Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy 

Policy details

Date created – 22/09/2020

Date reviewed – 29/09/2021

Reviewed by governors 23/9/2022

Contents

Policy details 1 Contents 1 Aims 2 Scope and links to other policies 2 Introduction and context 2 A whole school approach to promoting positive mental health 3 Raising awareness - School response 4 Staff roles and responsibilities, including those with specific responsibility 4 Early identification and common symptoms and behaviours associated with poor mental health 5 Raising the issue, disclosures and confidentiality talking to students 7 Informing and working with parents and carers 8 Supporting Peers 10 Curriculum 10 Training and staff awareness and quality assurance 11 Monitoring and evaluation 11 References 11 Appendix 1 -Protective and Risk factors 13 Appendix 2- Conversation checklist 14 Appendix 3- What makes a good quality referral 14 Appendix 4- Resources 16 Appendix 6 - Flowchart for responding to a mental health concern 18

Aims

● Provide information on how we will promote positive mental health

● Provide information on how we will try to prevent poor mental health in our children ● To provide staff with an understanding of the different elements of mental health ● Provide staff with guidelines for supporting a child or young person experiencing poor mental health

● How we will provide the support necessary for children and young people and safeguard their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing

Scope and links to other policies

This is a guide to all staff - including non-teaching and governors - outlining our approach to promoting mental health and emotional wellbeing. It should be read in conjunction with our policies on Safeguarding, Medical Needs, Anti-Bullying, SEND and Equalities. Links with the School’s Behaviour Policy are especially important because behaviour, whether it is disruptive, withdrawn, anxious, depressed or otherwise, may be related to an unmet mental health need.

1. Introduction and context

At Co-op Academy Grange, 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.

Research tells us:

● It takes an average of ten years for a young person to get help for mental ill health. Centre for Mental Health | Missed opportunities | 2016

● 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental health issue.

Green H, McGinnity Á, Meltzer H, Ford T, Goodman R | Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain | 2004

● 50% of mental health issues develop by age 14 and 75% by age 24

Kessler | Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders | 2005

● It takes an average of ten years for a young person to get help for mental ill health. Centre for Mental Health | Missed opportunities | 2016

● Suicide is the most common cause of death for people aged 5-19 (both boys and girls). Public Health England | Health Profile for England | 2017

● 1 in 10 primary school children say they suffer from a low sense of wellbeing.

The Children's Society and the University of York | The Good Childhood Report | 2013

● 80% of young people surveyed said that exam pressure had a big impact on their mental health, while 96% said that exam pressure affected their mental health.

Young Minds | Wise Up – Prioritising wellbeing in schools 2017

School staff are often the key professionals when it comes to identifying and supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing and are ideally placed to respond to the early signs of mental health difficulties in children and young people.

The Department for Education (DfE) recognises that: “in order to help their children succeed; schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy”. Schools can be a place for children and young people to experience a nurturing and supportive environment that has the potential to develop self-esteem and give positive experiences for overcoming adversity and building resilience. For some, school will be a place of respite from difficult home lives and offer positive role models and relationships, which are critical in promoting children’s wellbeing and can help engender a sense of belonging and community.

2. A whole school approach to promoting positive mental health

Our role in school is to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role to ensure that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and where they can go if they need help and support.

Our aim is to provide a safe environment to help develop the protective factors which enable children to express themselves and be listened to, build resilience to mental health problems and to be a school where:

● All children are valued.

● Children have a sense of belonging and feel safe.

● Children feel able to seek help and talk openly with trusted adults about their problems without feeling any stigma.

● Positive mental health is promoted and valued.

● Bullying is not tolerated.

● Ensure the welfare and safety of children are paramount.

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

● Involve parents and carers when their child needs support.

● Involve children in the care and support they receive.

● Monitor, review and evaluate the support with children and keep parents and carers updated. ● Training staff to develop their understanding, knowledge and response to children with poor mental health.

