Harrow Lodge Primary School

Supporting and Promoting Mental Health at Our School

At Harrow Lodge Primary School we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff through a whole-school approach. At our school we recognise that everyone experiences life challenges that make us vulnerable and, at times, anyone may need emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everyone’s business and we all have a role to play. We are actively promoting positive mental health and wellbeing via our school values.

These consist of:

Our aim is to help develop the protective factors which build resilience to mental health problems and to be a school where:

All children feel valued
Children have the sense of belonging and feel safe
Children feel able to talk openly about their problems without feeling any stigma
Positive mental health is promoted and valued
Bullying is not tolerated and individual identities are celebrated

Definition

The World Health Organisation’s definition of mental health and wellbeing is ‘a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.’

Why mental health matters

1 in 10 children and young people aged 5-16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder – that is around three children in every class.
More than half of all adults with mental health problems were diagnosed in childhood. Less than half were treated appropriately at the time.
3.3% or about 290,000 children and young people have an anxiety disorder.

For more information about how we address mental health at our school, please see our Mental Health Policy under the ‘Policies’ tab.

Useful links:

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/c/children-and-young-people

https://youngminds.org.uk/

https://www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/

https://www.mytutor.co.uk/blog/teen-mental-health-a-guide-for-parents/

https://youngminds.org.uk/supporting-parents-helpfinder/