Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing

Mental health is a state of well-being 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 her or his community.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School has a tiered approach to supporting the Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing of our pupils. Our whole school mission and ethos, policies, pastoral system and best practice support positive Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing of all children. Where children show emerging needs, they are supported by targeted provision available in school through the Wellbeing Team (Early Help Provision). Pupils with more complex needs will supported by the help of specialist external agencies.

Safeguarding
 

At St Mary’s, we aim to promote positive mental health for every member of our staff and student body.  We pursue this aim using both universal, whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches to support our young people. In addition to promoting positive mental health, we aim to recognise and respond to mental ill health. In 2022, 18.0% of children aged 7 to 16 years and 22.0% of young people aged 17 to 24 years had a probable mental disorder (NHS statistics). St Mary’s has the established Wellbeing Team in-house to address the needs of our most vulnerable students and families, in conjunction with the existing pastoral support structure. The Wellbeing Team is comprised of an Early Help Coordinator and Family Resource worker (also the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) School Counsellors, Compass Changing Loves Mental Health Support Team and the NHS School Nursing Team. The Wellbeing Team does not replace Social Care or clinical mental health support.

There is more awareness than ever about mental health and the importance of emotional wellbeing throughout our society. There are many agencies and organisations we can turn to for help when we feel unable to cope, however, we can also look after ourselves more effectively to protect our emotional health. We are keen to instil resilience and independence in all of our students, and self-care plays a significant part in this. How much we sleep, what we eat and drink, how much we exercise all affect how we feel physically and emotionally. The world we live in is arguably more demanding than in the past, so the strategies we use to cope with stress are also crucial in maintaining a healthy, positive and productive lifestyle.

To encourage and support our school community in developing and maintaining positive emotional health, we have complied an A-Z directory of organisations and advice on self-care. We hope that this will help our students, parents, carers and staff in taking a proactive approach to taking good care of their wellbeing. We believe that this is essential for everyone to achieve their God given potential and lead a happy and purposeful life.

 

Links

Anger Management

Dealing with anger in teenagers | Familylives

Helping a Young Person Manage Anger | Mental Health | YoungMinds

Information for 11-18 year olds on dealing with anger - Mind

Anger management for teens - Support for Parents from Action For Children

Anger Management In Teens: How Parents Can Help To Overcome It? (masteringanger.com)

Child to parent/carer abuse

Child-to-Parent Abuse | RISE (riseuk.org.uk)

Child to parent abuse - Adfam

Drugs & Alcohol Services

Young People's Service, Derbyshire (changegrowlive.org)

Space 4 U | Action for children supporting children who are seriously affected by someone else's substance misuse

Young people support :: Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (derbydrugandalcohol.nhs.uk)

Family Support Services | Derbyshire Recovery Partnerships

Honest information about drugs | FRANK (talktofrank.com)

Derbyshire Alcohol Advice Service - DAAS

Derby Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service | Derby Adult Support Service (aquarius.org.uk)

Addiction Help Derbyshire (eata.org.uk)

Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain (alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk)

Talking about alcohol - A guide for parents

FINANCIAL ISSUES

CAB

Citizens Advice Chesterfield (Chesterfieldcab.co.uk)

DCC Financial Support Page

Synergy - Search By Route (Derbyshire.gov.uk)

DCC Help with Fuel Costs

Energy costs and grants - Derbyshire County Council

Derbyshire Discretionary Fund (DDF) - Derbyshire County Council

Tenancy Sustainment

Tenancy and estate management (chesterfield.gov.uk)

Welfare Rights

Welfare benefits - Derbyshire County Council

HEALTHY LIVING

Digital Life Balance

Screen time advice hub for parents | Internet Matters

Screen time and kids: Tips for managing your family's screen time - Own It - BBC

Healthy Eating Habits

Eating well 12-18yr olds JuLY '10_Layout 1 (cwt.org.uk)

Kids and Food: 10 Tips for Parents (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth

Healthy Eating Tips for Parents

Advice for parents of healthy-weight children - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Healthy eating for young people (derbyshireteenhealth.nhs.uk)

Sleep Hygiene for Teens

Sleep Hygiene — CAMHS (camhsnorthderbyshire.nhs.uk) (derbyshireteenhealth.nhs.uk)

Sleep hygiene in children and young people | Great Ormond Street Hospital (gosh.nhs.uk)

Exercise/Keeping Active

Keeping active :: Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk)

About physical activity - Mind

MENTAL HEALTH

General Mental Health

Every mind matters NHS

Safety Plans & Mental Health Challenge the Storm

CAMHS (camhsnorthderbyshire.nhs.uk)

