Children are leading the way to nurture good mental health across a multi-academy trust.
And teamed with a growing army of 110 mental health first aiders amongst the staff so far, Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust has a keen focus on looking after the mental health of children and adults alike.
This Children’s Mental Health Week (6-12 February 2023) is focusing on the theme Let’s Connect – one of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing (Give, Connect, Learn, Take Notice and Be Active), which the Trust has adopted as part of its proactive strategy to nurture positive mental health on a daily basis.
The Trust, which covers East Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland, looks after 30 primary and secondary schools and now has 110 trained mental health first aiders across its different sites.
Louise Swailes, mental health co-ordinator at Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, said: “During Children’s Mental Health Week, we are reminded of the importance of looking after our mental health on a daily basis.
“We all have mental health and it is equally as important as our physical health, as it impacts all areas of our lives including our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing.
“Here at BCCET, we have made a commitment to support the wellbeing of our staff and students through a whole Trust approach to embedding positive mental health across its culture and ethos. This holistic approach is central to our vision and values and is interwoven through our curriculum, spirituality and everyday interactions.
“We have a very strong tiered mental health support system in our schools with students, teaching assistants, teachers and SLT trained in mental health support as well as external agencies delivering counselling sessions in school, working with small groups and whole classes as well as parents.
“We now have 110 staff members trained through MHFA England as Mental Health First Aiders across the Trust – from CEO level as our CEO Brendan Tapping is also a trained MHFA – and this number will grow as we continue to roll out the training.”
Mental Health First Aiders are trained in spotting the signs of mental ill health, how to respond in an empathetic manner and where to signpost for appropriate support.
“Through upskilling our staff, raising awareness and having open, honest dialogue about mental health, we hope to reduce stigma and improve the wellbeing of our school community,” she added.
“We encourage our staff and students to practise self-care every day using the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and to reach out for support when needed. Remember, it is OK not to be OK but please know that you are not alone, support is available.”
All the Trust’s Sunderland-based schools are working towards the Sunderland Mental Health Charter Mark. St Mary’s Catholic Primary School has achieved gold and St Aidan’s Catholic Academy was recently awarded the silver award.
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Jarrow and St Aidan’s Catholic Academy in Sunderland were both recently awarded a bronze Better Health at Work Award for their commitment to improving both physical and mental health within the school staff.
CASESTUDY SCHOOL
‘I’ve got time to talk’ is the key message the wellbeing champion team wants to get across to other children at St John Bosco Catholic Primary School.
“If you ask someone how they are, you need to make sure you have the time to listen to the answer and that’s the message we try and get across in school,” said Phil Roddy, mental health lead at the Sunderland school.
The wellbeing champion team, which comprises eight children from across Key Stage Two (KS2), was set up in October.
“It’s relatively new but we have been working on developing our mental health strategy,” said Mr Roddy, who is also the school’s deputy headteacher.
“Since I took on the role of mental health lead at the school last January, I have become even more invested in it. I have also completed the mental health first aid training.”
The children are just as passionate about taking care of everyone’s mental health in school and have set up a mental health first aid box which is kept in the designated Wellbeing Headquarters. It contains a large teddy bear, squishy sensory toys, flashcards with different breathing techniques on them and ways to talk about their emotions.
The children also wear their own mental health first aid badges with pride.
“They want bumbags next to keep some sensory toys and flashcards to use with other children,” he said.
“We meet fortnightly and discuss what’s been going on and who they’ve been talking to and that information is invaluable to us as staff as we might have missed something. We can then signpost the children who need support to extra interventions. It’s really working.
“The 5 Ways to Wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. There are posters around school showing everyone the 5 ways.”
The school also has a staff wellbeing team who arrange treats and events for the staff. They meet up outside of school for a meal or walk and are hoping to hold a staff retreat in the summer in the Lake District.
“It is good for everybody to meet up outside of school,” he said.
Mr Roddy conducted a staff wellbeing survey when he first took on the mental health lead role last January.
“I wanted to get a real vibe of how they are feeling,” he said.
“It was anonymous so we could get real, useful data. It showed a fairly healthy team with pockets of stress so we took what we had already, a happy body of staff, and said what can we do to improve it further.
“When I repeated the survey last September, that was really positive, with 100% strongly agreeing that the school and SLT takes mental health seriously.
“We’re trying to break the stigma by getting staff and children to talk about mental health. We are keen to spread the message of ‘it’s okay not to be okay’. Even the children’s wellbeing champion team has ‘I’ve got time to talk’ printed on their badges as it’s so important.”