Wellbeing & Mental Health Support

'At Nene and Ramnoth School we put the wellbeing of all of our children, staff and wider community at the heart of our work. Our aims are to ensure that all in our community are able to maintain positive wellbeing and mental health, for best possible outcomes in life, no matter what the circumstances are.

We will achieve this by listening to our school family, responding to their needs and being proactive in seeking ways to make school life better for everyone. Creating a culture of trust, happiness and a school we can all be proud of.'

We are committed to achieving excellence in all aspects of school life. We have the highest expectations for teaching, learning and achievement across the school. Our aim is to make learning enjoyable, allowing every individual to achieve their best and to nurture their talents, as well as giving them safety, security and the skills they will need to be active, responsible citizens and happy, caring adults in the future.

We recognise that to achieve this and for children to succeed, children need to be physically fit, resilient and mentally healthy; that is to say, they have good emotional well being and as such we are committed to:
• Ensuring children have the knowledge and skills to develop good physical health and healthy minds.
• Developing in children a range of skills and strategies that will stay with them into adulthood and will help them to cope with the worry and stress of life’s ups and downs.

Children who are mentally healthy have the ability to:
• develop psychologically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually
• initiate, develop and sustain mutually satisfying personal relationships
• use and enjoy solitude
• become aware of others and empathise with them
• play and learn
• develop a sense of right and wrong
• resolve problems and setbacks and learn from them

This ethos is embedded in all aspects of our curriculum and school life.

What is Wellbeing?

Wellbeing is all about our holistic health, including the physical and emotional. We acknowledge that, whilst we come at it from unique perspectives, mental health and wellbeing is of central importance and intrinsic to our lives. When we have good levels of wellbeing we feel that life is in balance and that we can generally cope well. We feel motivated and engaged, we’re resilient and able to deal effectively with daily troubles, as well as ’bounce back’ from life’s challenges. Good wellbeing is essential for cultivating a mentally healthy school, for retaining and motivating staff and for promoting children's wellbeing and attainment.

As school, staff and children juggle a multitude of different tasks and demands, it is important that everyone is given the right emotional and practical support so that they can, in turn, support others within our environment and community. In addition to having a positive impact on colleagues and children, good levels of wellbeing can improve performance and help to reduce absence, increase productivity and promote engagement. We aim to drive this message forward, and to ensure that mental health and wellbeing is “everyone’s business” across the whole school community, creating an environment where everyone feels supported, heard, secure, accepted, valued and empowered.

Supporting Wellbeing

As a school our caring ethos and environment has a major impact on the wellbeing of our staff and children. We clearly define our culture and vision, making it clear what behaviours, values and beliefs underpin it. We recognise that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement. All children go through ups and downs during their school career and some face significant life events.

We prioritise building a culture of trust where school staff and children feel valued, can be open about their health and wellbeing and know how to access support if they need it.

At Nene and Ramnoth we encourage a good level of wellbeing in a number of ways; including increasing opportunities to engage in the evidence based 'Five Ways to Wellbeing' model, researched by the charity Mind.

Our vision and values are referred to throughout the day and are fully embedded within our learning environment. They are weaved into everything we do. We have created a culture of belonging:

We have school expectations instead of school rules, which are referred to throughout the school day.
We have a school council, support healthy schools and run a range of extracurricular clubs.
In classes, we have thought boxes, teach PSHCE (personally, social, health and cultural education), complete mindfulness activities such as yoga, guided meditation, breathing exercises and walk the Daily Mile.
We display a weekly wellbeing tip around the school for both staff and children and regularly talk about mental, physical and emotional health as part of our daily diet and routines.
We support specific groups of children such as Young Carers.
We have a ‘What Went Well' wall to celebrate all the successes within a class, throughout a child’s week enabling a positive end and start loop.
We promote and value aspects such as resilience, perseverance, collaboration and questioning when ‘stuck’ in learning, through assemblies and discussions linked to a growth mindset.

Our wellbeing team are: Mrs O’Shea (Senior Mental Health Lead), Mrs Clarke (Family Support) and Mrs Good (Mental Health Champion).

