Wellbeing

Mental Health and Well-being

At Cledford Primary & Nursery Academy, we encourage our children and families to promote positive mental health. This can be seen through our school values - Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. We continuously strive to be an emotionally healthy school by adopting a whole school approach to well-being. Our children are able to explore their emotions and are supported to regulate themselves in a safe space.

We aim to promote positive mental health for every member of our staff and pupils. We pursue this aim by using whole school approaches and our restorative behaviour system. In addition to promoting positive mental health, we aim to recognise and respond to mental health difficulties through personalised support, group work and supportive activities such as nurture interventions.

ELSA

We are proud to have ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) trained staff. ELSAs can support children’s emotional development and help them manage life’s challenges. An ELSA’s role is to provide children with the strategies to regulate their emotions and the support to provide solutions that children can draw on when necessary. Relationships are key in helping children to feel safe and nurtured. ELSA is about creating the time and reflective space for the child.

Areas that our ELSA supports in:

·Loss and bereavement

·Self-esteem

·Social Skills

·Friendship conflicts

·Relationships

·Managing strong feelings

·Anxiety and worries

·Conflict

·Emotional regulation

·Growth mindset

Pastoral Manager

As a school, we recognise that there are times when families may need additional support. Our Pastoral Manager, Mrs Plimmer, works closely with all of our staff to offer support and advice by:

Aiding communication between parents, carers, guardians and professionals.

Supporting parents, carers and guardians to manage the emotional wellbeing of their children.

Listening to parent, carer and guardian concerns and working with them to find solutions.

Signposting and referring to the appropriate service that can support families such as Health Visitors, Mental Health Support Team, CLASP, Cheshire Without Abuse and the Food Bank.

Support and advice around managing behaviour and improving routines

Providing ‘Extra Help’ and ‘Targeted Help’ to support families.