Promoting Emotional Health and Wellbeing for All
We are dedicated to fostering positive emotional wellbeing and mental health for our entire school community. Our senior leadership team ensures that efforts to promote emotional health are not just accepted, but deeply ingrained in our school policies and practices. We believe that every student, staff member, family, and carer deserve to thrive in a supportive and nurturing environment.
Leadership for Mental Health
We have a dedicated Senior Mental Health Lead (Kimberley Andrews) who oversees all aspects of emotional wellbeing. This lead works closely with the senior management team to develop a comprehensive strategy that aligns with national policies and guidelines. Our commitment is reinforced through our development plan and strategic objectives, ensuring that wellbeing is at the forefront of our priorities.
A Safe and Inclusive Environment
Our school ethos promotes respect and values diversity. We have embedded individualised behaviour support programmes and early help strategies to create a safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment.
We have identified core practitioners trained in the effective principles of integrated supervision to support the wellbeing of our staff.
Empowering Through Education
Our curriculum, teaching, and learning approach does focus on the wellbeing, social and emotional learning, building upon the child’s personal strengths and needs. We understand that providing our students with a secure and comfortable environment prepares them for all learning opportunities.
Our staff embody the role of learning leaders, equipped with the training to explicitly teach social and emotional skills. They skilfully integrate these teachings into every aspect of school life, taking the benefits beyond the confines of the classroom. We seek and offer activities that ensure and promote inclusivity and a good quality of social inclusion at a meaningful level to the child involved.
We have staff trained in:
• mental health awareness, including independent advocacy support
• inclusive sports and physical activities
• special yoga
Each child is unique, with their own interests and preferences. That's why we take the time to conduct a wellbeing profile for each child. This enables us to tailor our support and advocacy to cater to the specific needs and preferences of each child, ensuring their wellbeing reaches its fullest potential.
A range of extracurricular, age respectful activities include gardening, cooking, making music, arts and youth groups, enabling everyone to enjoy, achieve and be part of a community.
Wellbeing Profile
The Wellbeing Profile is a powerful tool that acknowledges the significance and influence of all emotions in a child's life. From moments of sadness and anger to those of happiness and joy, we understand that each emotion shapes their unique journey.
Through valuable contributions from families, staff, and the child themselves, we construct a comprehensive understanding of their emotions. This holistic approach enables us to discern even the subtle responses tied to their specific interests, preferences, dislikes, and motivators.
The outcomes of the Happiness Profile not only inform our teaching options but also serve as a wellspring of resources and ideas for self-occupancy. From the personalised wellbeing bags to tailor-made Apple Music playlists and identified community trips, we enable each child to engage with meaningful activities that bring joy and fulfilment to their lives.
Amplifying Pupil Voice
At The Children’s Trust School, we recognise that our students have a powerful voice. We actively seek to involve them, using different communication modes, in decision-making processes and provide opportunities for them to influence their learning experience. Our school council and pupil charter ensure that every student's perspective has been heard and acted upon. We use information from the wellbeing profiles to gather student feedback, helping us enhance activities and experiences to better meet their needs.
Health
Our teams are trained and competent to support a range of health conditions. We establish individualised care plans and work in partnership with external health providers such as Consultants. , to ensure a holistic approach The therapy team work with teachers nurses, residential nursing and carers and the on-site respiratory team to optimise children’s mental and physical health.
Weekly on-site clinics underpin specialist upper limb splints and orthotic provision. On-site dysphagia trained speech and language therapists support children with eating and drinking, advising on food modification, textures and the lunch time environment.
Occupational therapists ensure that specialist equipment is in place to support safety and independence during personal care routines, such as specialist bath, toilet aids, slings, hoists and seating.
A 24-hour approach to postural care is adopted, ensuring that young people have access to different positions and comfort during the day and night. Sleep systems, standing frames, walkers and comfy chairs are assessed for and monitored in school and within the residential homes.
Music Therapists offer individual and group therapy sessions. These sessions can support with communication, emotional identification and provide a safe, confidential environment where children and young people can explore autonomy and independence.
Enrichment Weeks
During school holidays we organise and run our ‘enrichment weeks’. Identified weeks offer a full programme of exciting events and activities planned for all day and residential children.
During these weeks the aim is to provide further rich experiences and opportunities to engage children in social, creative and leisure activities on site, in our local community and further afield and for children to develop their talents and interests.
Staff strive to ensure that they bring imagination and creativity to a range of quality experiences to further contribute to personal development and quality of life.
Staff from across education, health, therapy and care teams remain available during our enrichment programme and continue to support children to access these in ways to ensure that they are relevant and children remain safe.
