Emotional, Social and Mental Wellbeing

28.05.2020

As we get nearer to the return for some of the St Botolph’s pupils, I just wanted to share a couple of things that highlight the way that we are going to be working with and supporting the children on their return to school. As Mrs Wilson has already explained in the roadmap to reopening, we are going to be prioritising the children’s mental health and wellbeing.  As I’m sure you can imagine, we are expecting some children to find this change to a ‘new normal’ difficult and challenging. We also anticipate that we are going to have a lot of anxious children who are worried about certain or all aspects of the school day and the new arrangements that we have to abide by.

Within school, a lot of the work that we are going to focus on will be surrounding the 3 Rs; regulate, relate and reason. There is a poster attached which explain each of these stages and how following them in order can support the emotional regulation of our children.

I have also attached a poster showing a ‘Butterfly Hug’. The butterfly hug will serve three purposes.

1. It is a great movement to encourage self-regulation for the children.
2. We will be able to encourage the children to use it in school in place of a ‘real’ hug once the children are back in school.
3. The children will be able to use their sign from a safe distance with their friends to let them know that they would give them a hug if they could.

We hope that all of these little steps that we make, help make the return to school more manageable for our children.

Take care,

Mrs Elsom

Emotional, Social and Mental Wellbeing

We feel that nurturing the emotional, social and mental wellbeing of our school community is vital for helping each other flourish.

Activity Ideas

To help promote mindfulness and wellbeing, there are lots of activities to do beyond colouring books and deep breathing.

The Positive Psychology Program website has a range of suggestions.

Your Therapy Source has some good ideas and Big Life Journal has a variety of free resources and information available.

Apps for Adults and Children

Headspace (Free Trial)

WorryTime (Free)

Chill Panda (Free)

A range of other apps recommended by the NHS can be found at NHS Apps Library

Useful links

Here are a number of websites and resources (for both adults and children) which look to promote emotional, social and mental wellbeing.

Family Lives

Childline

Kidscape

Mentally Healthy Schools

Mind
NHS - Mindfulness

Place2Be

Young Minds

Gingerbread - Information and support for lone parent families

Additional Needs

Here are some websites with more support for families with additional needs.

Lincolnshire Parent/Carer Forum

National Autistic Society - 0808 800 4104

PACT - Support for families with ASD - 07837 606089

Contact - For families with disabled children

We can also support you with information on local parenting classes. Please ask in school.