Wellbeing Award for Schools

Nene and Ramnoth School are passionately committed to promoting and supporting positive wellbeing and mental health. We will strive to create an environment that has a whole school approach, in providing excellent mental health support, understanding and intervention.

Our aims are below:

We have a passion to make a difference.
We are aiming to increase awareness of mental health and wellbeing, embedding a culture of resilience, acceptance and understanding.
We are creating a shared vision of collective responsibility for mental health – one that enriches our own lives as well as those around us.
Knowing that contributing helps our community ensure all voices are felt heard, however it is expressed or communicated.
Support and confidence on the journey with our mental health and wellbeing, to ensure it is accessible to all.
To have a platform that keeps developing and refining tools of communication and accountability for our community’s mental health and wellbeing.

To view our 'Wellbeing Award for Schools' strategy click here.

We achieved the Wellbeing Award for Schools in December 2022:

Useful Links

	BBC Bitesize has a range of videos, resources and articles that cover many aspects of mental health and wellbeing. Click on the BBC Bitesize logo to access these.
	The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families has a dedicated website which covers many areas of mental health. They have designated areas for children, parents/carers, Early Years and schools. Click on the Anna Freud logo to access the website.
	Wisbech Foodbank can issue you with a voucher for food. Click on the icon on the left to go to their website for full instructions.
	Wisbech & Fenland Centre 33 have a dedicated website to offer support for mental health and wellbeing. They offer a call or message service and a face-to-face clinic once a week - no appointment necessary.
	Peterborough Women's Aid aims to relieve the distress and trauma experienced by women and their children, if any, who have been affected by their domestic violent situations. Direct dial 01733 894 964 or click on the icon to see their website.
	You can contact Childline about anything. Whatever your worry, it's better out than in and they are here to support you. There are lots of different ways to speak to a Childline counsellor or get support from other young people - you can call, chat online or email.
	The NSPCC has a website section dedicated to children's mental health - click on the icon to see this. They can be contacted via the Helpline on help@nspcc.org.uk or 0808 800 5000.
	Free independent confidential expert advice to help you with problems that can affect your mental health, such as money, housing, work, relationships and family.
	Embrace provide face-to-face emotional support and counselling in schools to children who’ve witnessed or been victims of crime. They also provide telephone and online emotional support to help young people understand their feelings, rebuild their self confidence and self esteem. They can also offer practical support to help families, by providing every day essentials.
	Free 24/7 text messaging support service - text the word HEAR to 85258 to connect to a trained volunteer who will offer calm in a time or place of crisis. This is confidential and anonymous if you wish.
	Aspire at Romsey Mill provides youth clubs for young people in Years 5-9 with an autism diagnosis in main stream schools and are based in South Peterborough. They aim to help reduce social isolation and improve the mental well-being of those who attend. Activities will include: video games, board games, arts and crafts and Lego. Year 4’s can join the waiting list ahead of the next academic year. For enquires, email:admin@romseymill.org For more information visit: www.romseymill.org/aspire

Nene & Ramnoth Young Carers

Nene and Ramnoth School is committed to meeting the needs of young carers so they can attend and enjoy school in the same way as other pupils, have fun and take part in additional activities together, support their well-being and achieve their full potential.

Young carers are children and young people who often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. (Carers Trust, 2012)

The school has designated Young Carers Leads, who have responsibility for young carers and their families. They are: Mrs O’Shea (SENDCo), Mrs Clarke (Family Support) and Mrs Good (HLTA).

The school will use Pupil Premium funding to minimise any barriers to education and learning experienced by eligible young carers. We actively seek feedback and ideas from young carers and their families to shape and improve our support. We are incredibly proud of our Young Carers and in recognition of this, we have gained the Young Carers in Schools Bronze Award.

We will only share information about young carers with professionals and agencies on a need to know basis in order to support children and their families.

If you believe your child to have a Young Carer role in your home, please contact the school either by email or phone and ask to speak to Mrs O’Shea.

Centre 33 is our local service, which offers young carer's support and advice.