"At Emneth Academy, our staff are committed to supporting and promoting good mental health and wellbeing for all."
Mental Health Champions
Meet the team!
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| Jonathan Parrish (Mental Health Champion) | Lindzi Morgan (Mental Health Champion) |
| jonathan.parrish@ema.eastern-mat.co.uk | lindzi.morgan@ema.eastern-mat.co.uk |
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| Elaine Huntington (Mental Health 1st Aider) | |
| elaine.huntington@ema.eastern-mat.co.uk |
What can I do if my child is worried about coming into school?
Parents can always approach the school and inform us of any worries at home that may mean your child is anxious about coming into school.
The staff are out on the gate every morning to welcome the children in, and we can put into place bespoke sessions to encourage children and give them confidence to come in each day, independently.
Miss Morgan is our Family Support Worker and performs 'miracles' working with children and families. Please come and talk to us if you have any concerns.
How can I encourage my child to eat healthily?
Our healthy eating is covered within our curriculum and, therefore, we have regular discussions with children about having a balanced diet.
From time to time, children may be more particular about what they eat. However, when in school we find children like to do the same as their friends. Fruit is available for all Key Stage 1 children and milk can be ordered through school, which they can drink at playtime.
We will actively encourage children to eat their lunch and snack and to drink throughout the day. Any concerns can be raised with the staff at the end of the day when staff are available.
My child is feeling low, what can I do?
We are very nurturing school; each and every member of staff is on the look out for children who may not be joining in or who withdraw from play or learning sessions. Please do let us know if you have any concerns and we will look out for your child; we have a range of programmes we can put in place and resources we can use to help children build their self-esteem and feel good about themselves.
One of our key resources is called 'Zones of Regulation', you can look this up at home; there are lots of resources that might help. Letting us know as soon as you have a concern is the best way, so we can work together on solutions.
Is there any support for dealing with a bereavement?
We have trained staff who can help and support families dealing with bereavement. Let us know in confidence if this is something you would like us to work on with your child. We have access to a range of resources, including; Bereavement UK, Winstons Wish, Nelsons' Journey and support from local hospices.
We understand this is very difficult time for families and we will respect your wishes and work with you.
We offer different levels of support:
Universal Support – To meet the needs of all our pupils through our school values and the lessons we teach. For instance, developing resilience and promoting enjoyment of the school curriculum offer.
Additional support – For those who may have short-term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences, such as bereavement.
Targeted support – For pupils who need more individual support and resources, or specific targeted interventions such as drawing and talking, we can put together a group or individual programme to meet their needs. We have developed a range of spaces outside the classroom, which can be used for group or individual work where children may need a quiet space with fewer children around them. Classrooms can be very busy places and are not always conducive to optimal learning for all children.
Adaptations are regularly made throughout the curriculum, as appropriate.
Useful Links
https://www.justonenorfolk.nhs.uk/ - This is a fantastic website, containing a wealth of information for parents about their children. It includes everything from 'fussy eaters' to building children's resilience. We often refer to this website as our 'Go to' for many forms of support.
https://www.justonenorfolk.nhs.uk/online-learning/ - This link will take you to a FREE parenting course named 'The Solihull Approach'.
https://nelsonsjourney.org.uk/ OR https://www.bereavement.co.uk/Bereavement- Targeted support and resources for children and families tackling bereavement.
https://www.pandoraproject.org.uk/ - Support for families who have experienced, or are experiencing domestic abuse.
We're Mind, the mental health charity | Mind- Support for Mental Health for children, young people and for adults.
Homepage - National Domestic Abuse Helpline
Emotional Support and Nurture sessions
We use a therapeutic approach to help support children with their emotional and social development. Our key resource is 'Zones of Regulation' but we also use others including the 'Colour Monster' to help children understand how they are feeling.
Our approach offers practical strategies and techniques and is built around our professional assessments which identify children’s emotional development and provide action plans for their individual needs.
Research has shown that how we behave is linked to how we feel and our emotions are linked to how we learn. By teaching children to recognise and notice these feelings and emotions it can help with their development and learning.
Children sometimes need some extra support with their emotional growth and this can be temporary or over a longer period of time.
Our strategies promote their emotional and social growth. We help them to build positive relationships between them, their peers and adults and helps them explore and understand their feelings and emotions through a range of activities.
Why might my child attend a nurture session?
Many children experience difficulties during their time at school. These may include:
- Difficulties with friendships.
- Getting into trouble at playtime.
- Finding it hard to settle in the classroom.
- Finding it difficult to manage their strong feelings.
- Not knowing who to turn to when feelings are too big to manage on their own.
These situations can lead to many different feelings which may seem overwhelming at times. They might include: anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, confusion or anxiety.
All these feelings are very normal and happen to a lot of children. The Thrive sessions are to help children learn to manage their feelings and teach them strategies that will help promote their learning at school.
What will happen in a nurture session?
The session may be on an individual basis or as part of a small group of children. During each session there will be an activity which may include:
- Story telling
- Circle games
- Arts and crafts
- Sand play
- Movement and relaxation
- Hand and foot massage
- Cooking and preparing food
- Role play and puppet work
- Games
More information
For more information please come and speak to us in confidence, Miss Morgan is our key Practitioner at Emneth Academy. All staff support children's emotional regulation.