Our Emotional Well Being Hub

Here at Hurst Green we take value in each of our children, families and staff. We aim to support and promote positive mental health and well-being across the whole of our school.

We recognise that children's mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement.

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice identifies Social, Emotional and Mental Health as one of the four areas of Special Educational Need.

All children go through ups and downs through their school career and some face significant life events. About 10% of children aged 5 to 16 have a diagnosable mental health need and these can have an enormous impact on their quality of life, relationships and academic achievement.

The Department for Education (DfE) recognises that: "in order to help their pupils succeed; schools have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy".

We are therefore looking at a whole school approach to mental health and well-being.

We continuously plan each term to promote mental health support for all our children, families and staff and will be updating you on the changes ahead.

We use a graduated response system within school covering five levels where we can triage, assess, plan do and review what support your child may need. 

Emotional Well Being Check Ins

Emotional check ins maybe held this can be completed in a variety of ways from a simple chat to a more in depth discussion.

Children are offered a space to pause, process and explore their emotions.

We use the Colour Monster concept across school to support children to reflect on their emotions.  The colour monster changes colour according to how the monster is feeling and we find that this helps children to more easily identify which emotion they are experiencing.

Sycamore Centre

We work very closely with the Sycamore centre who offer advice and support to staff in order to support children in the school. 

We work alongside the professionals at the Sycamore Centre arranging social and emotional groups and parenting support in school. 

Therapeutic Play

We have been working alongside courses for training Play therapists and supporting their placements.

During therapeutic play, therapists work alongside children who may have a mild to moderate social and emotional difficulty. They will use the basic foundations of Play Therapy to support your child.

Play Therapy

Play Therapy helps children understand muddled feelings and upsetting events that they haven't had the chance to sort out properly or process yet. Rather than having to explain what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.

Play Therapists receive extensive training in subjects such as a child's developmental psychology and attachment (the bonding process). They are also trained to use play, a child's natural form of expression, as a means for understanding and communicating with children about feelings, thoughts and behaviour.

Play Therapists sometimes work with parents in the playroom with their child. Specially trained Play Therapists can help support your relationships with your child or support with your shared experiences.

If it is felt your child need this high level of support we will seek an external therapist to offer support