Mental Health & Wellbeing at Lakeside
At Lakeside Primary Academy, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. Mental Health issues affect children and young people as well as adults, with more than 850,000 children and young people in the UK having been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Since September 2014, Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) has also become a category of Special Educational Needs.
We have a supportive and caring ethos and our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and contribution is valued.
At our school 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 promote a mentally healthy environment through:
- Promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging.
- Promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision-making
- Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements
- Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others
- Providing opportunities to reflect.
- Access to appropriate support that meets their needs
We provide high levels of Pastoral support at Lakeside Primary including, Jigsaw PSHE programme, ELSA support, School Wellbeing Service and Wellbeing in Mind Team and access to many other outside agencies.
We encourage children to talk about any issues that are worrying them, and train our staff to be mindful of children’s emotional and mental well being. Any concerns are passed to our SENCo or Senior Mental Health Lead Miss Bamford, to ensure children are properly supported in school.
We work in close partnership with outside agencies, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Educational Psychology team and Behaviour Support of Danesgate to ensure the best outcomes for our children.
Miss Bamford
Assistant Head teacher and SENCO
