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St Alban's Catholic Primary School

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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.

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

HEALING TOGETHER

Mrs Horton is our Trauma Informed Healing Together Practitioner.

The Healing Together programmes are trauma-informed interventions designed to support children aged 5–16 who have experienced trauma and mental ill health.

Grounded in psychological research and delivered in safe, familiar environments, the programme helps children experience emotional safety.

There 3 programmes within Healing Together and Mrs Horton is trained to deliver all 3.

Healing Together: Support for Children & Young People Affected by Domestic Abuse A gentle, structured early intervention programme for children aged 5–16 who have experienced domestic abuse. Children who experience domestic abuse often carry invisible wounds. The Healing Together programme is designed to help them begin their journey of healing in a safe, supportive environment.

Grounded in trauma-informed principles, co-developed with clinical psychologists and trauma informed experts, this programme empowers children to learn about their experiences, use body based calming tools, and reconnect with a sense of safety and self-worth.

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.

Healing Together: Support for Children & Young People with Angry Feelings.

Anger is a natural emotion, but for many children it can feel overwhelming and confusing. The Healing Together Angry Feelings Programme is designed to help children aged 5–16 understand what anger is, how it shows up in their body and brain, and how to respond using body-based strategies.

This is not about suppressing anger. It’s about creating a safe space where children can explore their emotions, feel seen and heard, and develop lifelong tools to support their emotional regulation.

Healing Together: Anxiety Support Programme for Children & Young People.

This programme has been carefully put together to help young people learn about how their body and brain can work together to help them feel safe and calm. The programme helps children explore how their brain and body respond to feeling anxious. Through engaging animations, sensory activities, and calming techniques, children experience emotional regulation and develop a personal plan for helping their body and brain to feel safe and calm.

For more information about any of the programmes, please speak to Mrs Horton.

Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP)

St Alban's is proud to be deliver the Mindfulness in Schools Project's mindfulness programme, Paws.b. Paws.b is a mindfulness curriculum for children aged 7-11, and it is taught to children in KS2 at St Alban's, by Mrs Horton. Each group works with Mrs Horton for 12 weeks to complete the course and this is repeated each year. The programme focuses on teaching the children about how their brain and mind work, and helping them to understand their emotions. It gives them tools, in the form of mindfulness practices to help them train their minds to develop focus, concentration and in making decisions.

This replaces My Happy Mind for KS2.

For more information about Paws.b, please speak to Mrs Horton.

The video below has more information about the Mindfulness in schools Project.

MY HAPPY MIND

At St Alban's, we use My Happy Mind in Early Years and KS1 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 EY and KS1 and consists of 5 units: