Mental Health and Wellbeing

What do we mean by mental health and wellbeing?

The World Health Organisation defines mental health as a state of wellbeing in which every individual achieves their potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act.

Like physical health, mental health is something we all have. It can range across a spectrum from healthy to unwell; it can fluctuate on a daily basis and change over time. We know that our students’ health and wellbeing is dynamic and changeable.

Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for developing attitudes, skills and knowledge for living a healthy life. During this time young people notice, assess and make judgements about what is normal and desirable. Their choices depend on a host of variables such as: what is easily accessible; what is affordable; what their peers choose; what is common practice at home and their experiences. People make choices from what they know. Therefore, schools have a critical role in supporting students to make healthy lifestyle choices.

At De La Salle we ensure that our young people flourish, learn and succeed by providing opportunities for them, and the adults around them, to develop the strengths and coping skills that underpin resilience. We believe that supporting and promoting positive mental health and wellbeing is fundamental to our values, mission and culture.

Our whole-school approach is about developing a positive ethos and culture – where everyone feels that they belong. It involves working with families and making sure that the whole school community is welcoming, inclusive and respectful. It means maximising our students’ learning through promoting good mental health and wellbeing across the school through a meaningful curriculum, extra-curricular opportunities, early support for students, staff-student relationships, strong student and staff leadership and a commitment from all who are part of our school community.

Signposting

We hope that this information and signposting will prove helpful.

Useful Links

BOSS - Information for Parents and Carers

BOSS - Home Page

Tackling the Blues

Self-Help Booklets

Reading Well Books on Prescription

Beat Eating Disorders

Papyrus - Prevention of Young Suicide

NHS Breathing Exercise for Stress

Coping with Flashbacks and Distress

Exam Stress

Stressbusting

List of Emergency Contacts, Websites and Apps

Mental Health Awareness Week activities

Mental Health Awareness Week activites

Mental Health Awareness Week - Glow Fit

Coronavirus: Mental Health and Wellbeing

If you’re worried about the impact of coronavirus on your mental health, you are not alone.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a new and uncertain time for all of us, so it is only natural that it will affect our mental health in different ways. However you are feeling right now, is valid. With the right help and support, we can get through this. We hope the following advice, guidance and signposts to websites, will support you through any difficult times.

We will support each other and get through this together.

All staff at De La Salle are here to help and support you, however there are some key staff you can turn to when needed:

Year 7: Miss Critchley and Ms Swaby

Year 8: Ms Morley and Mr Johnston

Year 9: Mr Fletcher and Mrs Nesbo

Year 10: Mrs Mallalieu and Mrs Guy

Year 11: Mr Leggett and Mrs Moran

Well-Being Mentor: Ms Graham

Well -Being Ambassador: Mr Cummings

Mrs De’Ath: Assistant Headteacher – Pastoral Care

Mr Hale: Deputy Headteacher – Pastoral Care

Mindfulness

We know how important it is to work hard to achieve our potential. However, it is really important to relax and take some time out. So below we are going to post some weekly booklets with some tips and hints on taking some time to relax and regain your energy.

Useful Links and Support

Childline - www.childline.org.uk

Childline is available to you if you have any concerns about:

Bullying
Abuse (physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, neglect)
Your body and self- esteem
Your feelings
Friendships
Sexual advice
Home life and families
School

You can ring them on 0800 1111 or message them online here https://www.childline.org.uk/registration/

There are lots of resources available for you to download and read as well https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/

Young Minds

Their website also offers advice on how to get support with a range of different issues.

You can contact Young Minds using this link – http://youngminds/

Young Minds helps young people and adults who need support with their mental health. This includes feeling low about things such as:

Body Image
Bullying
Eating problems
Stress
Grief or loss
Anger

If you need urgent help, you can text YM to 85258, or you can access advice and helpful resources here https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/

PAPYRUS - prevention of young suicide

If you are feeling really down, feel like there is no way out and feeling suicidal then Papyrus can help.

They have confidential ways of contacting them

Phone – 0800 068 41 41 • Mobile – 07860039967
Email – pat@papyrus-uk.org

They also offer lots of support through articles and advice through the following link https://papyrus-uk.org/imthinking-about-suicide/

Samaritans – http://samaritans/

They offer a similar service to Papyrus and their contact details are below:

Phone – 116 123

Email – jo@samaritans.org

Youth Mental Health

Emotional Resilience & Self-Harm: this is a short course aimed at carers and parents. It handles the subject of teenage self-harm and parental ways to support your children, in a sensitive and informative way. (1 hour)

https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/courses/safeguarding/understanding-young-minds

Remember, there is always someone to talk to and a solution to every problem.

Qwell - Mental Health Support for Adults

Qwell is available to all adults aged 26+ in the St Helens area (commissioned by St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group).

Qwell (www.qwell.io) is free, safe and an anonymous mental health and wellbeing online service. There are no waiting lists, no referrals and no thresholds required to access the service which is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and delivered by Kooth plc, the UK’s largest digital mental health provider.

The service encourages peer to peer support via moderated discussion forums and self-help through reading or submitting content. Qwell also gives people the opportunity to access online counselling from qualified counsellors who are available from midday to 10pm every weekend day and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends. People can drop in for one-to-one instant text-based chats or book a session in advance.

How to Sign Up to Qwell

Qwell Frequently Asked Questions

Qwell ePoster

Barnardo’s St Helen’s Resilience Service

Barnardo’s St Helen’s Resilience Service is a new service, developed through collaboration between Barnardo’s and St Helens CCG, Public Health, Local Schools and North West Boroughs Health Trust (NWBH).

They are part of the St Helens Thoughtscape – First Stop For your Mental Health – the early support offer for children and young people in St Helens. The overall aim of the new service is to address and meet the emotional wellbeing needs of primarily, secondary school aged young people living in St Helens at the earliest point of intervention possible. Each school has been allocated either, a therapist or mental health practitioner who will be working in their school.

This means our students, staff and carer/families will now have access to:
• Pupil drop in sessions
• Parent/Family/Carer drop-in sessions
• Staff drop-in sessions
• Brief therapy of 1-1 Sessions to young people
• Group work for young people including: Decider Life Skills group work (CBT&DBT skills), anxiety group work and other bespoke workshops identified by schools.