As set out in the Trusts colleague wellbeing strategy we also recognise the importance of promoting staff mental health and wellbeing. It is important to raise awareness amongst staff and gain recognition from SLT that staff may have mental health issues, and that they are supported in relation to looking after their wellbeing; instilling a culture of staff and underpinned by behaviour and welfare around the school.

“Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (World Health Organisation)

Mental health and wellbeing is not just the absence of mental health problems. We want all children/young people to:

• feel confident in themselves.

• be able to express a range of emotions appropriately.

• be able to make and maintain positive relationships with others.

• cope with the stresses of everyday life.

• manage times of stress and be able to deal with change.

• learn and achieve.

3. Raising awareness - School response

We believe the school plays a key part in promoting children and young people's positive mental health and helping to prevent mental health problems.

This guidance aims to ensure all staff take responsibility to promote and raise awareness of this topic and support staff as much as possible to respond to children who are experiencing poor mental health. We are not expecting all staff to become experts in this field, but the initial response and identification is vital to a child’s overall well-being and their recovery. It is important for children to know they can speak to any member of staff within the academy, however, Deepti Makkar is our designated mental health lead, named members of the school staff who will provide support to children and young people if they are experiencing poor mental health.

Our academy has developed a range of strategies and approaches to raise this issue and break down stereotypes and the stigma around mental health including:

For example

● Has a designated mental health lead - Miss Mander (trained by the Anna Freud Institute) ● Has a mental health action plan

● Campaigns and assemblies to raise awareness of mental health.

● Peer mediation and Peer mentoring – children working together to solve problems and planned sessions where identified adults mentor a designated child

● Transition programmes to secondary schools which includes all Year 6 children having a staff mentor to support a smooth transition to secondary school

● Class activities

● Mental health counselling e.g. based on cognitive behavioural therapy

● Wellbeing week – whole school focus on doing things which make us feel good ● Displays and information around the School about positive mental health and where to go for help and support

● Nurture groups

● Resilience Training

● Student Mental Health Champions so Peer to Peer support

4. Staff roles and responsibilities, including those with specific responsibility

We believe that all staff have a responsibility to promote positive mental health, and to understand about protective and risk factors for mental health. Some children will require additional help and all staff should have the skills to look out for any early warning signs of mental health problems and ensure that children experiencing this get early intervention and the support they need. If a member of staff is concerned about

the mental health or wellbeing of a child or young person, in the first instance they should speak to their pastoral leader. We recognise the impact this can have on staff when supporting a child or young person with poor mental health. Staff will be provided with supervision to discuss the impact this is having on themselves, professionally and personally and to discuss any support of CPD may be required to ensure they are being supported adequately and therefore the child or young person receives the right support.

If there is a concern that the child or young person is at high risk or in danger of immediate harm, the school’s child protection procedures should be followed. If the child or young person presents a high-risk medical emergency, your emergency first aid procedures should be followed, including involving the emergency services if necessary.

List of key people in our academy and their roles in educating and supporting children with poor mental health

Social workers Rebbecca Fyfe Kuchuma Begum

5. Early identification and common symptoms and behaviours associated with poor mental health

All staff understand possible risk factors that might make some children more likely to experience problems, such as: physical long-term illness, having a parent who has a mental health problem, death and loss, including loss of friendships, family breakdown and bullying. They should also understand the factors that protect children from adversity, such as self-esteem, communication and problem-solving skills, a sense of worth and belonging and emotional literacy (see Appendix 2 on risk and protective factors).

As with most things, early identification is extremely important and can impact greatly on the support they receive and their recovery. At Co-op Academy Grange our identification system involves a range of processes. We aim to identify children with mental health needs as early as possible to prevent things getting worse. We do this in different ways including:

Examples include:

● Recognising and reporting the signs associated with poor mental health

● Analysing behaviour, exclusions, visits to the medical room/school nurse, attendance and sanctions.