Young people's mental health - Derbyshire County Council

Compass Changing Lives - Compass (compass-uk.org)

YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds

5-19 years school nursing service (dchs.nhs.uk)

Signs That a Child Is Suffering From Mental Health Issues | NSPCC

Improving children’s and young people's mental health – Place2Be

Home - Kooth

Supporting your child with the secondary school transition

How Parents Can Help With Secondary School Transition | YoungMinds

Supporting-children-through-secondary-transition-v2 (annafreud.org)

Moving Up! The transition to secondary school : Mentally Healthy Schools

Building Resilience

Building resilience in children and teens | Family Lives

Why it is important to support young people in being more resilient (worthit.org.uk)

Building Resilience in Teens: The 7 Cs (parentandteen.com)

Exam Stress

Information for 11-18 year olds – Exam stress - Mind

Exam Stress | How To Deal with Exam Stress | YoungMinds

Help your child beat exam stress - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Exam Time & Exam Stress | Parents Guide To Support | YoungMinds

Staying mentally healthy during exams | Resources | YoungMinds

Stress

10 Ways to Manage Everyday Stress (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

Managing stress and building resilience - tips - Mind

Coping with stress for young people| Royal College of Psychiatrists (rcpsych.ac.uk)

Stress - Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

10 stress busters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

What is stress? - Mind

Mindfulness

Mindfulness guide for teens

Top 50 Mindfulness Resources for Children & Teens – Big Life Journal UK (biglifejournal-uk.co.uk

Mindfulness Activities | Mental Health Resources | YoungMinds

Mindfulness - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Anxiety

Anxiety - Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders | Signs and symptoms | YoungMinds

How can I help when my child feels anxious? - Support for Parents from Action For Children

Compass Changing Lives - Compass (compass-uk.org)

5 Ways to Cope With Anxiety (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

Anxiety - Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Anxiety and panic attacks - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Anxiety signs and symptoms - Mind

Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders | Signs and symptoms | YoungMinds

Anxiety | Teenage Helpline

Depression/Low Mood

Depression in children and young people - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Depression | Signs and Symptoms | Mental Health | YoungMinds

Parent's Guide to Teen Depression - HelpGuide.org

How to Help Children Suffering From Depression & Anxiety | NSPCC

Eating Disorders/Body Image

Eating disorders :: Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk)

Eating Disorder Service :: Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk)

Home - First Steps ED

TEAM: Eating Disorders — CAMHS (camhsnorthderbyshire.nhs.uk)

Body image | YoungMinds

Body Image and Self-Esteem (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

Eating disorders - Live Life Better Derbyshire

Home - First Steps ED

Advice for parents – Eating disorders - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

What To Do If You're Experiencing Eating Problems | YoungMinds

Self Harm/Suicidal thoughts

CAMHS (camhsnorthderbyshire.nhs.uk

Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org)

Youth and children | The Salvation Army

Young people | Emotional health resources | Mental health | Samaritans

Suicidal Feelings | Help And Advice For Young People | YoungMinds

Support for Children and Young People - No More Suicides (no-more.co.uk)

Useful contacts - 11-18 year old's mental health - Mind

RELATIONSHIPS & FAMILY LIFE

Bereavement

Bereavement and loss - Derbyshire County Council

Bereavement :: Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Local Services – Derbyshire Bereavement Hub

Home - Cruse Bereavement Support

Domestic Abuse

Freedom From Domestic Abuse | Everyone Deserves To Feel Safe (theelmfoundation.org.uk)

Domestic abuse (saferderbyshire.gov.uk)

Domestic violence (chesterfield.gov.uk)

Healthy Relationships

Act On It Now

Counselling In Chesterfield And North East Derbyshire | Relate (relatechesterfield.org.uk)

Characteristics of Healthy & Unhealthy Relationships | Youth.gov

Healthy relationships | NSPCC

Family Life/Parenting

Family Counselling Session | Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Relate (relatechesterfield.org.uk)

Parenting teenagers | Family Lives

Coping with your teenager - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Parents Mental Health Support | Advice for Your Child | YoungMinds

Support for parents | NSPCC

Parenting support services | Action For Children

Gangs | Family Lives

Advice to parents and carers on gangs (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Parental/Family Separation

Divorce & Young People's Mental Health | Parent Guide | YoungMinds

Helping Your Child Cope with Your Divorce or Separation | NSPCC

Divorce and separation - Cafcass - Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Blended Family and Step-Parenting Tips - HelpGuide.org

Family Lives