Corpus Christi

We are committed to supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers).  We have a skilled and experienced team focussed on well being: Mrs Maxwell (Head Teacher, Designated Safeguarding Lead and Senior Mental Health Lead), Jan Gurkin (Family Support Worker), Mrs Taylor (Pastoral Lead) and Mrs Lilley (SENDCO)  

We have a supportive and caring ethos and our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and contribution is valued. We endeavour to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress and aim to ensure that they are supported to reach their potential or to access help when they need it.

We also have a role to ensure that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and where they can go if they need help and support.

At our school 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.

Promoting positive mental health

At Corpus Christi, we take a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health, aiming to help children become more resilient, happy and successful and to work in a pro-active way to avoid problems arising.

Teaching about Mental Health

The skills, knowledge and understanding needed by our pupils to keep themselves mentally healthy and safe are included as part of our developmental PSHE curriculum. The specific content of lessons will be determined by the specific needs of the cohort we’re teaching but we will also use our PSHE/RSE curriculum to ensure that we teach mental health and emotional wellbeing issues in a safe and sensitive manner.

Early Identification and Warning Signs

All staff will be vigilant in identifying a range of possible difficulties that may be contributing to a pupil’s poor mental health, including:

• Attendance
• Relationships
• Approach to learning
• Physical indicators
• Negative behaviour patterns
• Family circumstance
• Recent bereavement
• Health indicators

School staff may also become aware of warning signs which indicate a pupil is experiencing mental health or emotional wellbeing issues. These warning signs should always be taken seriously and staff observing any of these warning signs should communicate their concerns with the designated child protection and safeguarding officer or the emotional wellbeing lead as appropriate.

Possible warning signs include:

• Changes in eating/sleeping habits
• Becoming socially withdrawn
• Changes in activity and mood
• Talking about self-harm or suicide
• Expressing feelings of failure, uselessness or loss of hope
• Repeated physical pain or nausea with no evident cause
• An increase in lateness or absenteeism

Assessment, interventions and support

All concerns are reported to the designated adults within school and needs are assessed through a triage approach with SLT, class teachers and SENDCO to ensure the child gets the support they need, either from within the school or from an external specialist service, as quickly as possible.