Mental Health and Well-being
At Martongate, we believe that mental health and wellbeing are fundamental to children's learning, relationships and development.
We want children to feel that they belong, are known and valued, and know where to turn when they need help. Rooted in our values of Respect, Belief and Courage we promote positive mental health for every child while recognising that some children will need additional support at different points in their lives.
Our Approach
Through positive relationships, our curriculum and wider school experiences, we help children to understand their emotions, build positive relationships, develop resilience and know how to seek help.
We use a graduated approach, identifying concerns early and matching support to each child's needs. This may include additional support within school or working alongside families and specialist services.
Children and families are an important part of this process. Children can speak to a trusted member of staff whenever they are worried about their mental health or wellbeing.
ELSA Programme
Martongate Primary School operates an ELSA programme to support pupils when needs arise. An ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is a member of staff who is trained to support children in the development of their emotional literacy.
What is emotional literacy?
Understanding and coping with the feelings about ourselves and others. Developing high self-esteem and positive interactions with others.Being emotionally literate helps children focus better on their learning. Some of the areas the ELSA may work on are:
- Recognising emotions
- Self-esteem
- Social skills
- Friendship skills
- Emotional regulation
How does the ELSA work?
- A regular slot during the school week for 30-45 minutes.
- Sessions can be one on one or in small groups and tailored to the child's individual needs.
- Sessions are fun and might include role-play, puppets, board games, art and craft and stories.
- They include time to talk.
- A pupil's progress will be reviewed on a half-termly basis.
Wellness Recovery Action Plan
Martongate Primary School has been working closely with Barnados to embed the WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) Approach as an internal intervention delivered by WRAP leaders, and also within the PSHE curriculum.
WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) is a self-care focussed programme over 10 weeks for young people aged 5 – 19. Targeted children at Martongate participate in WRAP® sessions led by our own trained WRAP® leaders. WRAP® enables you to plan, in advance, what you can do to keep yourself emotionally ‘on track’ and build a foundation to support yourself to stay well. It helps you to work out what your resources are and to focus on things that you do well. It helps you to draw on things that are simple and safe to create significant change in your life. WRAP® supports a better understanding of what impacts your wellness and mental health. It provides opportunities to increase coping strategies, helping to prevent or decrease troubling feelings and behaviors. Additionally, WRAP® focuses on identifying key supporters who can assist when needed, boosting your confidence and teaching you how to bounce back from setbacks. Intervention sessions take place every Wednesday afternoon for a small group of pupils and span 10 weeks. We target our youngest pupils first and we hope so have soon ‘Wrapped’ all of our pupils.
“WRAP can support people of all ages, including youth and children. WRAP offers a system that helps (children and) young people make their lives more the way they want them to be. It helps them choose and enjoy more of the things they want to do. WRAP helps them get through the difficult experiences and uncertainty that can come with making friends, navigating peer pressure, managing schoolwork, and dealing with home and family challenges. The WRAP process can also help them stay on track with the habits and relationships they love and want to keep as part of their lives.” (WRAP: 2020)