Mental Health and Well-being at St Alban's
At St Alban's Catholic Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.
Mrs Horton is the school's Senior Mental Health Lead as well as PSHE/RSHE Lead. If you wish to learn more or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact her via the school email stalbans_primary@sch.warrington.gov.uk
St Alban's statement of intent for Mental Health and Well-Being
EMOTIONAL LITERACY SUPPORT ASSISTANT
At St Alban's Mrs Dyson is our fully qualified ELSA. 
ELSA is a therapeutic Intervention that helps with underlying emotional difficulties that may be affecting a child’s learning and behaviour
Mrs Dyson works with identified children either in a 1:1 capacity or in small groups. There are a number of reasons as to why a child may attend these sessions and each child benefits from a tailor-made programme specifically designed to support their individual needs.
Children that may benefit from ELSA Intervention:
- Social Skills
- Emotional suffering – Anxiety, stress or phobias
- Attachment Disorder
- Trauma
- Bereavement
- Social Stories – Therapeutic Stories
- Anger Management
- Behaviour Management
- Not realising their potential either academically or socially
- Self-Esteem – Confidence
- Counselling Support
- Is at risk of being/is excluded from school
- Separation/Divorce
- Is/or in the process of being adopted/fostered
- Friendship
- Medical – illness
Free resources available on the ELSA website
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT TEAM
We are lucky to be one of 40 schools in Warrington with direct access to the Mental Health Support Team for schools.
The service aims to promote the early detection and prevention of mental health problems across the whole school and strengthen links between schools and mental health services.
The team will provide direct, ongoing support to schools around mental health and wellbeing. This will include:
- Providing direct interventions to pupils with mild to moderate mental health conditions, such as anxiety, low mood or behavioural difficulties.
- Where young people require specialist support, making onward referrals for pupils to local services, such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
- Providing training, education and advice to school staff to help them better support their pupils around mental and emotional wellbeing.
- Championing mental wellbeing and resilience across the whole school community, providing guidance around issues such as bullying and coping with exam stress.
Please speak to Mrs Horton for more information.
DRAWING AND TALKING
Mrs Horton is our Drawing and Talking trained practitioner in school.
Drawing and Talking Therapy is a safe and gentle therapeutic intervention. It provides an effective way for children and young people to process emotional pain or trauma they may be experiencing. It is considered a very simple but highly effective tool, that has the power to make the child feel emotionally better, and more resilient.
Drawing and Talking is a therapeutic method of working with children on a 1:1 basis. Drawing enables a child to express, in a visual form, worries and preoccupations from deep in the mind that they may not be able to talk about. Their drawings enable symbolic and safe expression of worries that they may be unaware of on a conscious level. The Drawing and Talking process, therefore, gives the child a feeling of control in a confidential and safe environment whereby they are able to come to a symbolic resolution to their worries
Suitable for children
Who are:
- Child of separated parents
- Adopted / fostered
- Young parents
- Young caregivers
- LGBTQ+
- Socially disadvantaged
- Bereaved
- Ill or disabled
- Bullied or a bully
- Autistic
Suffering from:
- Trauma
- Anxiety, stress or phobias
- Disrupted or disturbed sleep
- The effects of domestic violence
- Inability to make friends
- Inability to play
- Being withdrawn
- Inappropriate behaviour
- Peer or sibling disputes
Please speak to Mrs Horton if you would like more information.
HEALING TOGETHER
Mrs Horton is our Trauma Informed Healing Together Practitioner.
This programme has been put together by clinical and trauma informed experts to ensure children affected by domestic abuse are able to access early trauma informed help. Each session has been carefully crafted so children can learn about how their body and brain works together, their feelings, senses and strategies they can use to help their body and brain feel safe.
The programme does not ask children to talk about their experiences of domestic abuse and there is no reference to domestic abuse in the video animations or worksheets. This is a pure trauma informed programme.
For more information please speak to Mrs Horton.
Please watch this video for further information.
NEXT STEP CARDS
Mrs Horton and Mrs Dyson are our Next Step Card trained staff members.
Next Step Cards are a tool that helps young people to communicate
on their own terms, in their own environment. Created by both
young people and mental health experts, the colourful toolkit
provides the perfect platform to enable safe and structured
conversations with young people who may be struggling with their
emotional health and wellbeing.
The Next Step resource is a set of 52 unique cards, with each card
representing a particular mood, thought, action or goal. In a one-toone
scenario, Next Step enables the adult to take a young person on a
journey, encouraging them to discuss their thoughts and feelings
and empowering them to set and achieve their own goals.
Please speak to Mrs Horton or Mrs Dyson
MY HAPPY MIND
At St Alban's, we use My Happy Mind to help create a positive mental wellbeing culture in which children build resilience, self-esteem, and character. My Happy Mind uses the latest research, science, and technology to help children develop lifelong habits and learn to thrive.
My Happy Mind is taught across the whole school in weekly sessions, and consists of 5 units:
LINKS FOR PARENT AND CARERS
Parent information section of the My Happy Mind website.
Using the parent and carers app support
To access free My Happy Mind resources please click here. Our school code is 111307