Wellbeing Practitioner at Howard Primary
Dear Parents and Carers,
As part of our ongoing efforts in promoting wellbeing for all at Howard Primary, I am delighted to share with you that we have been allocated a wellbeing/mental health worker: Ms Reid-Smith.
Ms Reid-Smith is a qualified educational wellbeing worker and she is part of an organisation called MHST (Mental Health Support Team). MHST works within schools providing additional emotional wellbeing support to children, young people, their families and the school they go to.
In the primary setting, they help by offering:
- 1:1 Parent/carer support
- Managing anxiety (ages 5-11)
- Managing behaviour (ages 5-8)
- Group emotional wellbeing sessions for children
- Online parent workshops
Ms Reid-Smith will visit our school every Thursday morning. If you wish for your child to be referred to this new FREE service please speak to your child’s class teacher or contact me directly:
Phone: 0208 6884216
email: senco@howard.croydon.sch.uk
On 31st March and April 1st, the children will take part in a school assembly to raise awareness on what we can do to look after our wellbeing. They will be introduced to 5 A Day mental health and wellbeing guide. This guide is centred on 5 characters who talk to the children about one of 5 useful ways to improve wellbeing. The 5 ways are:
- Connect with Connie: small steps to build up relationships and break down isolation can help to develop resilience in both children and adults.
- Be active with Akhim: when we use our bodies for physical activity our emotional wellbeing improves. For all children movement is key to learning.
- Take notice with Nina: helping a child to name feelings and have strategies to manage difficult emotions is the process of self-regulation, a key part of child development.
- Keep learning with Lenny: gaining pleasure from learning new things, making progress and achieving goals, enhances their self-esteem.
- Give with Gilbert: connecting with a wide variety of people allows for the development of empathy and compassion.
The children will be invited to take part in a competition. To enter, they will be asked to design a poster/letter /story illustrating what wellbeing means for them and how they look after it. The deadline to enter is: Wednesday Apr 23rd.
The best 3 entries will each win a copy of the 5 A Day Guide which will be presented in a branded bag together with a pen, a water bottle and a card game. In addition, each winning entry will win a copy of the guide for all their classmates.
5 A Day mental health and wellbeing guide is a programme sponsored by Croydon Council. You can access further information by clicking on the link or scanning the QR code. It is an amazing resource for all the family and it is free to all.
5 a Day Wellbeing Way – Brought to you by the London Borough of Croydon
Your sincerely,
Mrs Pollington
SENCO& Senior Mental Health Lead