● ISM meetings (individual students are discussed by a group of professionals at school).

● Gathering information from a previous school at transfer.

● Enabling students to raise concerns to any member of staff.

● Enabling parents and carers to raise concerns to any member of staff.

● Counsellor, social worker drop-in sessions.

Any member of staff concerned about a student will take this seriously and talk to the Mental Health Lead and or the Designated safeguarding Lead, following this up with a report on the schools Child Protection reporting system. CPOMS or equivalent.

If there is a concern that a student is in danger of immediate harm, then the School’s child protection procedures are followed. If there is a medical emergency, then the School’s procedures for medical emergencies are followed.

Signs and symptoms

Staff are aware that mental health needs, such as anxiety, might appear as non-compliant, disruptive or aggressive behaviour which could include problems with attention or hyperactivity. This may be related to home problems, difficulties with learning, peer relationships or development.

6. Raising the issue, disclosures and confidentiality talking to students

Whilst poor mental health is a sensitive and personal issue, shying away from the subject can perpetuate the fear of stigma and increase feelings of anxiety. Children and young people may not have the confidence to speak up, so a member of staff making the first move to open the dialogue will be key. Questions should be simple, open and non-judgemental to give the child or young person ample opportunity to explain the situation in their own words. Mental ill health should be treated in the same way as someone with a physical health condition. There are also a number of excellent resources available from your Mental health lead (see Appendix 5). Tips to help open the conversation are included in Appendix 3.

If poor mental health is suspected or disclosed, it is crucial that someone facilitates an early conversation about this with the child or young person, to identify and implement appropriate support or adjustments. Staff need to ensure that they are seen as approachable and listen when children and young people ask for help.

Staff will make it clear to children that the concern may be shared with the Mental Health Lead or the Safeguarding Lead and recorded, in order to provide appropriate support to the student. Appendix 6 - Flow chart for responding to a mental health concern.

All reports are recorded and held on the academy’s electronic safeguarding system (CPOMS) and include action taken.

Confidentiality must never be promised however we must make it clear to children and young people that

particular members of staff may well need to know this information about them. We will tell them: ● Who we are going to tell

● What we are going to tell them

● Why we need to tell them

● When we are going to tell them

● How the information will be stored and who has access to the information

7. Informing and working with parents and carers

The academy will usually talk with both the child or young person and the parents or carers. We must be honest with regards to confidentiality. If it is necessary for us to pass on our concerns about a child or young person then we should discuss with the student:

● Who we are going to talk to

● What we are going to tell them

● Why we need to tell them

If the young person does not want us to share information, then we should explore this further with the young person to better understand the reasons for this. In some cases this will mean the information is not shared with the parents or carers.

Children under 16, according to UK law can make decisions about how support works for them without us discussing it with a parent or carer, if they are deemed to be mature enough to understand what will happen with their information. A parent or carer cannot override this consent.

Gillick Competency

According to UK law, a child can give consent to be referred for treatment without parental knowledge if they are under the age of 16, as long as they are able to demonstrate sufficient maturity and intelligence to understand the nature and implications of the proposed treatment, including the risks and alternative courses of actions.

There are exceptions and certain situations when information must be shared. Confidentiality may need to be breached especially if the child or young person is considered to be a risk to self or others. In such cases information must always be shared with another member of staff and / or a parent / carer. This is to make sure the young person is safe. We will always tell the young person if we need to do this.

As many difficulties occur within the context of family life, treatment options could possibly be limited if there is no parental knowledge of a referral.

Should for any reason a child find it difficult to broach this with their parent or carer then a member of staff from the academy will always give children and young people the option of informing parents for them or with them.

If the young person chooses to tell their parents / carers themselves then the young person should be given 24 hours to share this information before the school contacts parents/carers. Of course, we need to consider the level of urgency and if the child is at immediate risk of significant harm.

If a child gives us reason to believe that there may be underlying child protection issues, parents should not be informed, but Alex Jeffrey or Alison Mander must be informed immediately.

