At St Michael’s Church of England Infant school we take mental health and wellbeing very seriously. We are committed to support the emotional health and wellbeing of our children and our staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable at times and anyone can need additional emotional support.
Caring and looking after the mental health of others is a shared responsibility and is part of our Christian value of love.
We offer different levels of support:
Universal Support – To meet the needs of all our pupils through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum. For instance, developing resilience for all.
Additional support – For those who may have short-term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences such as bereavement.
Targeted support – For pupils who need more differentiated support and resources or specific targeted interventions such as wellbeing groups or personal mentors.
ELSA - Sometimes, despite everyone’s best efforts your child may still need support. At St Michael’s our ELSA is Mrs Carey, who is trained to support children who are finding it hard to manage their emotions. This may be due to mental health, bereavement or separation.
Outside of school there are local services that may be helpful for our families:
Safe Haven (Adults)
Safe Havens provide out of hours help and support to people and their carers who are experiencing a mental health crisis or emotional distress.
https://www.sabp.nhs.uk/our-services/mental-health/safe-havens
The NHS 111 mental health triage service
NHS 111
The mental health triage team has a wide range of skills, including on the phone brief psychological support and has access to key services and organisations that can offer mental health support to people in their time of need.
The Sleep Charity
https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/information-support/children/
Citizens Advice
https://citizensadvicerushmoor.org.uk/
Aldershot main telephone number is: 01252 333 618
0808 2787 912* Freephone Adviceline
You can find a copy of our Mental Health & Wellbeing policy here.
