Well-being Vision Statement

We are committed to promoting positive physical, mental health and emotional well-being for all pupils, families, members of staff and governors, so that all have the resilience to manage ‘normal’ stresses of life. We aim to allow all voices to be heard, and, through the use of effective policies and procedures, to provide a safe, respectfully trusting and inclusive environment. This will offer support, understanding and intervention when required. Well-being for all underpins everything we do, to ensure successful learning.

Well-being at St Richard's

St Richard’s is a caring and inclusive community where everyone is welcomed and encouraged to reach their full potential. We recognise that children are unique, and our aim is to maximise every child’s outcomes whilst ensuring they are given appropriate support to deal with any challenges they may face. 

At St Richard’s we define Mental Health and Resilience as;

Mental Health is the state of well-being and the ability to manage with ‘normal’ stresses of life using thought process and emotions. It is the ability to recognise his or her own potential, being able to work productively and keep a sense of perspective with the ability to make a contribution to his or her community.

Resilience is the ability to deal effectively with changes and challenges of everyday life. It is being able to bounce back from disappointments and difficulties one may experience. Resilience is the ability to build protective factors in our lives which promote and protect emotional well-being. 

Well-being Award

We are currently on a journey to achieve the Optimus well-being award. We anticipate this will take about 18 months.

Please click on the link below to see a copy of our mental health and well-being leaflet. This gives an overview of well-being activities St Richard's provides for children at our school and more information about the well-being award. 

Click below to be directed to our policy section where you can find our Mental Health and Well-being policy. 

Well-being day 

We recently held our first well-being day of the year! From dance, forest school and art to relaxation and singing we had a fun filled enjoyable day which started the school year off with such a positive outlook. See below for photos of some activities from the day. 

Dance workshops with Don Rae Academy 

Forest schools with Vicky Faulkner

School Dog - Bertie

Bertie made a special appearance at our well-being day. He was greeted enthusiastically by St Richard's pupils during their lunch hour. 

See Bertie's special page for more information. 

Other Well-being initiatives 

Paths (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) - Pupil Resilience Project with Barnardos'

We are now in our second year of participating in PATHs Resilience project with all our classes. The PATHS^® Programme for Schools (UK Version) is a programme for educators and counsellors designed to facilitate the development of self-control, emotional awareness and interpersonal problem-solving skills. The programme consists of a variety of lessons, and additional materials and charts.

http://www.pathseducation.co.uk/what-is-paths/paths-curriculum/

World Mental Health Day - Thursday 10 October 2019

The Mayor’s Peer Outreach Team, in partnership with Thrive LDN, will be hosting an all-day young Londoner-led festival to mark World Mental Health Day on Thursday, 10 October 2019. The festival will see various activities taking place throughout City Hall over the course of the day – including film screening, creative workshops, presentations and panel discussions. The event will also provide an important platform to discuss how the whole of London can work together to improve the mental health and wellbeing of all Londoners. The day will potentially be the largest young Londoner-led event ever held at City Hall. Find out more and book your place by clicking the link below. 

School Nurse Drop-in sessions

Our lovely school nurse Mo, offers a drop in session on the last Friday of each month.  You do not have to book ahead, you can just turn up or alternatively you can make an appointment to see her. if you would prefer.

Appointments are available to staff, children and parents and are an opportunity to ask questions, ask for help and suggestions, or to have a private and confidential conversation with a sympathetic and understanding ear.

Community Links

At St Richard's we partake in a number of community events over the year. The Mind Charity website states that,'participation in social and community life has attracted a lot of attention in the area of well-being research. Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy. Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in well-being.' At St Richard's we have participated in litter picking and singing at the Paddle board event in Richmond to highlight the need to look after our environment, had our own play street and Safer Hands event, sung at local fairs and so much more. 

Further information 

List of websites to support mental health and well-being

• Action for happiness www.actionforhappiness.org

Action for happiness is a not for profit creating a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society, by helping people to take practical action drawing on the latest scientific research. 

• Anna Freud Centre www.annafreud.org Tel. 0207 794 2313

A child's mental health charity providing specialised help and training and carrying out research. 

• Young Minds www.youngminds.org.uk  Tel. 0808 802 5544

Young Minds is a leading the UK's leading charity committed in improving emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people and empowering their parents and carers. 

• Childline www.childline.org.uk   Tel. 0800 1111 

Childline is a counselling service for parents, children and young people. 

• Mind www.mind.org.uk  Tel. 0300 123 3393

Mind is a national mental health charity which offers an excellent range of materials on all aspects of mental health. 

• Samaritans www.samaritans.org  Tel. 116 123

Samaritans is a confidential emotional support service for anyone in the UK and Ireland. The service is available 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide. 

• Anxiety UK www.anxietyuk.org.uk  Tel. 0844 775 774

Helps all those suffering with anxiety disorders. 

• Winston's Wish https://www.winstonswish.org/ Tel. 08088 020 021

Winston’s Wish was the UK’s first bereavement charity – supporting bereaved children since 1992 – and continue to lead the way in providing specialist child bereavement support services across the UK, including in-depth therapeutic help in individual, group and residential settings.

We have books on many topics and are lucky to be extending our selection of books in the next few months.  Many of the books have been chosen via recommendation from a couple of different sources however most are on the readingwell scheme https://reading-well.org.uk/news/announcing-reading-well-for-children.  The books are all recommended by health experts, as well as people with lived experience of the conditions and topics covered and their relatives and carers.

You can find the wellbeing section in the KS2 library!