Whole School Approach

Promote a whole school ethos and environment that supports the emotional and mental health of pupils, staff and the wider school community.

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Schools have a significant role to play in developing and sustaining good emotional and mental health in our children and young people. This website is a resource for Derby schools to support, share and celebrate the work that we are doing to ensure that every child can reach their potential.

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#KindnessMatters

NB: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ Did you know kindness can help reduce stress and improve our emotional wellbeing? Research shows that being kind has clear benefits for our mental health. Find out more about what these benefits are from the kindness matters guide ...Read more

Black History Month

Black History Month activities for kids to use in the classroom this month or ways to discuss Black history throughout the school year, options for your classroom's, plus ways to include this year’s theme. ...Read more

Build Back Childhood

https://www.ncb.org.uk/buildbackchildhood A really interesting read: Before the pandemic, a child’s health, wellbeing and life chances were powerfully shaped by the circumstances of their birth. The pandemic has painfu...Read more

Compassion in the Classroom

The 'Compassion in the Classroom' online resource is a repository for any Head Teachers or senior school staff members, of any school in the UK, that are looking to implement a Whole School Approach to wellbeing. It primarily consists of available in-house initiatives, free resources, ...Read more

Every Mind Matters

Follow the link for the NHS top tips to support children and young people. #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek#2022 https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/supporting-others/childrens-mental-healt...Read more

External Agency Support

Click below to check out our repository of useful links, contacts, and organisations that support different elements of Children's and Young People's Emotional and Mental Healt...Read more

Mental Health Awareness Week

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek starts on 15 May. This years theme is Anxiety. ...Read more

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 toolkit

Don't forget to download your resources to help you this week. https://mentallyhe...Read more

Mental Health Podcasts

NB: https://linktr.ee/mentalhealthfoundation Check out the 'Let's Talk: Mental Health' podcast brought to you by @mentalhealth. They have got together with different people & experts to chat about mental health. Available whe...Read more

Pupil Voice

Pupil voice in schools means a whole-school commitment to listening to the views, wishes and experiences of all children and young people. It means placing value on what children and young people tell school staff about their experiences. ...Read more

Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/ ...Read more

The eight principles

A whole school approach is crucial in tackling mental health effectively and particularly in removing stigma, by working universally across the school community. This diagram illustrates the eight principles to developing a whole school or college approach to emotional wellbeing and is...Read more

The Whole School Approach at St Martins

On Tuesday 19th November we visited St Martins specialist school in Alvaston, Derby to see how the school has fully embraced and embedded a whole school approach to its young p...Read more

On Tuesday 19th November we visited St Martins specialist school in Alvaston, Derby to see how the school has fully embraced and embedded a whole school approach to its young people's Emotional and Mental Health.

The first thing that is apparent when visiting St Martins and speaking to the staff for the first time is the absolute passion they have for their young people's emotional and mental wellbeing. Throughout the visit it became clear that creating a supportive environment for their young people's emotional and mental wellbeing sits closely allied to providing a meaningful and quality education. Crucially, and as was emphasised to us by our tour guide, the schools DSLMH Emma Banks, the two sit in parallel with each other occupying equal states of importance in the culture of the school. After all, as Emma says, "young people can't learn when they're in a bad place emotionally."

St Martins has embedded the emotional and mental wellbeing culture through the application of mechanisms and support into all aspects of school life - from the governance and leadership structures, the mindset of the teaching staff, the structure of the timetable, the approach to teaching and the curriculum itself and even to the design and layout of the walls and noticeboards.

In particular, the use of parallel governance and leadership structures that have a specific remit of mental health and wellbeing across the school seems vital. Having a group of Governors and Assistant Headteacher Laura Crawford to strategically lead wellbeing across the school ensures inclusion of emotional and mental wellbeing and embeds it in the strategy of the school. The pupils themselves are then integrated into the system through a well-being committee which is a part of the student council structure, which itself links directly to the Governors.

This is then reinforced and anchored in the day-to-day actions of the school by Emma's team of wellbeing support staff who (alongside other things) operate a simple but effective system of pupil and staff referrals for extra support. Any teacher can refer a pupil or a pupil can refer themselves, and once their needs are assessed by the team, they will unlock a myriad of individualised and bespoke interventions to support that young person.

These interventions can range from a simple 1-to-1 conversation to an individualised timetable for that particular young person. Importantly, these interventions aren't necessarily off-the-shelf solutions brought in from external organisations - they are most often designed as specific, bespoke and individual solutions to the needs of that young person.

Emma recognised that by no means was the system St Martins have implemented perfect or easy at times - in the past it had over-relied on individual members of staff and suffered as a result of those staff taking time away. There had also been some issues regarding teacher buy-in and a contention around taking a young person out of classes, particularly on a regular basis. However, after three successive 'Outstanding' ratings by Ofsted and a larger wellbeing staff team the results clearly speak for themselves.

If you have any direct questions for Emma or if you would like to discuss any of the details above in further depth, don't hesitate to send her an email at - E.Banks@stmartins.derby.sch.uk. You can also contact Laura Crawford, St Martins Assistant Headteacher, SENCO and Designated Safeguarding Lead at - L.Crawford@stmartins.derby.sch.uk

Ukraine Crisis Mental Health Visual Aid

World Mental Health day

NB: www.youngminds.org.uk Wear yellow on 10 October and donate to Young Minds this World Mental Health Day. Together we can create a brighter future for young people's mental health. Sign up for free School fundraising packs: https://www.youngmi...Read more

World Mental Health Day 2022 toolkit

Toolkits of resources for primary and secondary/FE settings, full of World Mental Health Day activities for whole classes, small groups or individual pupils. ...Read more

World Suicide Prevention Day

Click on the link for some helpful resources: https://www.iasp.info/wp-content/uploads/World-Suicide-Prevention-Day-Suggested-Activities.pdf ...Read more

Whole School Approach

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Whole School Approach

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