At Bill Quay Primary School, we believe in promoting positive mental health and emotional well-being to ensure that our school is a community where everyone (children, staff, parents and carers) feels able to thrive.
The World Health Organisation defines mental health as a state of well-being in which every individual achieves their potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. Good mental health and well-being is just as important as good physical health. Like physical health, mental health can range across a spectrum from healthy to unwell; it can fluctuate on a daily basis and change over time.
The Department of Education (DfE) recognises that “...in order to help their children succeed, schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy.” Schools can be a place for children and young people to experience a nurturing and supportive environment that has the potential to develop self-esteem and give positive experiences for overcoming adversity and building resilience. For some, school will be a place of respite from difficult home lives and offer positive role models and relationships, which are critical in promoting children’s well-being and can help create a sense of belonging and community.
We aim for our school to be a place where:
Mrs Bone is our mental health lead and we also have trained mental health first aiders in school. We run various interventions to help children develop coping strategies such as Worrit Warriors and Angela's Ark.
To find out more about mental health support in Gateshead, please click here.