Wellbeing
Mental health and pastoral support at MBMS
Statement of Mental Health and Pastoral Intent
Moral Purpose
Good mental health among children and young people is the ability to feel, express and manage positive and negative emotions. Form and maintain good relationships with others. Cope with and manage change, setbacks and uncertainty so that they can continue to develop and thrive.
At Marden Bridge Middle School we believe that good mental health can lead to improved attainment, attendance, reductions in behavioural problems, as well as happier, more confident and resilient children and young people. Good mental health is important to help young people develop and thrive.
It is our heart-felt belief that a nurturing environment, with appropriate levels of support and challenge, will help to make each one of our pupils the very best people they can be, both in the classroom and the wider community.
Our school recognises the significant role we play in supporting mental health and wellbeing for all of our stakeholders such as pupils, families and colleagues. Early intervention is essential and through collaboration with our stakeholders we have developed a robust mental health and wellbeing pathway. Our school's values of Empowering minds, Inspiring futures builds on the concept of prioritising mental health and wellbeing to give pupils the tools to develop protective factors to support their own mental health and wellbeing to become resilient young adults in order to reach their full potential.
Our moral purpose can therefore be summarised as:
Collaboration
Early Intervention
Empowering young people
What does inclusion and effective support for mental health and wellbeing mean to us?
A child centred approach at the heart of everything we do
A universal offer to support wellbeing for all
We provide an ethos and environment that promotes respect and values diversity
A positive climate for learning at all times
The pastoral care system supports and promotes the shared values and aims of the school
Pastoral Care/Wellbeing
The mental health and wellbeing of all stakeholders is our highest priority
Our Wellbeing team consists of THRIVE practitioners, Youth Mental health Champions, Young carers advocates and Learning Mentors. They are passionate about becoming experts in their field and interventions are based on evidence informed practice
Pastoral Support is at the heart of everything we do. We always strive for the best possible outcomes for our pupils and work with numerous external agencies to support our moral purpose
We recognise that early intervention is vital and triage weekly through the Wellbeing Team to ensure the right support is given to pupils in a timely manner
A parent and pupil centred approach is used in all pastoral care and wellbeing decisions
We use evidence based practice and evaluate the impact of all interventions
One size does not fit all. We recognise that professional development and liaison with professional partners is needed to develop our wellbeing pathway to ensure we follow the most recent guidance and advice on supporting pupils' mental health and wellbeing
Attendance
We work closely with parents and carers to identify any barriers to attendance
Creating an environment where pupils feel safe and supported by all staff
We work together with external agencies to address and remove barriers to school attendance
We prioritise pupils who are classed as disadvantaged by removing barriers to attendance such as providing free breakfast clubs, nurture provision and wellbeing groups
Our poverty proofing policy ensures that no pupils are disadvantaged because of economic factors that may then impact on attendance
Our Attendance officer is our Young Carers Advocate and Youth Mental Health First Aider to enable a holistic oversight to barriers to attendance
Safeguarding
We create a culture of safe recruitment by adopting procedures that help deter, reject or identify people who might pose a risk to children
We ensuring that members of the governing body, the Headteacher and staff members understand their responsibility, under safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance, to be alert to the signs of child abuse and to refer concerns to the designated safeguarding lead
All staff at the school recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, that they should have read and understood section one of Keeping Young people Safe in Education 2023, that early intervention is key and that context matters
A robust PSHE curriculum informs pupils on how to keep themselves and others safe from potential risk and what to do if they have any safeguarding concern
We establish and maintain an environment and culture where children are kept safe, feel safe, are able to talk about and are listened to when they have a worry or concern
All staff across the school have training annually with reminders throughout the year at briefings, staff meetings and inset days
For more informaton see Safeguarding
Curriculum
Wellbeing screeners allow for early identification of pupils who need additional support
A wellbeing working party meets regularly to discuss whole school wellbeing across the curriculum
The registration curriculum promotes wellbeing through weekly briefings, assemblies and signposting pupils to drop in sessions with the school nurse and Wellbeing Team
THRIVE school status allows us to adopt wellbeing across pastoral and curriculum systems and can be tailored to offer whole class support
Emotional wellbeing is embedded across the curriculum to ensure pupils are ready and able to learn
We make reasonable adjustments for vulnerable pupils and pupils with special educational needs
At Marden Bridge Middle School we are committed to ensuring an ethos of positive mental health is at the heart of all that we do.
