We are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and, at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.

At Our School We

• help children to understand their emotions and feelings better                             
• help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
• help children socially, to form and maintain relationships
• promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
• encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
• help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks 

We Offer Different Levels Of Support

Universal Support- To meet the needs of all our pupils through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum e.g. through the 6Rs and learning dispositions. The vast majority of our support staff members have been trained in an accredited Mindfulness course – ‘Calm Minds, Calm Spaces’ – and they use the techniques they have acquired on a daily basis.

Additional support- For those who may have short term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences, such as bereavement.  

Targeted support-  For pupils who need more differentiated support and resources or specific targeted interventions, such access to our school counsellor within a wellbeing group or 1:1 sessions.

Key staff in school:

Sarah Jones – Therapeutic Counsellor

Kerrie White – Assistant Head Teacher and Mental Health First Aider

Sarah George - SENDCo

Naazim Patel – PSHE/Wellbeing lead for children and Mental Health First Aider

Karen Gutteridge – Parent Liaison Officer

Pathway to support

1. Each half term the teachers fill out wellbeing trackers which help us to assess the children’s different areas of need;
2. The Counsellor meets with the Head and Assistant Head to prioritise children;
3. Therapy starts for half a term – either 1:1 or in small ‘wellbeing groups’;
4. At the end of the half term, teachers complete the trackers again to analyse impact and refer for the next round of sessions.
5. Cycle starts again.

Nurture Panel

Each term teachers assess the children, who appear on the school’s Well Being Trackers, in 4 key areas:

• Well being
• Involvement
• Presentation
• Progress

Teachers use the Leuven Scales to assess the children. All DSL’s in school meet in a ‘Nurture Panel Meeting’ to discuss the children and any actions for them and their family.

The package of support, used at Highcliffe, implements and acknowledges the process of assess – plan – do – review to ensure that all children feel happy, safe and secure.

Useful links

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

A public health England and NHS site to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others.

https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/

Quality-assured information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children’s mental health and wellbeing.

Anti-bullying

At Highcliffe we take bullying seriously and we are very proud of the extremely low levels we have of bullying.

Bullying can be defined as an abuse of power by one or more through repeated hurtful or aggressive behaviour to cause significant emotional or physical harm to another person.

Children are encouraged to tell adults about their concerns if they feel they are being bullied and we have strategies for working with children who are involved in bullying. If you have concerns as a parent please be encouraged to speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance.

STOP

We define bullying as: Several Times On Purpose
We encourage pupils to: Start Telling Other People

Please click the links below for further information: