At Barmby Moor CE Primary School, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers), and recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is to our lives in just the same way as physical health. We recognise that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement. All children go through ups and downs during their school career and some face significant life events.

We take a whole-school approach to promoting positive mental health that aims to help children become more resilient, happy and successful and to prevent problems before they arise.

This encompasses aspects:

1. Creating: an ethos, policies and behaviours that support mental health and resilience.

2. Helping children to: develop social relationships, support each other and seek help when they need it.

3. Helping children to be resilient learners who can persevere when faced with challenges.

4. Teaching children social and emotional skills and an awareness of mental health.

5. Early identification of children who have mental health needs and planning support to meet their needs, including working with specialist services.

6. Effectively working with parents and carers including providing opportunities to develop their own knowledge and understanding around emotional wellbeing and mental health.

7. Supporting and training staff to develop their skills and their own resilience.

We also recognise the role that stigma can play in preventing understanding and awareness of mental health issues. We therefore aim to create an open and positive culture that encourages discussion and understanding of these issues.