What is mental health?

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Being mentally healthy means that:

• we feel good about ourselves;
• we can make and keep positive relationships with others;
• we feel able to manage our feelings rather than feeling overwhelmed by them;
• we have interests or hobbies that we enjoy;
• we feel hopeful and positive about the future.

Good mental health helps us to cope with life’s ups and downs and to ask for support from others when we need it.

We have always been an emotionally aware school and we have brought this to top of the agenda as part of the school recovery plan which prioritises supporting the emotional needs of all children.

To promote this, we ask our pupils and their families to think and talk about how they are feeling. We use the ideas of “naming and taming our feelings”. To name and tame is to help children to get to know how they are feeling, by learning more about the range of feelings we can experience and by teaching them that emotions are a part of life.

The taming part is helping children learn that we use our emotions to inform us but we try not to let them overwhelm, or control us. To get to know your feelings can be a good way to understand and regulate them.

At Walkley children are taught that everybody experiences a range of emotions for a wide variety of reasons and that we need to be mindful of this when interacting with others.

To give children a simple way of talking to each other and staff about their feelings during their school day we use a resource called “The Five Point Scale”.  This is printed onto every desk and work area.  Children use it to identify how they feel about the school - work, playtime and friendships.

In every classroom, thoughts and feelings boxes allow pupils the opportunity to seek support with their feelings. Class staff alert the Pastoral team to individuals who would like to discuss any thoughts and feelings.