Wellbeing is all about our holistic health, including the physical and emotional. When we have good levels of wellbeing we feel that life is in balance and that we can generally cope well. We feel motivated and engaged, we’re resilient and able to deal effectively with daily troubles, as well as ’bounce back’ from life’s challenges.  Good wellbeing is essential for cultivating a mentally healthy school, for motivating staff and for promoting children’s wellbeing and attainment. 

As school children and staff juggle different tasks and demands, it is important that everyone is given the right emotional and practical support, so that they can, in turn, support others within our environment and community. In addition to having a positive impact on colleagues and children, good levels of wellbeing can improve performance and help to reduce absence, increase productivity and promote engagement. 

At St Joseph’s, our caring ethos and environment supports 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. We prioritise building a culture of trust where school staff and children feel valued, can be open about their health and wellbeing and know how to access support if they need it.  

Through our curriculum

• We identify and talk about feelings. 
• We learn about how feelings affect behaviours. 
• We teach children strategies to manage feelings and maintain a positive mental health. 
• We learn about the link between mental and physical health. 
• We learn about the importance of talking. 

• We manage transition to secondary school. 
• We aim to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and wellbeing. 

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, for example in lessons and our school council. 
• Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements. 
• Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others. 
• Providing opportunities to access mindfulness, for example yoga club. 
• Enabling access to appropriate support. 
• Wellbeing Day.