Mental Health & Wellbeing

If you feel worried in school, you could…

  • Talk to an adult you trust – a family member, class teacher or any adult in school
  • Leave a note for your class worry monster (KS1)
  • Leave a note in the ‘I wish someone knew’ post-box (KS2)
  • Talk to our Learning Mentor or SENCO

If you have a concern about your child, you can talk to our SENCO – Mrs Hemming, or our Learning Mentor – Mrs Murray. We can discuss a referral to a specialist service such as Counselling, ELSA, the Mental Health Support Team, CAMHS, School Nurse, Young Carers, Cheshire Without Abuse, CLASP, and many more. See our ‘Local Support for Families’ page for links to further support.

Watch the video – Talking Mental Health is an animation designed to help begin conversations about mental health in the classroom and beyond.

Mental Health & Wellbeing Support at St Mary’s

We work with the Crewe Mental Health Support Team

Education Mental Health Practitioners are based within schools in order to provide timely advice, to support in developing a whole school approach to mental health and support children to develop skills and techniques to manage their low mood, anxiety and behavioural difficulties through individual work, groups for children, parents/careers and whole class activities. Please see the leaflet at the bottom of this page for more information.

We deliver ELSA sessions

ELSA stands for Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. ELSA support in schools is a project designed to help schools support the emotional needs of their pupils.

ELSA acknowledges that children and young people learn best when they feel happier and their emotional needs are being addressed.
The initiative was developed and supported by educational psychologists who used knowledge of how children develop socially and emotionally and apply this knowledge to the needs of pupils.

There are a lot of emotional skills that ELSA can help with, including:

  • Social Skills
  • Bereavement
  • Social Situations
  • Therapeutic Stories
  • Anger Management
  • Self-esteem
  • Real-life problem-solving skills
  • Friendship

We have a Younger Mind counsellor in school weekly

Younger Mind is a counselling service for children. They support children who are experiencing emotional distress, such as:

  • Family relationships
  • Bullying
  • Anger and frustration
  • Someone being ill or who has died
  • Any other experiences

See their leaflet attached below for more information.

We are visited by Pets As Therapy Read2Dogs

The READ2DOGS programme has been offered nationally since 2011. The value of READ2DOGS is in its simplicity. Many children seem naturally comfortable in the presence of dogs. Parents and teachers can use this special relationship to enhance literacy skills and encourage reading in a relaxed environment, with dog and child sitting together. This contact between dog and child encourages physical interaction which helps to put the child at ease. The dog acts as a non-judgemental listener and offers comfort to the child who may find reading difficult or stressful.

We attend Primary Respect Courses with Year 6

Primary RESPECT is an Alternative Education Programme, offering children the opportunity to take part in fun, practical and positive activities that help to encourage communication and citizenship skills. Primary RESPECT is a 5-week programme in line with the ethos of engaging with children to boost confidence and self-esteem.

  • Improving self-discipline and respect for each other
  • Raising aspirations and motivation
  • Increasing levels of self-esteem by feeling part of a team
  • Developing social skills by interacting with Fire Station staff, team leaders and teammates
  • Building awareness of consequences of actions, reducing the likelihood of engagement in anti-social or risk-taking behaviour
  • Becoming more receptive to regular physical activity by taking part in fun energetic games and hose running

See their leaflet attached below for more information.

For further support and advice, please visit our “Local Support for Parents”, “Learning Mentor” and “Special Educational Needs” pages

MHST Leaflet
Primary Respect Booklet
Younger Mind Counselling Leaflet