Our Mental Health Wellbeing Lead is Mrs Jenny Waterman, DHT.

The emotional wellbeing of pupils, staff, parents and carers is crucial to living a happy, successful and healthy life. There are times, however, when we all need a little support in achieving this.

Top Tips for boosting mental health

Talk - share your feelings with friends and family - it doesn't have to be a big sit down conversation, let it develop as you do something together.

Keep physically active - get all those endorphins going in the brain which help us feel good

Eat well and regularly - this regulates your blood sugar levels which impacts on your mood and helps concentration - your brain needs nutrients too!

Get a good night's sleep – one of the hardest things to do sometimes – but here are some tips:

• Leave your phone downstairs and get a traditional alarm clock
• Get into a good routine
• Practise some breathing and relaxation techniques

Connect with others and be sociable. Try volunteering - helping others can make you feel part of the community and make you feel good about your place in the world.

Do something you are good at! Lose yourself in an activity or hobby - enjoying yourself can help beat stress and achieving something can really boost your self-esteem.

Develop some coping strategies for difficult/stressful situations - these will be personal to you, but could include writing lists, listening to music, repeating positive phrases to yourself, imagining a calm landscape. Know what works for you and practice them so they are ready at hand.

Ask for help! One of the bravest things we can do is ask for help, and there is no weakness or shame in doing so! One of the most important ways we can keep healthy mentally is to recognise when you aren't feeling good.

There is a vast amount of support online that is free to access and offers guidance, advice, support and tips on how to deal with mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. This support ranges from case studies to helpful hints, and also offers phone numbers in case this support is required.

Promoting positive mental health is essential to success. The online support organisations below are some of the many ways we can extend the range of support available to our school and the wider community. Please see some useful links below and support materials from the Mental Health Foundation.

 

Organisation	Support for...
Kooth	All young people.
Stonewall	Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and support for parents.
Dudley Mind	Young people, parents and carers.
Young Mind	Project based advice for young people and parents/carers. Helpline number for parents/carers.
Anxiety UK	Young people. Support for anxiety conditions.
Time to Change	Young people. Provides phone numbers for mental health charities, groups and services.
Heads Together	Young people. Promotes talking about mental health and getting rid of the stigma attached to it.
Place2Be	Parents/carers. Provides emotional support for children.
Starting Secondary School	Advice about getting ready to start secondary school.
CALM	Men
ChildNet	Parents and carers. Working to keep the internet a safe place to be.
What Centre	Parents and carers. A place for parents/carers to access services in the local area.
Samaritans	All people with suicidal thoughts.
The Children's Society	Advice for young people.
Selfharm UK/Virtual College	Free online course designed to help parents talk about the issue of self-harm with their children.
The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families	Support for families.
Parent Zone	Internet use.
Action for Happiness	Monthly calendars packed with actions you can take to help create a happier and kinder world.
Family Information Service Hub	Parents and carers. Advice if your child is struggling with their mental wellbeing.
Act Early	If you are worried someone is expressing extreme views or hatred. ACT = Action Counters Terrorism.