Mental Health & Wellbeing

 

Mental Health & Wellbeing

 

Thrive approach

What is Thrive?
Thrive is a systematic approach to the early identification of emotional developmental need in children and young people so that differentiated provision can be put into place quickly by the adults working most closely with the child or young person.  It is preventative, reparative, pragmatic and easy to use.

Thrive uses a developmental framework to clarify the connections between emotional and social development, behaviour and learning.  In this developmental framework, child development is depicted as six strands of experience, each with accompanying tasks and opportunities.  These translate into six fundamental aspects of learning or emotional and social development: learning to be, learning to do, learning to think, learning to be powerful and to have an identity (Power and Identity), learning to be skilful and have structure (Skills and structure) and learning to be independent, relate to your peers and become secure in your sexual identity(Interdependence)

Why use it?

Because addressing emotional developmental needs builds resilience and resourcefulness, decreases the risk of mental illness, reinvigorates the learning provision and helps those children who are at risk of underachieving to exclusion to stay in school and re-engage with learning.

Who is Thrive For?

Children come to school to get an education that will equip them for life.  Many, indeed most, of our children do well in school.  In some cases though, life has already proved to be harsh and unsupportive so that school provision may seem to have little o offer that will prove directly useful.  Some of our brightest children may struggle to make best use of what their schools can offer Their earlier experiences may not have equipped them with a stress-regulation system that enables them to settle, to feel safe, to concentrate, to be curious or to be willing to work alongside their peers in collaborative ways.  The transition to ‘school’ may prove to be too much for some children.  For others, the pressure of parental or societal expectations may prove to be overwhelming.  Current neuroscience shows us that their emotional regulation and stress-regulation systems have not yet been sufficiently developed.

The thrive approach can make learning more accessible, more effective and more fun.  In enhances emotional literacy and directly contributes to the development of learning power: resilience, resourcefulness, reflective capacity and reciprocity.

 

Compass Go

Compass GO… Mental Health Support Team works with children, young people, families and educational settings in North East Lincolnshire. They provide support, help and advice for pupils, students and schools for issues related to emotional and mental health wellbeing. Their work with educational settings across North East Lincolnshire includes providing advice, information and support to staff in promoting emotional and mental health wellbeing. They also work with children and young people on a 1:1 basis offering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy intervention.  The service is made up of Education Mental Health Practitioners and Supervising Practitioners from a range of health and education backgrounds.

 

Jigsaw

How would children benefit if they could be aware of their thoughts and feelings as they happen, in the present moment, on purpose with no judgement?

This is what mindfulness means. It can be learnt, and techniques to develop it taught. It also needs to be practised. We believe mindfulness is a vital tool for life, not only does it support the regulation of emotion and build emotional resilience but also enhances focus and concentration; both helping to optimise learning.

Mindful children can more readily choose their responses to situations rather than react while caught up in the thought-flows and emotions.

In Jigsaw PSHE, mindfulness is developed through the ‘Calm Me’ time in each piece (lesson). This consists of breathing techniques, awareness exercises, visualisations etc, all tried, tested and very

enjoyable activities for children and teachers alike. Observing your thoughts and feelings, on purpose, in the present moment with no judgement…what a gift!

 

Celebrating differences

As a school we actively raise awareness for numerous special events throughout the calendar including:

• Mental Health week
• Anti-Bullying Week
• Children in Need
• Comic Relief
• Down’s Syndrome day
• Christmas Jumper day
• NSPCC number day