Mental Health and Wellbeing | Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School

It is clear that there is a direct correlation between emotional health / wellbeing and cognitive development and learning, as well as a child’s physical and social health. There are therefore strong links between mental health and attendance, mental health and attainment, mental health and behaviour, and mental health and happiness or confidence at school.

As a Catholic school, we teach our staff and pupils that we should be compassionate and loving towards each other, but also towards ourselves. Sometimes it feels like society says you should always be happy, and that showing your sadness is a sign of weakness. This is far from true – we all have good and bad days - and that’s why at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School we ask our staff and pupils to be eloquent and truthful in speaking out and asking for help, reminding them that ‘it is okay not to be okay’ at times!

“Mental health is about our feelings, our thinking, our emotions and our mood. Looking after our mental health is just as important as looking after our physical health.” Anna Freud – National Centre for Children and Families

Mental wellbeing describes your mental state – how you are feeling and how well you can cope with day-to-day life. Our mental wellbeing is dynamic. It can change from moment to moment, day to day, month to month or year to year. We do a lot in school to promote mental health awareness with the pupils, staff and parents / carers - some of which are detailed below:

Regular assemblies to mark events on the global calendar such as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, World Mental Health Day and Mov-ember. All of these serve to raise the profile of mental health, and break the stigma around reaching out. Some will be delivered by our staff and others by external groups such as AimHigher and KOOTH. We also have an annual performance from an up and coming musician / artist who plays their music and leads the pupils in a mental health related discussion.
We proactively teach our pupils about wellbeing and resilience through the PSHE (Personal, Social, Heath and Economic) and RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) curriculums. Topics covered include coping with exam stress, healthy lifestyles, mental and emotional wellbeing, managing loss, building resilience, online safety etc.
Workshops with external companies such as Cherished and Roar, where the needs of individual pupils / groups of pupils are addressed. Recent events include workshops on self-esteem and positive friendships with Year 9 girls, and male mental health and challenging stereotypes with Year 9 boys.
Wellbeing clubs such as the LGBTQ+ after school club and the Compass MHST lunchtime drop-in sessions.
Support with Year 7 transition. A trained counsellor, who works as part of the SEN team, is attached to the year group so that pupils who need support are identified at an early stage.
Bespoke support, mentoring and counselling for some of our more vulnerable students, such as those from our Young Carer and LAC cohorts.
On-site counselling services from Cardinal Wiseman staff and external bodies including Compass MHST.

What do we mean when we talk about Mental Health?

“Mental health is about our feelings, our thinking, our emotions and our mood. Looking after our mental health is just as important as looking after our physical health.” Anna Freud – National Centre for Children and Families

Regular assemblies to mark events on the global calendar such as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, World Mental Health Day and Mov-ember. All of these serve to raise the profile of mental health, and break the stigma around reaching out. Some will be delivered by our staff and others by external groups such as AimHigher and KOOTH. We also have an annual performance from an up and coming musician / artist who plays their music and leads the pupils in a mental health related discussion.
We proactively teach our pupils about wellbeing and resilience through the PSHE (Personal, Social, Heath and Economic) and RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) curriculums. Topics covered include coping with exam stress, healthy lifestyles, mental and emotional wellbeing, managing loss, building resilience, online safety etc.
Workshops with external companies such as Cherished and Roar, where the needs of individual pupils / groups of pupils are addressed. Recent events include workshops on self-esteem and positive friendships with Year 9 girls, and male mental health and challenging stereotypes with Year 9 boys.
Wellbeing clubs such as the LGBTQ+ after school club and the Compass MHST lunchtime drop-in sessions.
Support with Year 7 transition. A trained counsellor, who works as part of the SEN team, is attached to the year group so that pupils who need support are identified at an early stage.
Bespoke support, mentoring and counselling for some of our more vulnerable students, such as those from our Young Carer and LAC cohorts.
On-site counselling services from Cardinal Wiseman staff and external bodies including Compass MHST.

