Mental Health and Emotional Well-being
At Burnside Academy we aim to promote positive mental health and well-being for our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers) and recognise how important mental health and well-being is in our lives in just the same way as physical health.
With the change in the national agenda to promote good mental health in school, we ensure that emotional well-being is a focus for our work in school. Staff meetings and Governing Body Meetings have Emotional wellbeing as a standard item and we are currently in the process of putting evidence together in order to achieve the Bronze Mental Health Charter Award.
Meet Our Team:
Burnside Mental Health Champion: Mrs Downey
Mental Health Staff Lead Members; Miss Davison and Lesley Pattison
School Counsellor: Julie Edmenson
Mental Health Pupil Lead Members: Lilly Graham and Ethan Taylor
Mental Health and Wellbeing Link Governor: Julie Anne Mullan
Now more than ever, it is vitally important that we look after our mental health and recognise the signs when we are not feeling mentally well. We are always here if you need advice or support. There are many ways to access support – here are some links that might be useful.
http://sunderlandcommunitycamhs.nhs.uk
http://www.washingtonmind.org.uk
Stay safe and keep well,
From all the staff at Burnside Academy
Five Ways to Well-Being
In school we follow the principles of the’ Five Ways to Well-being’ in order to support children day to day. This is regularly discussed with the children, with daily opportunities to practise strategies and techniques in order to support their overall well-being.
Within school, we run a number of programmes to support our children with their emotional well-being – Friends Resilience, Kidsafe, Operation Encompass,
School Counsellor: Every Thursday, our school counsellor works 1-1 with identified children. This gives the child the opportunity to discuss their feelings and provide strategies to support them day to day.
Kidsafe is an intervention programme ran throughout school. Children always say that they love the Kidsafe programmes, especially helping KS, our puppet, decide what to do in certain situations. Through helping KS with strategies to keep him safe, children are learning and reinforcing vital skills to help keep themselves safe from all forms of abuse.
Friends Resilience is an intervention carried out with small groups of children in school.
KS1 -The Fun FRIENDS curriculum helps build the social and emotional skills of young children by using fun, play-based group activities. By learning resilience skills early in their development, children build confidence to facilitate a smooth transition into school life. Fun FRIENDS nurtures positive relationships with family and peers, encouraging children to thrive.
KS2– FRIENDS for Life is a social skills and resilience curriculum, that has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as an effective tool set to prevent anxiety for children. It is proven to reduce anxiety and provide participants with strategies to rise to life’s challenges, and bounce back from setbacks and adversity. FRIENDS for Life also improves social-emotional skills, the ability to focus, confidence, the capacity to relax, regulate emotions, and develop empathy
Children’s Mental Health Week -WB 1.2.21. This year the focus is ‘Express Yourself’.
Please use the links below which will take you to the Children’s Mental Health week website for more information.
https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/
https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/children-s-mental-health-week/
As a school, we are planning exciting activities for the children to take part in, whether they are at home learning or in school. We would really like to see what the children are doing so please upload to Showbie and share your photographs.
Now more than ever, it is vitally important that we look after our mental health and recognise the signs when we are not feeling mentally well. We are always here if you need advice or support. There are many ways to access support – here are some links that might be useful.
http://sunderlandcommunitycamhs.nhs.uk
http://www.washingtonmind.org.uk
Stay safe and keep well,
From all the staff at Burnside Academy
Useful Websites
- Community Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service
- Mind | Washington
- Wellbeing Info for Young People
- Young Minds
Parent Support
https://www.facebook.com/GrowingHealthySunderland/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/improve-mental-wellbeing/
Covid-19 anxiety support:
