoy. Don’t forget to exercise and eat well, even when you feel too stressed.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

"Mental Health is a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community."

(World Health Organisation)    

At Radcliffe on Trent Infant and Nursery School, we aim to promote positive mental wellbeing for all our pupils, staff, families, and the community. Our Inclusion Team and Wellbeing Team meet regularly to review all aspects of provision and support in school, and discuss how we can continue to improve wellbeing for all members of our school community. In addition to promoting positive mental wellbeing, we aim to recognise and respond to poor mental health. We recognise that children in all classes may be experiencing challenges with mental health issues.

We aim to create and promote a safe and stable environment for pupils affected both directly and indirectly by mental health. and to signpost individuals and families to relevant and appropriate organisations for support.

Supporting Pupils

We believe we have a key role to play in promoting children's positive mental health and wellbeing. Our school has developed a range of strategies and approaches including:

• Transition support between classes and to Radcliffe on Trent Junior School                       
• Quiet calm areas in all classrooms    
• Positive play opportunities at playtimes lead by a trained member of staff
• Forest School provision
• PSHE - JIGSAW
• ELSA and dedicated Inclusion Team
• Circle Times
• Daily outdoor run
• Quality Before and After School provision
• Promoting healthy lifestyles through diet and exercise to support mental health and well-being
• Mental Health Lead in school

Our School Approach

Our approach supports social and emotional development through a balanced and well planned and supported curriculum, clear values and ethos, enhanced outdoor provision, quality continuous provision, and a nurturing environment. 

We aim to provide:

• Support for children and families who are experiencing emotional, social or behaviour difficulties.
• We provide a safe and calm environment for children to develop their skills.
• Enable children to take pride in their achievements and enhance self-esteem.
• Help children to manage their feelings and develop skills to enjoy and participate in school life.
• Use positive approaches to manage all behaviours.
• Embed our Rainbow Values in every aspect of school life and provision.

This page is designed to share with you some ideas of things you could do with your child to promote their well-being and mental health.  

It may promote topics to discuss around feelings and emotions. It's good to talk!

Please see below for some website links that you may find useful:

Parent's Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum

As a school we are very keen to involve parents and parent voice. Our Inclusion Team are always seeking involvement from parents, and would like any parent who would be able to meet termly as a focus group, to discuss wellbeing in school and to provide us with feedback and opinions around this topic, we would love to hear from you. If you would like to join us, please contact us at : inclusion@rotins.notts.sch.uk.

We look forward to hearing from you.

ELSA Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

My name is Naomi Smith and I am Inclusion Manager and the school ELSA. Under the title of Inclusion Manager I work throughout the school, with children from Nursery to Year Two.

As an ELSA, my role is to support children with all aspects of their emotional literacy, and in turn work with parents to ensure their child's emotional wellbeing is supported in school and at home. I have been trained by the Nottinghamshire Educational Psychology Service and can work with children on a wide range of needs and feelings which may include loss, anxiety, attachment, self esteem, friendship, social interactions,  anger, and a range of behavioural issues. 

If there are any concerns you may have about your child, please feel free to contact me: inclusion@rotins.notts.sch.uk or 0115 9112991

The above power point presentation provides you with some information on the principles of ELSA and how it can support children in school. Feel free to explore the presentation. If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything regarding ELSA, please feel free to contact Naomi Smith by telephone or email.