Emotional Health and Wellbeing

 

 

Article 24

I have the right to good health, including health care, clean drinking water and nutritious food.

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At Valley Road Academy our aim is to ensure that all our pupils, parents/carers and staff are happy, healthy and safe. Valley Road Academy are committed to supporting emotional health and wellbeing. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable at times and may need additional emotional support.  We believe that positive mental health is everyone’s responsibility and we all have a role to play.

 

As a school we work hard to:

  • Ensure that all our children feel valued.
  • Ensure our children have a sense of belonging and feel safe.
  • Support our children to understand their feelings and emotions.
  • Support our children to feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries.
  • Encourage children to be confident and celebrate differences.
  • Support our children to build emotional resilience and give them the skills to manage setbacks.
  • Promote self-esteem and support children in forming and maintaining positive relationships with others.

Our Well Being Ambassadors 

  
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Just as peoples’ bodies can become unwell, people’s minds can become unwell too. 

Mental health problems are more common than you think but can be difficult to talk about. There is support available, below are some useful links to key organisations that offer professional and confidential help.

Services and websites:

 

To support Wellbeing in our school we:

  • Have a team of children’s Wellbeing Ambassadors who have completed the Anna Freud peer mentoring training programme. annafreud.org
  • Meet the needs of our children through our overall ethos and curriculum.
  • Have a senior Mental Health Lead – Miss Johnson.
  • Have a ‘Safe Space’ room that is available for children to access for quiet time, to share their worries and anxieties.
  • Have a team of staff Wellbeing Ambassadors, Miss Johnson, Mrs Hibbert, Miss McKinney and Mrs Curle.
  • Offer additional support where needed through our Play Therapist Dawn Baxter and Educational Mental Health Practitioners Beth and Sarah.

 

Results form 'Our Settling In Survey' - October 2025

5 Ways to Wellbeing

Another important aspect of our approach is underpinned by the 5 Ways to Wellbeing.

Find out more about each aspect by clicking on the image above.

 

Evidence suggests there are five steps we can all take to improve our mental wellbeing. If you give them a try you may feel happier, more positive and able to get the most from life. 

 

 

Mindfulness

A further approach across school is around Mindfulness. This  involves learning to direct our attention to our experience as it unfolds, moment by moment, with open-minded curiosity and acceptance. Rather than worrying about what has happened or might happen, it trains us to respond skillfully to whatever is happening right now, be that good or bad.

 

 

We have fully embraced Mindfulness in our school working in collaboration with the SHINE project.

 

Mindful living means paying attention to the present, appreciating what is happening and enjoying the simple things in life. This can help us to feel calmer, reduce stress or anxiety, sleep better and might help us cope better with difficult situations. The aim of this project is to allow children to be more in tune with their emotions, learn strategies to cope and regulate themselves. This will allow children to be more engaged with their learning and become more aware of the importance of their mental health and wellbeing.

Here are some breathing startegies you and your children can use: ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!

 

 

How you can help at home

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