Children’s Mental Health Week 2021
Children’s Mental Health Week
Text © Place2Be
Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 25 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools.
We provide mental health support in schools through one-to-one and group counselling using tried and tested methods backed by research. We also offer expert training and professional qualifications.
Mental Wellbeing
Text © Quell
Qwell is a new mental health service for adults – providing access to free online counselling and emotional wellbeing support. It is available to support staff and residents across South East London.
Qwell is a free, anonymous online counselling and emotional wellbeing service for adults aged over 26 years of age. Residents can now receive counselling sessions from qualified counsellors via an online chat-based platform. Chats can either be accessed through a drop-in service or pre-booked sessions from any connected device. The site is open 24 hours a day; one-to-one counselling sessions with a qualified counsellor are available from 12-noon until 10pm on weekdays, and from 6pm until 10pm on weekends. Those using Qwell are also be able to take advantage of a range of self-help tools from reading and contributing to articles, peer to peer support via online discussion boards as well as journals and goal trackers.
We launched Qwell following the success of Kooth, a similar service for younger residents aged 10 to 25.
Coronavirus
Please do not come into work with a significant fever or illness as described below.
To support the delay of the spread of the virus, the Department for Health and Social Care has asked anyone who shows certain symptoms to stay at home for 7 days, regardless of whether they have travelled to affected areas. This means people should stay at home and avoid all but essential contact with others for 7 days from the point of displaying mild symptoms, to slow the spread of infection.
The symptoms are:
- A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)
- A new, continuous cough
www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan
10 Tips to help if you are worried about Coronavirus
www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
Supporting Pupils, families and colleagues during the coronavirus crisis -NAHT
www.naht.org.uk/advice-and-support
CPA Fitness Centre
The fitness centre at Charlton Park Academy currently runs from 9am until 2.30pm and is accessible to all students throughout the academy. The centre is now located in the hub the of the academy site and can be found in the sports hall making it more accessible to more students and includes all the current and up to date cardio and strength equipment.
Staff also have free access to the facility from 3pm until 6pm and can take advantage of personal training programmes, nutrition advice and corrective exercise programmes. Currently there are several partnerships running alongside the fitness aspect of the centre and these include physiotherapists, corrective exercise specialists and occupational therapists who work with the students to develop rehabilitation, functional fitness and sensory programmes regardless of a students current ability. All these groups work together with the collective goal of promoting better physical and mental wellbeing.
The Charlton Park Academy fitness centre recently underwent several updates to ensure that the facility remains Covid-19 safe. Students only use the centre in their class bubbles and these bubbles are never mixed with any other students. All equipment within the sports hall is thoroughly cleaned with anti-bacterial spray before and after every session. Students have access to individual pieces of equipment including floor mats which are also cleaned before and after each session or use. There are social distance markers throughout the sports hall to keep the students working safely and not in too close a proximity.
The sports hall itself now has a one way system in place to avoid any unnecessary foot traffic and all the door handles have new Purehold handles and plates which use anti bacteria to kill 99.9% of bacteria whenever they are touched. This ensures that whenever students and staff enter or exit the sports hall, they are not sharing dirty handles and leave with clean hands. To help with this the sports hall also houses hand sanitizer dispensers at all entrances and exits along with a hand washing station to encourage everyone to wash their hands and keep on top of their health and hygiene throughout these challenging times.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week 15-21 March 2021
© Neurodiversity Week
There are many negative stereotypes and misconceptions about students who have special educational needs (SEN). Although SEN students have many strengths and talents, their school day is often negative and demoralising.
Most neurodivergent students work very hard to overcome the challenges and obstacles caused by their learning differences. However, their effort and dedication are often overlooked. Furthermore, focusing on their weaknesses while ignoring their strengths can affect their confidence, self-esteem, and mental health. As a consequence, school can be a demoralising and frustrating experience that negatively affects their confidence and self-esteem.We want to change this by encouraging schools to participate in Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a week during which schools recognise and celebrate the many strengths, talents, and advantages of being neurodivergent. We want to flip the narrative so that schools recognise and celebrate the many strengths of their neurodivergent students.
Below is a link to a flyer with more information:
https://docdro.id/T75CDOA
At the below website, you will find resources and posters that are free to download.
www.neurodiversity-celebration-week.com/resources
Every Mind Matters self-care tool
Text © Public Health England
Your Mind Plan can help you to take simple steps to look after your mental health and find a good work-life balance.
What’s this for?
It’s well known that teachers have a busy schedule – and it’s important that you take the time to make your wellbeing a priority.
Our new mental health campaign Every Mind Matters offers a free online action plan, approved by the NHS, that offers simple steps we can all take to care for our mental health. The tool can help to deal with stress and anxiety, boost mood, improve sleep quality and take control of our wellbeing.
Whilst you care for children at school, why not create your own self-care action plan today?
5 Ways to reduce stress right now
Text © Sam Sahota
The signs of stress aren’t always obvious, but the effects of it can manifest in your day to day life or on your physique. Hair loss, heart attacks, depression, cancer and other chronic illnesses can all be stress related.
Everyone has stressful elements in their life, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with them.
The good news is that we don’t have to tolerate stress. We’re responsible for allowing stress to enter our lives, and if we can let it in, then we have the power to let it back out by taking small steps and changing our habits. Implementing minute lifestyle changes can create fundamental and powerful shifts to help cope with stress. Read how here: happiful.com/five-simple-ways-to-reduce-stress-right-now.
Cycle to Work
Text © Department of Transport
The Government’s ambition that cycling and walking are the natural choices for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer journey, was clearly set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy published in 2017. If we can increase levels of active travel, such as cycling, the benefits are substantial. For individuals, it means cheaper travel and better health. For businesses, it means increased productivity and increased footfall in shops. And for society as a whole it means lower congestion, better air quality, and vibrant, attractive places and communities.
The health benefits of cycling are well understood. Illness as an outcome of physical inactivity costs the NHS up to £1 billion per annum, with further indirect costs calculated at £8.2 billion.
We want to make sure that Cycle to Work schemes continue to attract new cyclists and are as inclusive as possible so that people travelling to work have the opportunity to realise the benefits that cycling affords. The scheme has involved over 40,000 employers across the country, and has contributed to help more than 1.6 million commuters to cycle to work.
