Mental Health and Wellbeing
"Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community." (World Health Organization)
Here at Kirby Hill, we work hard to make sure that all of our children are happy to come to school and that they have sufficient support to enable them to engage fully in all areas of school life. We promote a range of whole-school approaches and activities to maintain our happy and respectful school community and to support the mental health and wellbeing of all of our staff and pupils.
In our school, our Christian vision shapes all that we do. Through our seven Christian values of love, respect, friendship, honesty, forgiveness, hope and courage, combined with high-quality teaching and a creative, stimulating curriculum, we inspire caring and compassionate children to be confident, resilient, independent thinkers ready to face life’s challenges in an ever-changing world.
Whilst all staff have the responsibility to promote the mental health and wellbeing of all of our children, our PSHE lead oversees the school's work in this area and this is set out in more detail in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy (a copy of which is available either by clicking the link below or by contacting the school office). All of our staff have received Level 1 training in the 'Prevention & Promotion of Mental Health & Wellbeing'. Four members of staff have gone on to be trained up to Level 3 standard to equip them with the skills for early help and intervention. We also have an Emotional First Aid specialist in school who 'checks in' with any pupils who need regular support.
Our School Policy for Mental Health and Wellbeing
View our Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy (.pdf).
5 Ways to Wellbeing
Warm and Well
North Yorkshire County Council have created a bright and engaging comic for children, teaching them about the importance of being warm to help maintain a healthy wellbeing. It can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
View our Warm and Well Comic: The Heat is On! (.pdf)
Further Information
The MindEd learning portal (www.minded.org.uk) provides free online training suitable for staff or parents wishing to know more about a specific issue.
For any parents with concerns about their child showing signs of anxiety, Drangonfly Impact Education have created a very useful information document which can be accessed here:
View our Anxiety Booklet (.pdf
There are lots of other websites too, which will help signpost children, young people and families to credible information
about emotional health and wellbeing. Click the link below to access an extensive list of resources:
View our Resource List for Children and Parents
New website to support families with mental health: This May Help
Useful Contacts
Mind have collated a really useful list of contacts for children and young people with a wide range of different needs: Click here
Children's Mental Health Week
Place 2 Be's Children's Mental Health Week took place from 5th - 11th February 2024. The theme was 'My Voice Matters'.
My Voice Matters was about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves.
When we feel empowered, there’s a positive impact on our wellbeing. Children who feel that their voices are heard and can make a difference have a greater sense of community and self-esteem. This year, Place 2 Be wanted children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to be empowered to work together to create a positive change for their mental health and wellbeing.
Click here for more information and resources
Healthy Lunch Boxes
Maintaining a healthy diet is incredibly important for healthy bodies and minds. As a school, we have produced a Whole School Food Policy and we thought it was important to share our expectations for packed lunches and snacks brought into school. Whilst we allow items such as a snack-sized packet of crisps and a chocolate biscuit within a packed lunch, chocolate bars and sweets are not allowed and these will be returned home again. Crisps and biscuits are not allowed as break time snacks; nut-free cereal bars or fruit or veg sticks are highly recommended instead.
According to NHS choices, a balanced lunchbox should contain:
- Starchy foods like bread, rice, potatoes or pasta.
- Protein foods like meat, fish, eggs or beans.
- A dairy item, like cheese or yogurt.
- Vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit.
For further information and loads of ideas for lunch box recipes, visit the British Nutrition Foundation or the Change 4 Life website.
Regular Exercise
There are many reasons why physical activity is good for your body – having a healthy heart and improving your joints and bones are just two, but did you know that physical activity is also beneficial for your mental health and wellbeing?
There are many studies which have shown that doing physical activity can improve mental health. For example, it can help with:
- better sleep – by making you feel more tired at the end of the day
- happier moods – physical activity releases feel-good hormones that make you feel better in yourself and give you more energy
- managing stress, anxiety or intrusive and racing thoughts – doing something physical releases cortisol which helps us manage stress. Being physically active also gives your brain something to focus on and can be a positive coping strategy for difficult times
- better self-esteem – being more active can make you feel better about yourself as you improve and meet your goals
- reducing the risk of depression – studies have shown that doing regular physical activity can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a period of depression
- connecting with people – doing group or team activities can help you meet new and like-minded people, and make new friends.
How much physical activity should children and young people aged 5 to 18 do to keep healthy?
The NHS guidelines state that children and young people need to do 2 types of physical activity each week:
- aerobic exercise
- exercises to strengthen their muscles and bones
Children and young people aged 5 to 18 should:
- aim for an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a day across the week
- take part in a variety of types and intensities of physical activity across the week to develop movement skills, muscles and bones
- reduce the time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity. Aim to spread activity throughout the day. All activities should make you breathe faster and feel warmer.