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Mental Health & Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing Logo

At Aragon Primary School, we are committed to promoting positive mental health and well-being for all our students. We believe that mental health is just as important as physical health, and we aim to create an environment where every child feels supported, valued and respected.

We understand that children can experience a wide range of emotions and feelings, and we strive to provide a safe and nurturing space where they can express themselves freely. We promote positive relationships between students and staff and encourage open communication to help identify and address any concerns.

We believe in the importance of building resilience in our students, and we provide opportunities to develop coping strategies and problem-solving skills. We also prioritise self-care, encouraging children to take time for themselves and engage in activities that promote positive mental health and well-being.

Students laughing in lesson

At our school we:
  • help children to understand their emotions and feelings better through regular emotional check ins
  • help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
  • help children socially to form and maintain relationships
  • promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they are important
  • encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’ and to take risks
  • help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks
  • support the mental health and well-being of education staff by giving them the right emotional and practical support so they can, in turn, support their pupils

Student and teacher in the playground

We promote a mentally healthy environment through:
  • promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging
  • promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision-making
  • celebrating academic and non-academic achievements
  • providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others
  • providing opportunities to reflect
  • participating in events such as Children’s Mental Health week and Healthy Me week
  • developing a positive dialogue between children, staff and parents and reducing the stigma that is associated with mental health and well-being
  • access to appropriate support that meets their needs

Students on the exercise equipment

We pursue our aims through:
  • universal, whole school approaches
  • support for pupils going through recent difficulties including bereavement
  • specialised, targeted approaches aimed at pupils with more complex or long-term difficulties including attachment disorder
  • individualised interventions to support children’s mental health and well-being through programmes such as Drawing and Talking and ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants)

Mental Health Champions

A mental health champion is someone who uses their influence and understanding to raise awareness about mental health, reduce stigma, encourage conversations, and advocate for mental health resources and support.

At Aragon, we have mental health champions from Year 3 to Year 6 who foster an environment where it's okay to talk about mental health, where support is readily available, and where every child feels understood and accepted. They have been trained to recognise and promote the importance of mental health within their class, year group, on the playground and across the school.  The children offer a listening ear for a peer who needs to talk and a watchful eye that looks out for someone who may appear lonely or worried.  Our Mental Health Champions aim to catch a worry early, provide reassurance and to help other children recognise that it is ok to feel that way and to encourage them to talk about how they are feeling. There is a team of adults that works alongside our Champions, and part of the children's training, ensures they know and understand when they must share a child's worry with this team of adults and that they can ask for help at anytime. They are not expected to deal with friendship issues and will seek adult support when needed.

Our mental health champions are:

Year 3

Osmaan

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I want children to share their feelings with me so I can make them happy.'

Poppy

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I am kind, helpful and a good listener. I want all the children at Aragon Primary School to be happy.'

Owen

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion so I can improve my own and other children's mental health.'

Year 4

Harper

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I want other children to talk  about their feelings.'

Isla

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I think I can make other children feel even better than they already do.'

Year 5

Thanishgia

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I will be there if anyone is feeling sad, and I have the best ways to encourage them to feel better.'

Sophia

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion to help others to feel better and to think more positively.'

Eva

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I feel I am a good listener and can support everyone to look after their own mental health.'

Year 6

Isla

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion to encourage others to talk about their mental health and help support them.'

Erin

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I like helping people. I am kind and I am helpful.'

Jesse

'I want to be a Mental Health Champion because I believe other children should be treated well and have someone to talk to.'
 
Education Wellbeing Practitioner Service

At Aragon, we offer parent workshops through the EWPS: We are the Wave 6 Merton Education Wellbeing Service. We are an early intervention service, set up to provide mental health support for families. We offer two programmes; both programmes consist of 6 to 8 sessions with parents and are FREE of charge (funded by the NHS). Sessions can take place at school or video call via MS TEAMS.

Click HERE for the guided self-help parent form programme or scan the QR code below.

Child anxiety programme:

This is for parents seeking support in managing their child’s anxieties. It’s aimed at children aged 4 – 11 and often feeling worried (e.g. shy, panicky or fearful of things such as separation, monsters, the dark, friends, school).

Challenging behaviours programme:

This is for parents seeking support in managing their child’s common behavioural difficulties (e.g. not following instructions, difficulties at bedtime, outbursts, tantrums, being rude). This programme is aimed at children aged 3 – 8 years.

These sessions aim to empower parents/guardians by helping them understand their child’s difficulties and by providing tools and coping strategies they can use with their child. We call this Guided Self-Help. This focuses on building confidence and resilience and involves trying techniques with your child at home."

If you are interested in this service, please contact send@aragon.merton.sch.uk for more information. 

 

How to support your child's mental health poster

 

For support on specific mental health needs:

For general information and support:

  1. Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy
    pdf

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