Beaver Road Primary School
Mental Health and Wellbeing
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.’
Beaver Road Primary School will do all that it can to promote the Health and Wellbeing including Mental Health of all who learn and work here. Building healthy relationships and nourishing mental health and wellbeing is a key driver in a healthy and happy school community.
The startegies we use to promote and support Mental Health and Well Being at our school are listed below
Relationships
The more high-quality relationships students have with their teachers, the better their level of motivation in school. Pupils who have access to strong relationships are more academically engaged, have stronger social skills, and experience more positive behaiour. Therefore, at Beaver Road, we have a culture that values adults nurturing relationships with students. The strong relationships the staff have with their pupils provides a foundation for student engagement, belonging, and ultimately learning. Positive and supportive relationships which express care, challenge growth, provide support, share power, and expand possibilites are an integral component of our school.
Building these relationships is a multi-faceted approach. To find out more information about the methods we use, please follow the links below.
| Rights Respecting | Self- Regulated Learners | Emotion Coaching | Restorative practice |
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| In June, 2019, Beaver Road Primary School was awarded Gold status as a Rights Respecting School and were re-accedited in June 2022. | To support the children’s self regulation, teachers encourage children to understand and use the Zones of Regulation on a daily basis. |
The key steps of emotion coaching are:
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When conflict arises between pupils we use a restorative approach.
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| Peer mentors | Place 2 Be | ||
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| Peer mentors are children and young people helping and supporting each other. | At Beaver Road, we have a dedicated Place2Be mental health professional who is an integral part of the school team. |
YoungMinds A-Z guide gives you advice on how to help your child with their feelings and behaviour, as well as mental health conditions and life events. |
Please see our Beaver Road Family Support and Guidance page which sign posts useful websites and resources that can help support our families. |
The Curriculum
At Beaver Road Primary School, PSHE drives the social, cultural and moral foundation of our whole school curriculum and is at the very heart of what we do and who we are. The study of self, community, being safe and being healthy are threaded through the different subject areas and continually explored, modelled and referred to in our wider school experience. The study of PSHE is not simply about making children good citizens; it is about developing sound decision-making power through understanding, tolerance and respect of the changing world around us and the relationships that we make.
Metacognition
To encourage our pupils to be self-regulated learners, we teach children to develop their metacognitive knowledge and self regulation. Therefore, the Metacognition and Self-regulated Learning recommendations from the EEF are built consistently into everyday teaching activities.
Environments
In every classroom, across all year groups, our pupils benefit from individual support areas where they can take some time away from the rest of the class if needed. These areas are designed to help improve wellness and alleviate stress, while ultimately fostering interaction among both teacher and student.
Each classroom also has a worry box, a container into which children can post their anxious thoughts. The students at Beaver Road find these boxes supportive as it gives children a physical way of getting rid of their worries as well as informing a trusted adult about something they want to talk through to reduce their burden, whilst giving teachers an opportunity to reassure pupils.
Behaviour for Learning
The school acknowledges that behaviour can sometimes be the result of educational, mental health, other needs or vulnerabilities, and will address these needs via an individualised graduated response. Please see our Behaviour for Learning Policy for more information about how Beaver Road creates a safe and calm environment to encourage and support children in learning, working and playing together
in a safe, secure and friendly environment.
https://www.beaverroad.org.uk/page/policies-and-procedures/54115
Events
Every year we celebrate World Mental Health Day on 10 October. The theme for 2023, set by the World Foundation of Mental Health, is ‘Mental health is a universal human right’. We thought about what this means in assembly, encouraged our children to talk about their worries and concerns with a trusted adult and also promoted the benefits of reading to support your mental health.
Children’s Mental Health Week was on 6th - 12th February 2023 and the theme was Let's connect.
We encouraged our children (and adults) to look at how we can make meaningful connections. Follow this link for more information on Place2Be's website childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk
The staff at Beaver Road have made a video to inspire our pupils to 'Reach for the Stars'. Reach for the Stars - Beaver Road Staff Video