Mrs McFarlane and Miss Wright are our schools Mental Health Champions!
The aim of teaching our pupils about mental health and wellbeing is to give them the information that they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing. To do this, we learn about our brains through MyHappyMind. At ISP, we recognise that physical health and mental wellbeing are interlinked, and it is important that our pupils understand that good physical health contributes to good mental wellbeing, and vice versa.
By the end of Y6 our pupils will have clear understanding that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health and have embedded key strategies to recognise impacts to their mental health and strategies to support themselves and others,.
This starts with pupils at ISP being taught about the, MyHappyMind gives our children the language and knowledge to understand the normal range of emotions that everyone experiences, knowledge of their brain and understanding the benefits and importance of daily exercise, good nutrition and sufficient sleep.
As children move through each aspect of MyHappyMind, they are given opportunities to explore and articulate how they are feeling, develop the language to talk about their bodies, health and emotions and judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is appropriate and proportionate for the situations that they experience.
MyHappyMind gives children a variety of simple self care strategies that support and protect their wellbeing, which our wonderful Happiness Heroes and staff help to support, such as Happy Breathing and Places.
We discuss and teach our pupils the benefits of hobbies, interests and participation in their own communities. It is clear that the children realise that people are social beings and that spending time with others, taking opportunities to consider the needs of others and practising service to others, including in organised and structured activities and groups (for example the scouts or girl guide movements), are beneficial for health and wellbeing. Outside interests and accomplishments are shared and celebrated in school – this year we have learnt we have some very talented sportsmen, swimmers, dancers and farmers.
We link our wellbeing to our Computing curriculum and children are taught about the benefits of rationing time spent online and the risks of excessive use of electronic devices. In later primary school years at ISP, pupils are taught why social media, computer games and online gaming have age restrictions and should be equipped to manage common difficulties encountered online.
A firm foundation in the benefits and characteristics of good health and wellbeing enables us to talk about isolation, loneliness, unhappiness, bullying and the negative impact of poor health and wellbeing.
Mental health and wellbeing are an extremely important aspect to school life here at ISP. We want a school community which nurtures and gives our pupils the best understanding of this from a young age and encourage them all to talk and share these feelings.
Helpful Websites to support your children with their Mental Health and Wellbeing can be found below:
Anna Freud – National Centre for Children and Families
Place2Be
Young Minds
Education Hub for Mental Health