My daughter knows she has support from teachers and staff at school. She has independently accessed the support services who maintain contact with me when she is finding things difficult. I appreciate the level of support provided to my daughter when she is in school. Year 7 parent feedback.

The school is hot on wellbeing and mental health. They employ relevant outside agencies to help in this area. Staff also put in a lot of support at an early stage to stop issues escalating. Parent feedback.

Mental health is a key priority for the school. A member of the Senior Leadership Team has overall responsibility for pupil (and staff) wellbeing, it features on the School Development Plan and is discussed at every Governor meeting.

How can the pupils access support?

In house:
The pupils can access support with their mental health / wellbeing from a whole host of places in school. Our aim is for every child to have a trusted adult they can turn to when needed. We seek to build strong bonds with our pupils, and encourage them to speak to our lay chaplain or their formation tutors, class teachers, Assistant Head of Year, Head of Year or Raising Standard Leader for their key stage. In addition to these staff members, we have a dedicated Mental Health First Aid team the pupils can access support from. Link to the MHFA team.

The pupils can use the [email protected] email address to reach the DSL team, although it should be noted that this email address is not monitored outside of school hours.

If you have any questions or would like to raise anything around our mental health provision please contact the Senior mental Health Lead, Mrs Buckle on [email protected]

Outside organisations:

Externally there are many organisations and charities where support can be offered. Here are just a few examples:

MindED – e-learning to support healthy minds - https://www.minded.org.uk
Childline - 0800 1111 - https://www.childline.org.uk
NSPCC - 0808 800 5000 - https://www.nspcc.org.uk
PAUSE (Forward Thinking Birmingham) - https://www.forwardthinkingbirmingham.org.uk/services/13-pause
Hub of Hope - https://hubofhope.co.uk
MIND - https://www.mind.org.uk
Kooth – free, safe and anonymous online support for young people - https://www.kooth.com
Anna Freud – National Centre for Children and Families - https://www.annafreud.org

Support for parents / carers:

We aim to support our parents / carers with the varied needs of their children. Regular emails and letters are sent, signposting parents to the different support services they can access and giving them information on wellbeing they might find useful. The link below, for example, takes you to a parent page from the Charlie Waller website and provides useful information on how parents can support their children through exams:

Exams: Supporting your Child

I receive newsletters, signposts to outside agencies and tips on mental health and wellbeing. Online support is also provided. I’m aware the school has a mental health team available for support if needed. Parent feedback.

In addition to this, a monthly newsletter is shared with all parents / carers, focussing on a particular topic or issue from the world of mental health. Link to past issues

We also have a termly parent drop-in session, which we run in conjunction with Compass MHST. Here parents can talk to trained counsellors and seek advice on how best to support their child / children.

We teach the pupils how to recognise the signs of deteriorating mental health, and encourage them to support themselves as much as they can. There are some simple things that you can do to look after your mental health. Every pupil at Cardinal Wiseman has a ‘Mentally Healthy’ pocket card which they carry on their person and reminds them of these top tips:

Eat well - It’s good for your mood! Did you know that your mind is affected by what you eat? Try to eat healthy food and drink plenty of water, to keep your body and brain feeling good!

Keep active - Scientists have discovered that exercise makes you feel good. It can be anything from football, skating or running to yoga and trampolining – whatever you enjoy!

Talk to others - Talk to other people about things that are bothering you and how you are feeling. Although it can be difficult at first, talking with a good friend, family member or a grown-up you trust can really help.

Believe in yourself - Make a list of things that you like about yourself – this could be about your personality, what kind of friend you are, the way you look and things that you can do. If you find it hard to think of ideas, ask yourself “if someone close to me was writing this list about me, what would they say?” Keep this list and look at it when you’re finding it hard to believe in yourself.

Take time to chill out and relax - People find different things help them relax – it could be having a bath, watching a funny film, drawing, reading or going for a walk. Try different things and see what works for you.

Get plenty of sleep - Try to go to bed at a similar time each night and get up at a similar time each morning. Avoid using computers or playing on things like iPads before bed – the light they make can keep your brain awake even after you stop playing!