Where it is deemed appropriate to inform parents, we need to be sensitive in our approach. Before discussing with parents, we should consider the following questions (on a case by case basis): ● Can the meeting happen face to face? This is preferable.

● Where should the meeting happen? At school, at their home or somewhere neutral? ● Who should be present? Consider parents, the child or young person, other members of staff. ● What are the aims of the meeting?

It can be shocking and upsetting for parents to learn of their child’s issues and many may respond with anger, fear or upset during the first conversation. We should be accepting of this (within reason) and give the parent time to reflect.

Advising parents on how best to support their child will be an important part of the whole process. Parents themselves may be experiencing poor mental health and not know how best they can help their child. We should always highlight further sources of information and give them leaflets to take away where possible as they will often find it hard to take much in whilst coming to terms with the news that you are sharing. Sharing sources of further support aimed specifically at parents can be helpful, e.g. parent helplines and forums. See Appendix 5.

We should always provide clear means of contacting us with further questions and consider booking in a follow-up meeting or phone call right away as parents often have many questions as they process the information. Finish each meeting with agreed next steps and always keep a clear record of the meeting on the child’s confidential record.

8. Supporting children, referring on and signposting

When a student has been identified as having a cause for concern, it will be important to assess those needs and consider how they are best met. In some cases, the provision in school will be sufficient but on other occasions they may need to be referred on to other agencies. See Appendix 4 for how to make a quality referral. Once the child or young person is receiving support either through school, CAMHS or another organisation, it is recommended that an individual care plan should be drawn up. The development of the plan should involve the student, parent (if they are aware) and relevant professionals.

Suggested elements of this plan include:

● Details of the pupil’s situation/condition/diagnosis

● Special requirements or strategies and necessary precautions

● Medication and any side effects

● Who to contact in an emergency

● The role of the school and specific staff.

Signposting

We will ensure that staff, students and parent/carers are aware of the support services available to them, and how they can access these services.

Support within school

Examples:

Mental Health Ambassador

Learning Mentors

Play therapy with counsellor

Access to a social worker

Notice boards, toilets, website, newsletters

External support (examples)

Helplines and services are available in Bradford. An up to date list of services ios kept by the school’s social worker.

GP referral/CAMHS

List of support services can be found in Appendix 5

9. Supporting Peers

When a student is suffering from mental health issues, it can be a difficult time for their friends. Friends often want to support but do not know how. In the case of self-harm or eating disorders, it is possible that friends may learn unhealthy coping mechanisms from each other. In order to keep peers safe, we will consider on a case by case basis which friends may need additional support. Support will be provided either in one to one or group settings and will be guided by conversations with the child or young person who is suffering and their parents with whom we will discuss:

● What it is helpful for friends to know and what they should not be told

● How friends can best support

● Things friends should avoid doing or saying which may inadvertently cause upset ● Warning signs that their friend may need help (e.g. signs of relapse)

Additionally, we will want to highlight with peers:

● Where and how to access support for themselves

● Safe sources of further information about their friend’s condition

● Healthy ways of coping with the difficult emotions they may be feeling

10. Curriculum

Teaching about mental health and emotional wellbeing

A new training module for teachers will be published by Gov.uk week commencing 15th June 20 to support teaching in giving lessons on the Government’s new Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, which will make mental health and wellbeing a compulsory part of students’ education in primary and secondary school.

Through PSHE we teach the knowledge and social and emotional skills that will help children and young people to be more resilient, understand about mental health and be less affected by the stigma of mental health problems.

We will follow the guidance issued by PSHE association to prepare us to teach about mental health and emotional health safely and sensitively.

Incorporating this into our curriculum at all stages is a good opportunity to promote children’s and young people's wellbeing through the development of healthy coping strategies and an understanding of students' own emotions as well as those of others people. Additionally, we will use such lessons as a

vehicle for providing children and young people who do develop difficulties with strategies to keep themselves healthy and safe as well as supporting children and young people to support any of their friends who are facing challenges.

