Mental Health Awareness Week 13th-19th May 2024
Movement: Moving more for our mental health
Movement is important for our mental health. But so many of us struggle to move enough. We know there are many different reasons for this, so this Mental Health Awareness Week why not try to find moments for movement in your daily routines. Going for a walk in your neighbourhood, putting on your favourite music and dancing around the living room, chair exercises when you’re watching television – it all counts!
Find out more at Mental Health Foundation | Everyone deserves good mental health
At Hemingford Grey Primary School we have a supportive culture where it is safe to talk openly about mental health. We understand the importance of healthy and positive relationships and put this at the heart of what we do. Our whole school approach to promoting a mentally healthy school includes staff, children and families.
We teach children that we all have mental health and the importance of looking after your mental health, as you would look after your physical health. We want children to understand mental health affects how you feel, think and act and your mental health can change on a daily basis and over time, and can be affected by a range of factors.
Research shows that when children and young people have good levels of wellbeing it helps them to:
- learn and explore the world
- feel, express and manage positive and negative emotions
- form and maintain good relationships with others
- cope with, and manage, change, setbacks and uncertainty
- develop and thrive.
Through direct teaching, interventions and day-to-day life, we teach children strategies to develop their coping skills with the aim to boost their resilience, self-esteem and confidence. It can also help them learn to manage their emotions, feel calm, and engage positively with their learning - which can, in turn, improve their academic attainment.
We provide opportunities for children, from a young age to develop their social and emotional skills which help children to:
- identify and manage their feelings and their behaviour, and reach out for help where necessary
- build and manage healthy relationships
- have self-control
- resolve conflict
- be self-aware
- handle and overcome difficulties
- make good decisions
- build resilience, self-esteem and confidence
- think positively about themselves and how they perceive the world around them
- recognise and prevent poor mental health
- grow into well-rounded and healthy adults.
Our aim is for our children to leave us with a toolkit that support their next step and into adult life.
