Children's mental health and wellbeing
At Bishop Ian Ramsey C of E Primary School, our children are at the heart of everything we do and we aim to create well-rounded, independent learners. This cannot be achieved through the academic curriculum alone but also through nurturing our children's social, emotional and mental health needs.
Our ethos and curriculum supports wellbeing and builds connections that foster the feelings of being accepted, respected, and being a part of the school community.
Our aims
Our aims for children's wellbeing is to provide:
- a sense of belonging and safety
- low levels of conflict and disruptive behaviour
- smooth transitions from one type of activity to another
- appropriate expressions of emotion and ways to manage emotional regulation
- respectful communication and problem solving
- supportiveness and responsiveness to individual children and their needs
- tolerance and respect for the diversity of individuals in the school community, promoting understanding of neuro diversity and emotional or mental health needs
Our provision
In order to meet our wellbeing aims we have in place the following provision:
- familiar school and class routines to help build a sense of security
- classroom atmosphere that promotes belonging so everyone feels listened to, understood, and supported
- Forest School in our own woodland, which promotes wellbeing and a love of nature and the outdoors
- a full and varied PSHE and RSE curriculum
- a simple behaviour system: Ready-Respectful-Safe
- shared language and understanding of emotional literacy and regulation through the use, and explicit teaching, of 'The Zones of Regulation'
- a learning environment that support emotional regulation and positive mental health with resources such as fidget toys, visual timetables, movement breaks, safe spaces and mindfulness activities
- staff follow Restorative Practice principles when dealing with conflict or behavioural issues
- opportunities for children to take an active role in the school community through groups such as School Council, Wellbeing Warriors, reading buddies, sports competitions, Forest School and extra-curricular clubs
- links with outside agencies to provide targeted support for those individuals who need it, including CAMHS, the Piece of Mind team and cluster services such as family support
- staff who are timetabled to provide a range of individual and group support including nurture work, check ins and programmes linked to specific social, emotional or mental health needs
- staff who are trained in Mental Health First Aid and a dedicated Mental Health Lead
Zones of Regulation
There are times when all of us (including adults) find it hard to manage strong feelings such as worry, anger, fear or tiredness, and this stops us from getting on with our day effectively. Children who feel these emotions often find it hard to learn and concentrate in school. The Zones of Regulation is an approach which aims to teach children strategies to help them cope with these feelings so they can get back to feeling calm and ready to learn. These coping strategies are called ‘self-regulation’.
At Bishop Ian Ramsey, we refer to the Zones of Regulation throughout the whole school. We want to teach all of our children good coping and regulation strategies so they can help themselves when they experience anxiety and stress.
We have put together a Parent and Carer Guide to the Zones of Regulation, which we hope is useful. Please click the link below for our guide.
Zones of Regulation Parent and Carer Guide
Useful links
Parents and carers might find information on the sites below useful if they want more information about how to support their child's, and their own, mental health and wellbeing.
Durham County Council Wellbeing Services
NHS - Children and Young People's Mental Health
NSPCC - supporting mental health