Outline of curriculum resources can be found in Appendix 5

11. Training and staff awareness and quality assurance

All staff at Co-op Academy Grange have received this document and as a minimum, all staff will receive regular training about recognising and responding to mental health issues as part of their regular child protection training to enable them to keep children and young people safe. 

For staff who require more in depth knowledge will be able to access training modules developed with clinical experts which will help subject leads and teachers deliver the new curriculum effectively when it becomes compulsory from September 20, as well as improving their confidence in talking and teaching about mental wellbeing in class, considered as part of our performance management process and additional CPD will be supported throughout the year where it becomes appropriate due developing situations with one or more students.

Where the need to do so becomes evident, we will host training sessions for all staff to promote learning or understanding about specific issues related to mental health.

Suggestions for individual, group or whole school CPD should be discussed with (Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Lead) / Trust CPD lead, who can help to source relevant training and support for individuals as needed.

Please note when sourcing training in house the following quality assurance principles should be applied; Taken from safeguarding training standards for Co-operative Academies. 

We will endeavour to verify that any external trainers or speakers are suitable; for example, by seeking recommendations or feedback from other schools that have used the same trainer, by agreeing the content of the session beforehand, by checking company websites, by consulting where necessary with the trust designated safeguarding and child protection lead etc. This helps us to ensure staff training is appropriate, up to date and valuable to participants and also to meet our responsibilities within Prevent.

12. Monitoring and evaluation

This policy should be regularly reviewed and monitored as to its effectiveness. This should be done through feedback from staff, children and young people and parents and through cases management supervision of the key staff involved in the delivery of services to children at the academy. Any required changes to the policy should be discussed with the Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Lead to ensure any changes and or improvements are equally reflected across the trust.

13. References

This policy was put together using the following sources and reading material:

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families 

Luminate Education group draft Wellbeing Policy 

Liverpool CAMHS 

Charlie Waller Memoria

Appendix 1 -Protective and Risk factors

(adapted from Mental Health and Behaviour DfE March 2016)

• Specific development delay

• Communication difficulties

• Physical illness

• Academic failure

• Low self-esteem

• SEND

• Being female (in younger children)

• Secure attachment experience

• Outgoing temperament as an infant

• Good communication skills, sociability

• Being a planner and having a belief in control

• Humour

• Problem solving skills and a positive attitude

• Experiences of success and achievement

• Faith or spirituality

• Capacity to reflect In the Family • Overt parental conflict including

domestic violence

• Family breakdown (including where children are taken into care or adopted)

• Inconsistent or unclear discipline

• Hostile and rejecting relationships

• Failure to adapt to a child’s changing needs

• Physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect

• Parental psychiatric illness

• Parental criminality, alcoholism or personality disorder

• Death and loss – including loss of friendship

• At least one good parent-child relationship (or one supportive adult)

• Affection

• Clear, consistent discipline

• Support for education

• Supportive long-term relationship or the absence of severe discord

In the School

• Bullying

• Discrimination

• Breakdown in or lack of positive friendships

• Negative peer influences

• Peer pressure

• Clear policies on behaviour and bullying

• ‘Open door’ policy for children to raise problems

• A whole-school approach to promoting good mental health

• Poor student to teacher relationships

• Positive classroom management

• A sense of belonging

• Positive peer influences In the Community

• Socio-economic disadvantage

• Homelessness

• Disaster, accidents, war or other overwhelming events

• Discrimination

• Other significant life events

• Wider supportive network

• Good housing

• High standard of living

• High morale school with positive policies for behaviour, attitudes and anti-bullying • Opportunities for valued social roles

• Range of sport/leisure activities

Appendix 2- Conversation checklist

● Avoid interruptions – switch off phones and ensure private confidential space ● Ask simple, open, non-judgemental questions

