Children's Mental Health and Wellbeing
Children's Mental Health and Wellbeing
According to the children's commissioner there are 800,000 children living with mental health disorders - that's equivalent of at least three children in every classroom.
Demand for mental health support has reached unprecedented levels, and yet three in four children with a diagnosable mental health condition still do not receive the support they need.
A quarter of children referred to CAMHS are turned away by underfunded and overstretched services.
Teachers are being left without necessary support and added additional pressure to their demanding work load.
So what are we doing at Cheadle Primary School...
Getting ahead for our children.
The needs of our children are paramount and our family support worker sees about twelve children on a 1:1 basis weekly who need extra support for a range of concerns from self-harm to severe anxiety. Julie has also set up three small proactive groups covering anger, anxiety and confidence, these will run for six weeks this term and change each half term as the needs of our children are identified.
Our small proactive groups allow us to be above the current mental health's figure of 70% reactive and 30% proactive by looking at barriers to learning of how our children perform and behave in school as well as local issues they may witness or live with that we are unaware of.
We have identified some needs for next half term supporting groups of children in split families, those who need a self esteem boost and coping with exam worries.
Our children are thriving and becoming more resilient with mental health and wellbeing input so far, parents are getting extra support with concerns they have for their children for things such as not sleeping to witnessing domestic violence.
Developing the treehouse as a hub for support is growing, as both children and families access the extra support we offer.
Our tree house where it all happens...
Hide-a-ways, quiet spaces to feel safe, bean bags to be less formal and tables for activities