Whole school approach to mental health

In order to support pupils with a mental health problem it is important to reach all parts of your school community and beyond, as teachers, parents and other staff will also be affected.

A whole-school approach is an ideal way to bring about changes to policy and practice to ensure everyone is fully on board, from governors to teaching assistants. Evidence suggests that schools with a whole school plan are more likely to have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of pupils.

To find out more about the whole school approach to mental health, see the recommended reports below:

A whole school framework - national children's bureau (pdf) (ncb.org.uk)
A whole school framework - self assessment and improvement tool (ncb.org.uk)
Promoting children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing (gov.uk)

If you are a senior leader and would like to develop a whole school mental health plan, please contact Karen to download the mental health toolkit (pdf).

School vision and environment

Mental health policy (cwmt.org.uk)
Mental health library- book ideas (inourhands.com)
Whole school approach to mental health- Healthy London toolkit (healthlondon.org)

Staff development

Webinars (cwmt.org.uk)
Adult resilience framework - bingbong
Talking about mental health - SecED article
Staff wellbeing - Dr Pooky Knightsmith article
Employee assistance programme (educationsupportpartnership.org.uk)
How to manage stress - mental health top tips
Ealing staff training needs analysis report (word)
Building trust in schools - article (greatergood.berkeley.edu)
Resillience training (boingboing.org.uk)
Guidance for staff – wellbeing and occupational health

Pupils support

Peer mentoring - a case study from newham
Peer mentoring - mental health foundation manual (pdf)
Kindness assembly - primary and secondary school resources (place2be.org.uk)
Sociograms - article - Contact Stacey for further information.
Safeguarding - NSPCC guidance (nspcc.org.uk)
5 ways to wellbeing (mindkit.org.uk)
Mindfulness for young people (mindkit.org.uk)
School mental health ambassadors- template application form (doc)

Curriculum

Developing emotional awareness and listening - DEAL- Samaritans website
Growth mindset resources (edutopia.org)
Effective enrichment sessions (sec-ed.co.uk)
How can mindfulness be useful (handsonscotland.co.uk)
Fair workload charter- example(nottinghamschools.org)

Parents

Leaflets, guides and posters (cwmt.org.uk)
Parental engagement - (gov.uk)
Mental health and resilient therapy - (pdf)
Supporting your child- Top tips for parents and carers (pdf)
Parent newsletter example (thebridgelondon.co.uk)

Targeted support

Children and young people’s mental health (minded.org.uk)
Making sense of mental health (nasschools.org.uk)
Ealing CAMHS (westlondoncamhs.nhs.uk)
LGBT contacts (westlondoncamhs.nhs.uk)

Contact

Karen Gibson
KGibson@ealing.gov.uk

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Last updated: 09 Nov 2023

Ealing Learning Partnership