Well-being

At Saint Joseph’s Catholic Infant and Junior schools, we pride ourselves on developing a
positive ethos built on the foundations of the Catholic faith. We teach and learn with our
Mission Statement at the heart of all that we do. “We follow Christ’s footsteps in love” and
this alongside our R.E curriculum underpins everything that we do.
We also have a monthly value or focus key virtue which pupils and staff are encouraged to
reflect and act upon in their everyday life.

Our Wellbeing Vison Statement

At St. Joseph’s Catholic Infant and Junior schools, we promote, develop, equip and prepare healthy learners for life. We are committed to making it our mission to promote resilience, positive wellbeing and mental health for all our pupils and staff. We understand wellbeing to be a state of being comfortable, healthy and happy. We understand that mental health and well-being is everyone’s responsibility across the whole school community. We will strive to create an environment that has a whole school approach, in providing excellent mental health support, understanding and intervention. We will put Wellbeing at the heart of our school to ensure successful learning, and commit to our policies reflecting this practice.

Mission

At St. Joseph’s Catholic Infant and Junior schools, our mission is to promote, develop, equip and prepare healthy learners for life. We are committed to making it our mission to promote resilience, positive wellbeing and mental health for all our pupils and staff.

Vision

We understand that mental health and well-being is everyone’s responsibility across the whole school community. We will strive to create an environment that has a whole school approach in providing excellent mental health support, understanding and intervention.

Values

We will put wellbeing at the heart of our school to ensure successful learning, and commit to our policies reflecting this practice.

We encourage the whole school community to be open in an environment where people are comfortable talking about their own wellbeing.

The National Sleep Charity

Please see information to a charity which offers support to children and adults who have difficulty sleeping.

https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/information-support/children/

Cath Child ConnectEd mental Health Services for Schools

School counselling & therapy

As a school we have a Cathchild counsellor visit school to work with some of our children and support our staff. This specialist support ensures vulnerable children and young people can develop resilience, achieve their full potential and have better chances in life.

Counsellors and therapists work with young people to help them come to terms with their difficulties, unburden themselves and address issues causing distress. This may be due to a range of issues.

For younger children play therapy is often used, or other creative arts therapies, to help explore the painful issues children struggle to communicate verbally.

As a result of these early intervention services children and young people develop greater resilience, are better able to cope and their emotional wellbeing significantly improves. Some of our staff are also trained in Rainbows Bereavement Support Programme which is training for school staff so they can deliver support groups for children who have experienced a significant loss in their lives. This may be due to the death of a loved one, or family breakdown/separation.

This programme helps children cope with their grief and feel less alone.

For more information please speak to a member of staff in school.

Click the picture below to visit the Cath child website.

Click below to visit the Brent Wellbeing Hub

Local Community led information, advice and support services on Wellbeing and Mental Health

The National Sleep Charity

Please see information to a charity which offers support to children and adults who have difficulty sleeping.

https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/information-support/children/

Anna Freud National Centre for children and families

Click on the photos below to download the documents

Kidscape

What is bullying?

Bullying is when one person, or a group of people, deliberately hurts another person, more than once, and it’s hard for the person on the receiving end to defend themselves.

It can help to use the acronym STOP to identify a bullying situation. STOP stands for Several Times on Purpose.

Visit the Kidscape website for useful information and advice. CLICK HERE

Want to talk to someone?

If you don't feel yourself, and would like to talk to someone specifically about this, there are many people who can help you. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone, If you want to talk to someone about how you're feeling, you can call an emotional support helpline.

NHS 24/7 all-ages crisis lines
Samaritans: a confidential support service for anyone experiencing distress or despair. Call: 116 123 for free.
Papyrus: a helpline service to people under 35 who are experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide. Call 0800 068 41 41 for free.
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably): a helpline for anyone who needs help. Call 0800 58 58 for free.
The Silverline: for anyone over 55. They provide friendship, conversation and support. Call 0800 4 70 80 90 for free
Brent Talking Therapies is a free NHS service which provides psychological treatment for depression and anxiety disorders. You do not need to be referred into this service by your GP, you are able to self-refer.
Brent MIND support people with mild, moderate, long and enduring mental health needs.
Ashford Place offer support and advice when you need it. Activities and advice to keep you fit and well, and a friendly place to meet, eat and chat. If you require more specialist care, contact the single point of access team which is open 24/7. Call: 0800 0234 650 or email: cnw-tr.spa@nhs.net

Click here for Kooth’s guide to understanding and managing feelings of loneliness

Healthy Schools and the OPAL Project

OPAL is an award-winning, mentor supported school improvement programme that addresses all the areas that schools must plan for if they want to strategically and sustainably improve the quality of their play opportunities. OPAL is the only programme of its kind that has been independently proven to sustainably improve the quality of play in British primary schools.

Its success comes from a series of interrelated actions undertaken with specialist support from an OPAL mentor. This embeds play into the school’s policies and practices and establishes clear guiding principles and strategies for initiating lasting changes at playtimes.