Gotherington Primary School

Emotional Health and Wellbeing at Gotherington

At Gotherington we value the importance of emotional health and wellbeing. It is vital that our staff and children are supported so that they maintain good emotional well being which allows them to grow, learn and thrive.

Our School Mission promotes emotional wellbeing through our Gotherington Goals, Protective Behaviours Programme and The NHS Five Ways to Wellbeing. Our relationships and behaviour policy which is based on a restorative approach and building positive relationships also complements all of the work that is done to enhance wellbeing.
      

Gotherington Primary School were first awarded the Mental Health Champion Award in 2017 and we are delighted to  announce that we have been awarded this for the second time in 2022! This award recognises the measures in place which safeguard and promote Emotional Health and Wellbeing. For more information please follow this link:
https://www.ghll.org.uk/ghll-review/mental-health-award/

Here are some of the ways that Gotherington support and promote Emotional Health and Wellbeing.

Our School Dog Hero

At Gotherington we are very fortunate to have a school dog called ‘Hero’. She plays a vital role in helping children to learn to regulate their emotions and feel calm and safe.

Hero has also helped some children to develop their confidence around dogs. She is used to teach children about how they need to be safe around dogs. They always ask permission to stroke her which teaches them to do this outside of school as well.

NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing

This forms a vital part of our school mission for both pupils and staff.


 

At lunchtimes we practise the 5 Ways to wellbeing through our activities. We have designated areas/ activities for each of the 5 ways. We have an excellent team of playleaders/wellbeing leaders who lead activities with the younger children.

CONNECT

The dressing-up resources help children to connect with each-other and play role-play games.

                                                 

BE ACTIVE

The children have access to lots of play equipment which encourages physical activity. The Playleaders set up games for the younger children. 


 

TAKE NOTICE

Our 'Take Notice' bag has a range of activities to encorage calm, mindful activities such as yoga, colouring and reading.

                                                                         


 

KEEP LEARNING:
The 'Keep Learning' bag contains activities to help the children continue their learning such as; wordsearches, treasure hunts, quizzes and sudoku.
                                                                          
 

GIVE:

We teach our children that the best thing you can give someone is your time. We buddy our younger children with older role-models. Our Year 6 children have a Year 2 buddy who they can play with or ask for help at playtimes.

Positivity Pebbles

                                                                           

We encourage the children to use positive affirmations to help their wellbeing and resilience. Here are some positive pebbles that they have made and are displayed outside our main entrance for children to read as they come into school.

Outdoor Learning/Learning outside of the classroom and Forest School

At Gotherington we aim to do as much learning outdoors as we can because we recognise the different learning styles and how this enhances wellbeing.

English Lessons outdoors
                  
 

Interventions to support Emotional wellbeing

Some children may need support with their emotional wellbeing during their time at Gotherington. We have several interventions that we can offer. These include:

Drawing and Talking/Sand Tray Play

We have three members of staff who are trained to deliver Drawing and Talking which many children benefit from. It is child-led and light-touch and gives children the opportunity to explore their feelings through drawings or playing. Children typically have 12 weekly sessions with the same member of staff.

Lego Therabuild

We have two members of staff who is trained to deliver this. It helps children to explore their emotions through Lego. It may be set up individually or as part of a group.

Play Therapy

Some children may need a more intensive intervention such as Play Therapy. We have a trained Play Therapist who visits a small number of our children weekly.

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

We have two members of staff who have completed ELSA training. They can deliver emotional literacy interventions to individual pupils or groups depending on the needs of the children. 

If you have any concerns about your child’s emotional wellbeing please contact your child’s class teacher or the school office.

Family Support

If you would like to find out more about services that can support you or your child’s emotional wellbeing please visit:

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/

https://www.ticplus.org.uk/

.https://www.glosfamiliesdirectory.org.uk/kb5/gloucs/glosfamilies/results.page?familychannel=0&qt=emotional&term=&sorttype=relevance

Parenting programmes:

https://www.glosfamiliesdirectory.org.uk/kb5/gloucs/glosfamilies/family.page?familychannel=1_1_4