Emotional Health and Well-Being
At Golcar JI&N School we recognise that we have an important role to play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all our pupils. We do this in a range of ways across school, including tailoring approaches to the needs of individual pupils. We fully accept that we have a duty to promote the welfare of our pupils; including preventing the impairment of pupil health or development, and to take action to enable all pupils to have the best outcome. Our trained Mental Health lead is Mrs Zartasha Hughes (SENCo), who works closely with Mr Andy Beech (inclusion worker) and the link governor, Mr Marcus Farrington to ensure that promoting positive emotional health and wellbeing is embedded within the school's values, policies and systems. There is a graduated and differentiated response to supporting children's emotional needs. Please read the policy for further information.
Promoting good emotional health and well-being for all of our pupils is a priority of the school. Our general and tailored provision, including staff training and access to services for families, has been a focus of school development for a number of years. Please see the information below which details some of the school wide provision on offer.
We continue to strive to enhance our school offer and are pleased to be part of the Kirklees trailblazer programme 'Mental Health Support Team' and to be working towards becoming an accredited 'Nurturing School' with Nurture UK. In addition, we have a number of trained 'Mental Health First Aiders' who are able to offer support and advice to our staff, pupils, parents and carers.
Are you or your child struggling with your mental health? Do you want someone to offload to who can listen and offer advice/ signpost support? Kath (our parent and community worker) is offering some one-to-one sessions with parents. Please contact the office (by phone or email) to organise.
Here’s what some of our parents have said about the sessions:
‘I have learnt some great strategies to support my anxious child.’
‘It was a great opportunity for me to voice my concerns and be heard.’
‘Kath is really down-to-earth and easy to talk to. I felt relieved after getting things off my chest."
Please contact the school office on 01484 652954 or office@golcarjin.com
to book a 45 mins session with
Kathryn Madden (Parent and Community Worker)
Policies
| Name | |
|---|---|
| anti-bullying-policy-2022.docx | Download |
| Behaviour policy Sept 2022 review (1).pdf | Download |
| Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy For Schools & Colleges 2022-23.docx | Download |
| Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy For Schools & Colleges 2022-23.docx | Download |
| SEMH and positive behaviour guidance.docx | Download |
| SEN Information Report 2022 23.docx | Download |
| SEN Policy 2022 23.docx | Download |
| SMSC whole school overview 2023.docx | Download |
| well-being-and-mental-health-school-provision-2023.docx | Download |
Meet our Wellbeing Warriors- they have been trained by Mental Health Practitioners from Northorpe Hall
5-point Scales and Emotional Regulation
In school, we use 5-point scales to support children to recognise emotional states in themselves and begin to learn a variety of tools and strategies for regulation, calming and overall wellness. The 5-point scales provide us with an easy way to think and talk about how we feel on the inside and sort these feelings into a number on the scale, all of which are expected in life. Once we understand our feelings, we can learn to use tools/strategies to manage them in order to meet goals like doing schoolwork or other tasks, managing big feelings, and healthy relationships with others. The simple, common language and visual helps make the complex skill of regulation more concrete for children and those who support them.
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Emotional Wellbeing Resources
| Name | |
|---|---|
| FREE Emotional Health and Wellbeing Resources.pdf | Download |
Information about Suicide
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Samaritans Guidence How to prepare for and respond to a suspected suicide in schools and colleges.pdf | Download |
Parent Workshops
Throughout the year, we hold a range of parent workshops in our newly transformed, ‘Garden Room’ (wellbeing space, previously Turtles classroom). These are led by our parent and community worker from Northorpe Hall (Kath Madden) and our SENCo (Zoe Whitaker). They cover a variety of topics including: sleep, anxiety, neurodiversity, behaviour as communication, supporting transition, wellbeing and digital devices and mental health. We try to vary the timings of these workshops to support working parents. If you want to discuss something more personal, both Zoe and Kath also offer one-to-one sessions with parents. Please drop the office an email to arrange one: office@golcarjin.com
We also hold regular coffee mornings and information sharing sessions for parents.
SEND parent/ carer drop in day. If you would like to come into school to discuss your SEND child with me, please contact the office to book a meeting. This will be on Wednesday 29th November 8am-7:30pm. Your meeting slot can either be in school, over the phone or over Zoom. Please contact the office to book: 01484 652954 office@golcarjin.com
Parent Information Sharing Sessions (all held in school) please contact the office to book a place. These are informal information sharing sessions held in school. Come along for a cuppa, a biscuit, a chat and some tips on supporting your child.
- Behaviour is Communication: Wednesday 18th October 5:30-6:30pm
- Supporting Sleep: Wednesday 17th January 5:30-6:30pm
- Support Your Child Through Transition: Wednesday 19th June 5:30-6:30pm
All sessions are ran by Kath Madden, our parent and community support worker from Northorpe Hall. Here’s what our parents have said about these sessions:
‘I learnt lots of practical parenting tips that have made a huge difference to family life in my house.’
‘I no longer have that dreaded feeling at bedtime. I have a routine in place that works for us.’
‘I have learnt some great strategies to support my anxious child. It was also good to chat to other parents who are experiencing similar difficulties.’
‘It was a great opportunity for me to voice my concerns and be heard.’
‘I have learnt a lot about sensory processing and I will now see my child’s meltdowns in a different light. Thank you.’
Please note, we try to alternate the days and times of our sessions to cater for different working arrangements.
If you have missed one of our workshops, materials shared in these sessions can be found below:
Materials from parent workshop on supporting your child's wellbeing around the time of SATS (19/04/23)
Materials from Parent Workshop on 24/05/2022: The Impact of Digital Devices on Wellbeing
Information shared at parents/carers SEND coffee morning with Mrs Whitaker on 25/05/2022
| Name | |
|---|---|
| SEND parents workshop coffee cake morning.pptx | Download |
Support Services discussed during the Summer SEND Coffee Morning:
https://streetbikes.org.uk/learn-to-ride/
https://www.facebook.com/Centralyouthclub/
https://endorphins.uk/events/south-kirklees-after-school-club-3/
Kirklees Mental Health Support Teams Trailblazer Project
Through our participation in the project we are able to access enhanced support via specialist teams to give vulnerable pupils the extra help that they need. Mental Health support teams are made up of specially trained expert practitioners who provide early intervention support to children and young people with mild to moderate mental health issues. They also help staff in identifying and supporting pupils with mental health needs.
At Golcar JIN School, the MSHT Project has so far provided a number of our pupils with access to an Educational Mental Health Practitioner with whom they are able to speak to about their worries and concerns. This service is in addition to the Key Person and Behaviour and Inclusion Support Worker already offered in school.
As part of the MHST project, we are able to access a wider range of staff training to enhance the knowledge and skills of our team and further extend the in school provision. Training undertaken has included;
- supporting children's well-being in the early years
- assessment and identification of SEMH in schools
- staff well-being
- adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and resilience
- staff supervision
- supporting children and staff in schools in dealing with bereavement
- SEMH governor training
- whole school relational policy
Future developments to enhance our mental health support include plans to enhance parental understanding of childhood experiences upon development and improving community support for parents and families. Our MHST community worker will be supporting this area of development. Look our for flyers for our latest events.
National Nurturing Schools Accreditation
The National Nurturing Schools Programme allows staff to develop and embed a nurturing culture throughout their schools, enhancing teaching and learning, promoting healthy outcomes for children and young people, all by focusing on emotional needs and development as well as academic learning in a whole-school environment.
For schools to gain recognition for achieving a higher level of nurturing provision, there is the opportunity to apply for The National Nurturing School Award, assessed and awarded by nurtureuk.
At Golcar JIN School, we have worked to enhance and extend our nuture offer throughout the school and are currently in the process of achieving accreditation in recognition of this. The accreditation is a way in which we are able to demonstrate that we value children's well-being and mental health as a vital part of their learning.
As part of the accreditation process, we have enhanced our nurture offer by:
- increasing the nurturing interventions available for our pupils through staff training, resource provision and early identification of needs
- developing a school wide understanding of the 6 Principles of Nurture
- enhancing our work with community partners
- involving pupils in developing and evaluating their own learning
- ensuring nurture principles are incorporated into policy, planning, curriculum and the environment
- developing the culture and understanding of individual well-being across the school.
Please see the file below for more information about what nurturing provision means for our school community.
Parent Workshops
Northorpe Hall Child & Family Trust is an independent charity, working closely with NHS and Kirklees Council health and care services. Our staff and volunteers provide essential services supporting the health and wellbeing of Kirklees children, young people and families.
Despite Covid, Northorpe Hall Child & Family Trust continues to support young people and work together with families, schools and other organisations. We're still available 8-8 Mon to Fri and 10-1 on Saturdays, just as we always have been. We're mostly using video calls and phone calls instead of one-to-one and group sessions, but if we can meet safely and it's really needed, we can meet you in person. if you need our support, we're here for you. You can still contact us as usual.
https://www.northorpehall.co.uk/
https://www.northorpehall.co.uk/parents-workshops-learn-about-mental-health
The Chill 'N' Chat started as parents and carers told us they wanted more time to chat and look at resources. At our sessions, you can share your experiences with other people in similar situations, ask for information and advice from Northorpe Hall staff and spend time looking at resources and websites.
Chill 'N' Chat sessions are designed to promote self care. The environment is relaxed, refreshments are provided as well as some optional pamper activities to promote not only self care but personal emotional wellbeing.
Note: Due to covid restrictions Chill N Chat will now take place online via Zoom.
https://www.northorpehall.co.uk/chill-n-chat-meet-other-parents