● Avoid judgemental or patronising responses

● Speak calmly

● Maintain eye contact

● Listen actively and carefully rather than advise

● Encourage the child or young person to talk

● Show empathy and understanding

● Be prepared for some silences and be patient but do not push the issue

● Focus on the child, not the problem

● Avoid making assumptions or being prescriptive

● Follow up any concerns with the Mental Health Ambassador or Designated safeguarding Lead. ● Never promise confidentiality and tell the child or young person who the information will be shared with

● All disclosures are recorded and held on the student’s confidential file, including date, name of student and member of staff to whom they disclosed, summary of the disclosure and next steps.

Questions that could be asked

● How are you doing at the moment?

● You seem to be a bit down/upset/under pressure/frustrated/angry. Is everything okay? ● I’ve noticed you’ve been arriving late recently and I wondered if you are okay? ● I’ve noticed your homework is late when they usually are not. Is everything okay? ● Is there anything I can do to help?

● What would you like to happen? How?

● What support do you think might help?

● Have you spoken to anyone or looked for help anywhere else?

Questions to avoid

● You’re clearly struggling. What’s up?

● Why can’t you get your act together?

● What do you expect me to do about it?

● Your academic performance is really unacceptable right now – what’s going on? ● Everyone else is in the same boat and they’re okay. Why aren’t you?

● How do you expect to pass your exams or get a job?

Appendix 3- What makes a good quality referral

Submitting a good quality referral will often result in families and young people receiving the right service, first time. To do this well a good referral should try to understand as much of the following as possible:

● What’s the problem; who does it affect and how (sleep, hygiene, nutrition, relationships, home, education, employment)?

● What’s the duration?

● What’s the severity; according to Child/Young Person and parent/carer and referrer? ● What’s been done so far and by whom? Was it helpful?

● What other plans, if any, have been made? Who else is involved?

● What, if any, other problems are there within the Child/Young Person’s home or school/work environment?

● What, if any, findings (history/examination/symptoms and signs) might be of relevance e.g. drugs, alcohol, risky behaviour, weight and height, evidence of cutting?

● What risks to the Child/Young Person’s safety are there? E.g. Abuse, significant self-harm, unaccompanied minor etc.

Appendix 4- Resources

Gov.uk Press release on Extra mental health support for students and staff 

Academy and curriculum

Action for Happiness 

Anna Freud Centre 

Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH) 

Barnardo’s 

Charlie Waller Memorial Trust cwmt.org.uk 

Early Intervention Foundation eif.org.uk 

Heads Together headstogether.org.uk 

Hub of Hope hubofhope.co.uk 

DfE Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools 

Mental Health Foundation mentalhealth.org.uk 

MHFA England 

Mind.org.uk 

myhappymind.org 

Place2Be 

Reading Well Books on Prescription 

Rethink Mental Illness rethink.org 

Rise Above for Schools 

Royal College of Psychiatrists rcpsych.ac.uk 

Time to Change time-to-change.org.uk 

Winston’s Wish 

YoungMinds 

Books

Huge bag of worries by Virginia Ironside 

Feelings by Aliki Branderberg 

The Illustrated Mum By Jaqueline Wilso 

Support for children, young people and parents and carers

Childline.org.uk 

Familylinks.org.uk 

Kooth.com 

Papyrus 

The mix.org.uk 

Samaritans.org 

Studentminds.org.uk 

Switchboard.lgbt 

Youngminds.org.uk 

Specific to COVID 19

Childrens Commissioner - Children's Guide to Coronavirus 

Inter-Agency Standing Committee My Hero Is You - how kids can fight COVID 19 Free download book Coronavirus A book for children Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Gov.uk Guidance for Parents and Carers In Supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic 

Mind.org Managing feelings Information and support for children and YP during lockdown Mind.org Getting help Information for children and young people 

Mind. org Useful contact for children and young people

Appendix 6 - Flowchart for responding to a mental health concern