Supporting your Child's Mental Health and Well-Being

Well-being Day

Friday 25^th March

      Take Notice

The Well-Being Champion's planned and resources activities to do with the children a playtime, these activities included drawing, a treasure hunt and building a bug hotel. Here are some pictures of what was going on.

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week (7-13 February 2022). This year's theme is...

 Growing Together.

We’re encouraging children (and adults) to consider how they have grown and how they can help others to grow.  Keep checking the children's class page to see what they have done this week.

Place2Be have created a new website called

Place2Be Parenting Smart.

The site is full  of practical tips to support children’s wellbeing and manage behaviour from their child mental health experts.

Please see the link below

5 Ways to Wellbeing.

Research shows there are five simple things you can do as part of your daily life – at work and at home – to build resilience, boost your well-being and lower your risk of developing mental health problems. These simple actions are known internationally as the Five Ways to Well-being.

The 5 Steps are:

Connect

There is strong evidence that indicates that feeling close to, and valued by, other people is a fundamental human need and one that contributes to functioning well in the world.

It’s clear that social relationships are critical for promoting wellbeing and for acting as a buffer against mental ill health for people of all ages.

With this in mind, try to do something different today and make a connection.

• Talk to someone instead of sending an email
• Speak to someone new
• Ask how someone’s weekend was and really listen when they tell you
• Put five minutes aside to find out how someone really is
• Give a colleague a lift to work or share the journey home with them.

Be active

Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups.

Exercise is essential for slowing age-related cognitive decline and for promoting well-being.

But it doesn’t need to be particularly intense for you to feel good - slower-paced activities, such as walking, can have the benefit of encouraging social interactions as well providing some level of exercise.

Today, why not get physical? Here are a few ideas:

• Take the stairs not the lift
• Go for a walk at lunchtime
• Walk into work - perhaps with a colleague – so you can ‘connect’ as well
• Get off the bus one stop earlier than usual and walk the final part of your journey to work
• Organise a work sporting activity
• Have a kick-about in a local park
• Do some ‘easy exercise’, like stretching, before you leave for work in the morning
• Walk to someone’s desk instead of calling or emailing.

Take notice

Reminding yourself to ‘take notice’ can strengthen and broaden awareness.

Studies have shown that being aware of what is taking place in the present directly enhances your well-being and savouring ‘the moment’ can help to reaffirm your life priorities.

Heightened awareness also enhances your self-understanding and allows you to make positive choices based on your own values and motivations.

Take some time to enjoy the moment and the environment around you. Here are a few ideas:

• Get a plant for your workspace
• Have a ‘clear the clutter’ day
• Take notice of how your colleagues are feeling or acting
• Take a different route on your journey to or from work
• Visit a new place for lunch.

Learn

Continued learning through life enhances self-esteem and encourages social interaction and a more active life.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the opportunity to engage in work or educational activities particularly helps to lift older people out of depression.

The practice of setting goals, which is related to adult learning in particular, has been strongly associated with higher levels of wellbeing.

Why not learn something new today? Here are a few more ideas:

• Find out something about your colleagues
• Sign up for a class
• Read the news or a book
• Set up a book club
• Do a crossword or Sudoku
• Research something you’ve always wondered about
• Learn a new word.

Give

Participation in social and community life has attracted a lot of attention in the field of wellbeing research.

Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy.

Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing.

This week we are celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week, this year’s theme is Express Yourself which is all about feeling good and the activities that help us feel good as well as great way to help children to explore the creative ways they can share their thoughts and feelings. Class teachers will be discussing this further with the children. Below are two PDFs with some more ideas of how you can support your children’s wellbeing.

Bereavement Support

Bereavement support for children, young people and families

The NHS in Birmingham is offering confidential bereavement support to help children, young people and families who may be grieving the death of a friend or loved one. At the moment, many people are cut off from their usual support networks; so if you know of a child or someone who needs support, please encourage them to get the help they need. Our local bereavement experts are available to offer support due to all types of loss and to people of all ages.

Simply call 0121 687 8010 for instant support. The telephone opening hours are:

· Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9.00am - 5.00pm

· Tuesday, Thursday: 9.00am - 8.00pm

· Saturday and Sunday: 12.00pm - 5.00pm Assistance can also be accessed via email at: support@crusebirmingham.co.uk

Dear Parents,

The start of this academic year is off to a great start, thanks for your support. It has been great welcoming all of our children back into school, the smiles we have missed for so long are happily back where they need to be. The children are back working hard on their learning and playing with their friends.

Mrs Kacem

World Mental Health Day 

This year we have all been spending more time indoors, for most of us away from friends and family and the networks of support we have come to depend on. This has highlighted more than ever before our own mental health and wellbeing.  Below are some links where support and advice is available. Taking care of yourself enables you to take care of those around you, I hope you find them useful. 

Dear Parents,

As time passes, some frustrations/difficulties may be starting to 'kick in' causing your child/ren to feel unsettled at this challenging time.

Mostly, we consider/think that our children understand what is happening in our world because we have all been talking about things and it all over the media, but have we given our children the chance to share their understanding or express how they are feeling?

The resources below can be used to help open up conversations with your child/ren to share any worries they may have and give them the opportunity to explore and express themselves during lock down, which in turn will help children to cope/managed their feelings and thoughts.

When children are worried or anxious about things, this can impact on  their behaviour and well-being. By having conversations, listening to how they are feeling, and exploring what their understanding of the situation is, it allows you to put their mind at ease and share what you are doing to ensure you, them and others are safe and well.

Mrs Kacem

Even when we’re isolated, good relationships are just as important as ever, offering the love, care  and connection we need for these difficult times. Try and keep contact with family and friends by calling or face timing - they are a great source of happiness, you could even discuss and make plans of what you will look forward to doing together once all this is over.  Taking care of our well-being can help us maintain those relationships in many ways and help keep frustration and tension at bay.  Along with this it is important we take care of our bodies and minds, eating well and take daily exercise is essential for physical and mental health and well-being. As the period of lock down extends further you may be looking for other ways to help support your well-being, please take a look at the link below for some idea's. There is also a link to the NHS website who are also offering some great tips! 

Sadly, during these uncertain times we will have heard so much in the news, social media etc about people losing their battle with Covid 19. If you and your family have been effected personally by this  resource could help support you and your family.