At St Peter and St Paul we all work together to support the children and families in our care.

We aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for all and recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is as much as physical health. Children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing. The Department for Education recognises that “in order to help their children succeed; schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy”. Our role in school is to ensure that our children are able to manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing is about our thoughts, feelings, emotions and ability to react to life. A good sense of wellbeing is feeling ok and able to cope, even when life or situations are challenging.

Sometimes our wellbeing is affected by things out of our control: illness, a stressful family situation or crisis.

When our wellbeing is affected and we don’t feel able to cope, this can lead to mental health concerns: sadness, depression and unhelpful thoughts that can stop us from enjoying and coping with daily life.

Mental Health and Mental Health Illness

Mental health is about how we think, how we feel, how we behave, how life affects us and how we cope with it, how we engage with others, and the choices we make.

Mental health illness is something people are born with which affects them throughout their lives. They might have different ways of being supported such as a medicine or they might have a doctor or counsellor that they talk to, to help them cope and regain a sense of wellbeing. Mental illness is often invisible, but that doesn’t mean it should be hidden. Statistics tell us that most people suffer from a mental health concern at some point in their lives and that one in ten young people struggle with their mental health. People with any illnesses, whether they affect our mental or physical health, deserve support, help and understanding.

We have a role to ensure that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and where they can go if they need help and support.

We hope you may find some of the links for adults and children below helpful in supporting a loved one or yourself.