Mental Health and Wellbeing

At Bradwell Village School, we are committed to supporting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of our pupils and staff to ensure that the school is a community where everyone feels able to thrive.

What is mental health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Who has mental health?

We all have mental health. Some people can deal with their mental health better than others. Mental health problems are not a weakness – they are just responses to what is happening, and what has happened, to us and around us.

One in six 7 – 16 year olds has a mental health problem. (NHS Digital, 2022)

What helps?

Things that can help children keep well mentally include:

Getting regular exercise
Eating healthy, regular meals and staying hydrated
Getting plenty of sleep
Trying a relaxing activity or taking part in activities for young people
Being grateful, positive, hopeful and optimistic

Staying connected with family and friends
Being able to learn and having opportunities to succeed and opportunities to enjoy themselves
Developing resilience and being able to solve problems

What do we do in school?

Through the teaching of PSHE, children begin to understand their own and others’ emotions, develop healthy coping strategies and know where to go to seek appropriate support. PSHE helps to equip pupils to adopt healthy behaviours and strategies. Children develop the qualities and attributes they need to be healthy, independent and active participants in society.

We take part in Children’s Mental Health Week and hold assemblies about wellbeing.

Our Wellbeing Ambassadors

Interviews were held before Easter to select our Wellbeing Ambassadors. There were a large group of applicants and some high quality candidates.

Our Wellbeing Ambassadors are Otis, Archie, Frankie, Clayson, Lily, Ashlynn, Kavya and Sophie-Ann. They meet weekly to decide what they want to do to improve the wellbeing of children within school. So far, they have introduced wellbeing areas in each year group, send a half termly newsletter out to the children and are now planning a wellbeing day for later in the school year.