The emotional wellbeing of children is just as important as their physical health. Good mental health allows children and young people to develop the resilience to cope with whatever life throws at them and grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.

We aim to promote positive mental health for every member of our staff and pupil community.  We pursue this aim using both whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches designed to:

• Help children to understand their emotions and experiences better.

• Ensure our pupils feel comfortable sharing any concerns and worries.

• Help children to form and maintain relationships.

• Encourage children to be confident and help to promote their self-esteem. 

• Help children to develop resilience and ways of coping with setbacks. 

We promote a healthy environment by: 

• Promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in all pupils and staff. 

• Celebrating both academic and non-academic achievements.

• Promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging and community. 

• Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth and to reflect. 

• Promoting our pupils’ voices and giving them the opportunity to participate in decision making.

• Celebrating each pupil for who they are and making every pupil feel valued and respected.

• Adopting a whole school approach to mental health and providing support to any pupil that needs it.

• Raising awareness amongst staff and pupils about mental health issues and their signs and symptoms.

• Enabling staff to respond to early warning signs of mental-ill health in pupils.

• Supporting staff with their mental health and well-being.

It is important to acknowledge any emotional difficulties a child is facing and we will have packages of support available for pupils who are experiencing Mental Health difficulties and/or have been diagnosed with a Mental Health Illness.

There is a range of support available both in school and via external agencies. The Designated Lead for Mental Health Ms Donna Cini will advise pupils and their parents/carers which support options may be suitable.

Internal Support Doc

Wellbeing Resources Doc

Mental Health Foundation Self Harm Resource

Mental Health Foundation Managing Anxiety and Fear Resource

Mental Health Foundation Mental Health Tips Resource

Mental Health Foundation Managing and Reducing Stress Resource

Mental Health Foundation How to Sleep Better Resource

Mental Health Foundation How to Exercise Resource

Mental Health Foundation Mindfulness Resource
 

At Wanstead High School we take all forms of conflict, friendship problems, and bullying behaviour seriously.

Our aims are:

• To provide a safe and secure environment for all children in our care.

• To create a happy atmosphere in which both parents and staff work together for the welfare of the pupils. 

• Everyone is mutually valued and respected regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, beliefs and ability.

• To encourage children to adopt agreed standards of behaviour and values in order to develop a sense of self-discipline and to take responsibility for their own actions.

• To raise the awareness of all teaching and non-teaching staff of the need to safeguard children and of their responsibilities in identifying and reporting possible cases of Bullying, and to be aware of signs of Bullying in non-verbal children and our children with SEND.

• To alert staff to warning signs, risk factors and impact of Bullying.

• To ensure the policy sits within the broader policy framework within school, including the Behaviour Policy, Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and the E-Safety Policy.

• To develop a structured procedure and framework within the school that will be followed by all members of the school community in cases of Bullying

• To Ensure that all forms of conflict, friendship problems, and bullying behaviour education/awareness is in the school curriculum, e.g. school assemblies, and that such awareness does not promote or stigmatise Bullying.

We acknowledge that both friendship problems and bullying behaviour can be upsetting and unpleasant but it is important to distinguish between the two, as the responses to friendship problems will be different to the strategies used to address bullying behaviour. 

Friendship problems may be an occasional incident where both children disagree and find it difficult to resolve the disagreement without adult help. It is unlikely to be repeated behaviour and may even be accidental, where both children try to resolve the problem. However, we recognise that repeated friendship problems can sometimes lead to bullying behaviour.

Bullying is defined as - “The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online” (Anti-bullying Alliance).

There are four key elements to this definition:

• hurtful

• repetition

• power imbalance

• intentional

Bullying can take many forms:

Children are encouraged to report any negative behaviour, even if they are not sure whether it is bullying. We recognise reporting bullying can be difficult and therefore the school has a range of verbal and non-verbal communications in order to allow our pupils to feel safe when reporting incidents. 

Pupils can:

• report incidents to their Form Tutor, Head of Year, Pastoral Support Manager and members of the Safeguarding Team.

• utilise the schools dedicated email address for reporting bullying incidents talktous@wansteadhigh.co.uk

• fill in a ‘talk to me’ request slip via Pupil Reception. A member of the Pastoral Team to check in with them.

• speak to a peer or Anti-Bullying Ambassador

• speak to a parent/carer who may then contact the school

Where to get help 

We encourage our school community to ‘Talk to Us’ about any worries or concerns they may have about themselves or others. This enables us to address issues and identify the most appropriate support for children and/or their families. Our infographic below details key staff who are equipped to provide support to pupils in relation to any difficulties they may be experiencing. 

Internal Support Information

Wellbeing Resources