Sometimes life can be challenging for both children and adults and that can affect our wellbeing and mental health. At Wootton Bassett Infants we believe that being mentally healthy is vital for us to cope with day-to-day life and that wellbeing needs to be a high priority in order for children to be ready for learning. On this page we will be sharing ideas about how to support your own and your child's wellbeing and mental health. 
Mental health is a state of well-being 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 her or his community. (World Health Organization)

How can I help my child with their mental health?
1.       Make conversations about mental health a normal part of life: Anywhere is a good place to talk; in the car, walking the dog or cooking together. Model everyday talk about feelings such as by talking about a book or TV character’s feelings.
2.     Give your full attention: We all know it’s horrible to be half listened to. Keep eye contact, focus on the child and ignore distractions.
3.     Check your body language: Try to keep it open and relaxed and make sure you come down to the child’s level.
4.    Take it seriously: Don’t downplay what the child is saying or tell them they’re “just being silly”. Resist the urge to reassure them that everything is fine.
5.    Ask open questions: Such as “How did your day go today?” This will help to extend the conversation.
6.    Calmly stay with the feelings that arise: It can be our automatic reaction to steer away from difficult emotions.
7.     Offer empathy rather than solutions: Show that you accept what they are telling you but don’t try to solve the problem.
8.     Remember we are all different: Respect and value the child’s feelings, even though they may be different to yours.
9.     Look for clues about feelings: Listen to the child’s words, tone of voice and body language.
10. Some ways to start a conversation about feelings might be: “How are you feeling at the moment?” “You don’t seem your usual self. Do you want to talk about it?” “I’m happy to listen if you need a chat.”

Where can I get support and information?
We want all adults and children to feel that they can come to speak to us about any worries or concerns that they may have. There is support that we can offer in school and we will do our upmost to provide this. However, sometimes it may be the case that we feel more suitable support can be found elsewhere and we can signpost you to the correct organisation or professional.
Please find below some helpful websites and organisations that can offer support with mental health.

• Solihull Approach

• The Incredible Years

• The Centre for Emotional Health

• Supporting Links

• Tooled Up

• The Wellbeing Hub

• Rethink Mental Illness

• Anna Freud- a world-leading mental health charity for children and families

• Qwell- Free digital mental wellbeing support for adults across the UK

• BBC Bitesize

The Pupil Wellbeing Policy can be found on our Policy Page

Other useful websites:

• Parental support and advice (Young Minds)

• Getting ready to start school (Place2Be)

• Adolescence and growing up (The Mix)

• Help with weight and nutrition Healthy Me 

• Cooking Skills Phunky Foods

• Domestic Abuse Fear Free

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service CAMHS 
• NHS

• Young Minds

• Family Lives- for parenting and family life worries

• Bereavement and grief (Child Bereavement UK) or (Winston's Wish)

• Special needs and disabilities (Scope)

• Autism (National Autistic Society)

• LGBTQ+ (Strong Family Alliance)

• Race and ethnicity (BAATN)

• Wiltshire Children's Services HCRG

• Money Advice Service Money Helper

Healthy Schools 

We have achieved our Bronze Healthy Schools Award. We were asked about how we ensure our children receive skills and knowledge to live a healthy life. this includes: 

• Our Whole School Approach
• PSHE education
• Healthy weight (incorporating healthy eating and physical activity)
• Emotional wellbeing and Mental Health

We hope to achieve our Silver award this year so please look out for information regarding this as we may need your support at home.

Five to Thrive 

As a school, we use the Five to Thrive model with some of our children. It is an accessible model that can be woven into everyday interactions to support recovery from trauma and attachment need. It is not a replacement for intensive therapy that some children may need, but it is supportive and accessible to all. The Five to Thrive sequence reflects a process of co-regulation, guidance and support needed for families, children, and young people in this situation.
The model is also useful for when children become dysregulated or display challenging behaviours that they find difficult to control or manage. Please click here for more information about dysregualtion vs a tantrum. 
This approach focuses on a set of five key principles – respond, engage, relax, play, talk. 

More information can be found at:

https://fivetothrive.org.uk/

https://wiltshirefamilyhubs.org.uk/programmes/