The emotional health and wellbeing of all members of St. John Vianney CPS’s community (including staff, pupils and parents) is fundamental to our philosophy and ethos of “Seeking Growth together through Jesus”.

At SJV, we are committed to promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing to all students, their families and members of staff and governors.  We strive to offer a supportive, nuturing, respectful and caring enviroment where out culture encourages all to be open and have their voices heard.  We know everyone has differing life experiences and challenges that come with that – every now and then we may need support from those around us.  At SJV, we believe positive mental health and wellbeing is the responsibility of all, and we all have a role to play.  We are committed to making a difference, where we are active participants in the lives of our young people.

The Department for Education (DfE) recognises that: “in order to help their children succeed, school have a role to play in supporting them to be resilient and mentally healthy”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” This links directly with our mission statement, “…we seek to grow as a caring Catholic community in faith and love; knowledge and understanding; aspiration and independence; using the talents we have to achieve the best we can.”

What Inclusion and Effective Mental Health Interventions means to us.

• The child stays at the centre of every conversation.
• We prioritise those who need our help the most, but we intervene with all.
• When young people are here, we can support and educate them – attendance matters.
• Young people learn best when there are clear rules and simple consequences.
• We use evidence-based practice for all our interventions.

We do this as we believe positive emotional health and well-being promotes school improvement and success in various ways:

• Pupils are happy and engaged with their learning
• Pupils and staff have high esteem and resilience
• Improved standards in every subject
• Effective teaching
• Improved behaviour
• Improved attendance for staff and pupils
• Positive respectful relationships between pupils and staff

In addition to promoting positive emotional health and well-being, we aim to recognise and respond to anyone experiencing mental health or well-being issues. Through our policies and procedures, we aim to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for all.

At St. John Vianney we offer different levels of support:

Universal – To meet the needs of ALL our pupils through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum. For example Seeking Growth Together

Additional – For pupils who may have short-term needs and those who have been made vulnerable by life experiences such as bereavement

Targeted – For pupils who require long-term support and ongoing mentoring

The Local Authority and the local NHS Trust have jointly funded a ‘Health, Social Care, Childcare and Community Directory for the Fylde Coast. www.fyidirectory.co.uk

Useful links:

Childline | Childline

Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen

Help With Bullying (kidscape.org.uk)

How to deal with social media issues kids face online | Internet Matters

Home – Kooth

The UK’s Eating Disorder Charity – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/all-about-bullying/mental-health-0

In school Mr Duffy is a trained Mental Health First Aider. If you are concerned about your child or someone you know, please contact school and ask to speak to Mr Duffy.