At Dunalley Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support.
Our culture is supportive, caring, and respectful. We encourage pupils and staff to be open and we want everyone to have their voice heard.
We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.
We are pleased to be able to share some useful resourses to support families with their children's mental health, via the following link, cutesy of Place2Be.
Teaching about mental health
Our PHSE curriculum is developed to give pupils the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to keep themselves mentally healthy. We will regularly review our PHSE curriculum and lesson content.
Whole school approach
We take a whole school approach towards the mental health of our pupils. This means working with parents and carers and with other agencies and partners, where necessary.
We aim to support parents as much as possible. This means keeping them informed about their child and offering our support at all times. To support parents we will:
• Highlight sources of information and support about mental health and emotional wellbeing that we have in our school.
• Ensure that parents are aware of who to talk to if they have any concerns about their child.
• Give parents guidance about how they can support their child’s/children’s positive mental health.
• Keep parents informed about the mental health training our school staff receive and how mental health is covered in our school curriculum.
Working with other agencies and partners
As part of our whole school approach, we will also work with other agencies to support our pupils emotional health and wellbeing. This might include liaising with:
• The school nurse team
• Paediatricians
• CAMHS
• Counselling services
• Therapists
• Family support workers
• Behavioural support workers
Young Minds Matter
Schools play an important role in supporting the wellbeing of children and young people at a time when they are experiencing lots of physical, emotional and social changes.
For some children, this stage of growing up can sometimes become overwhelming or difficult to manage, and it can be made worse by life events such as changing schools, exams, challenging home circumstances, bullying or difficult friendships.
Mental Health Support Teams have been put into over 70 schools across Gloucestershire to tackle these challenges by helping young people to feel more resilient, arming them with techniques to look after themselves and strategies to help them cope better with life’s ups and downs. The teams will also support parents and teachers with information and tips about how best to help children and young people who are experiencing difficulties.
The teams are made up of Education Mental Health Practitioners, Primary Mental Health Workers, TiC+ Counsellors and Team Managers. They will travel to each school for meetings with staff to discuss any children and young people they think may benefit from their support. If a child is refusing to go to school, they will also work with families to help the child get back to school.
If you are concerned about your child and would like some support, please contact Mrs Sam Ashton our Family Support Worker via telephone: 01242 512931 or email: [email protected]
When a school notices a child is struggling with day-to-day worries, an initial discussion with the team will take place to ensure this form of support is the most appropriate way forward.
If the young person is at primary school, their parents and/or carers will be contacted and asked to agree consent prior to any support being started with their child.
The only reason we may not be able to keep things confidential is if we believe a child, young person or someone else is at serious risk of harm.
During our sessions we may identify some children or young people who may benefit from specialist support. We will ensure that young people are aware that any recommendations for specialist support will be discussed with parents or a responsible person before making any onward referral. In exceptional circumstances we may share information with appropriate authorities without your knowledge, such as if we believe a child, young person or someone else is at serious risk of harm, or if information is required by law (such as a court order). The MHST follow rigorous organisational policies and procedures to protect personal data and maintain confidentiality.
If you would prefer that your child was not discussed with our team, should they experience difficulties, you can opt out of this service by contacting your Mental Health School Lead above. Your child will still have access to all the usual statutory support within your school. Please note: if you choose to opt out of the school discussing concerns with the MHST we may still see secondary aged children asking for support themselves. Further information can be found on our organisation website: