MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING
Welcome to our Wellbeing and Mental Health Resource Hub.
Mental health is something we all must live with, monitor and manage. Much like our physical health, it is natural that there will be days when we feel better than others. There will be times when we feel low, sad or maybe even anxious – this is perfectly normal, and you don’t need to panic.
This page is designed to support students and parents in dealing with these feelings at home. Below, you will find a selection of resources which we hope will give families the information and confidence to manage the "bad days".
We will continue to support students every day in school. Over the school year we run a number of initiatives to help support all students with their wellbeing and mental health. There is however no-one better placed to support your child than themselves or the adults in the home, and we want to empower everyone to be able to do this.
These resources are designed to be a starting point. Also on this page is information regarding what external support may be available if the problems persist or worsen.
Be sure to check back as we will be regularly updating this page with resources, links and services you can refer to as we discover new ones.
STEP ONE: HELP AT HOME
APPS
Move Mood – Helps you manage low mood, anxiety and depression. Set tasks, keep track of your progress, achieve awards for getting things done.
Clear Fear – A range of ways to manage anxiety including mindfulness, activities, and help creating a support network to fall back on.
Calm Harm – This app helps you resist or manage the urge to self-harm. Learn to identify your triggers, and complete small activities to manage your urge to harm.
StayAlive – A suicide prevention resource packed full of useful information and tools to help you, or someone you're worried about, stay safe in crisis.
Headspace – Meditation, mindfulness, and sleep made simple. Headspace can help you feel more joy, get a good night's sleep, and make every day happier.
WEBSITES
YoungMinds – Practical tips and advice for young people struggling with their emotions, and information on getting the support you need.
Off the Record – Lots of free wellbeing info and support related to anxiety, depression, body image, making social change, and more.
Childline – Information for young people of all ages about feelings and difficult situations. Talking about things might feel tough, but they're here to support you.
Happy Maps – Information about health topics including mental health, organised under different age groups (e.g. primary, secondary, young adults).
Every Mind Matters – This campaign shows us how the little things we can do to look after our mental wellbeing can make a big difference.
Mental Health at Home – A series of short films to help young people manage their mental health at home.
Wiltshire Children and Young People Emotional Wellbeing Service – Information, tips and advice for supporting emotional wellbeing, including websites, apps, services, and more.
Place2Be: Parenting Smart – Parenting advice from child mental health experts on bullying, school transition, healthy habits, gender identity, family and friendship issues, and lots more.
Your Mental Health & Wellbeing: 10 Top Tips for Parents – A guide on looking after your own mental health, which can have a hugely positive impact on your child’s wellbeing.
Anna Freud – A world-leading mental health charity for children and families. They have lots of great resources, including:
- Healthy friendships and relationships
- Bullying
- LGBTQ+ support
- Keeping safe/exploitation
- Grooming
- Mental health
- Crime and criminality
eMpower meditation – eMpower is an online resource and non-profit organisation, established to help school children, teenagers and adults improve their wellbeing, mental health, concentration levels and self-esteem through meditation.
They believe that wellbeing is the birthright of every person, regardless of background or life circumstances.
guides & downloadable resources
FOR STUDENTS
Click on an image to read or download the guide.
Come Out & Say It!: Answers questions about gender, sexuality and identity. Source: The Proud Trust
Mindful Colouring: Provides a creative distraction from stress. Source: Youth Focus
Mindful Colouring: More mindful colouring with more intricate designs. Source: Between Sessions
Do you worry about going to school?: Advice for people who are anxious about attending school. Source: Sussex Council
Dealing with Distress: One of many great resources from self-help and therapy website GetSelfHelp. Source: GetSelfHelp
FOR parents & carers
Click on an image to read or download the guide.
The Anxious Child: A guide for supporting a child experiencing anxiety. Source: The Mental Health Foundation
Issues with Self-Esteem?: A guide for helping young people cope with low self-esteem. Source: Wellbeing Service, South Glasgow
Coping with Self-Harm: A guide for supporting young people who self-harm. Source: Researchers at the University of Oxford
The Good-night Guide for Children: Advice to help parents deal with sleep difficulties in children. Source: The Sleep Council
Trauma and young people: Understand the impact early trauma can have on a young person. Source: The Children's Society
All About ADHD: A helpful resource explaining ADHD to families and young people. Source: Mental Health Foundation
Anger: A self-help guide to help manage problems with anger. Source: Moodjuice
Understanding Autism: One of many great guides available from the National Autistic Society. Source: National Autistic Society
Uniquely Me: Help to support your child's self esteem and confidence in their own body. Source: ParentZone
Life Skills (Teenagers): A practical approach for parents/carers to help teenagers develop life skills. Source: Falkirk Council
A Parents' Guide to Depression: How to support young people suffering from low mood and depression. Source: Charlie Waller Trust
Eating Disorders: A guide for parents and friends supporting a young person suffering from an eating disorder. Source: Beat
What Makes Us Tic?: A general introduction for those recently diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Source: Tourettes Action
Emotionally Based School Avoidance: Advice to parents who are supporting a child dealing with school avoidance. Source: Sussex Council
Courses for parents/carers
STEP TWO: seeking helP
NHS Talking Therapies
Talking therapies can help with common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression. Talking therapies might include guided self-help with a workbook or an online course; cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT); or counselling. You can access this service free on the NHS, without a GP referral.
You do not need to have a diagnosed mental health problem to refer yourself to an NHS talking therapies service. You can get support whenever you start having difficulties, including: feeling anxious, stressed, low, or hopeless; having panic attacks; finding it hard to cope with day-to-day life; or struggling with flashbacks and nightmares.
Shout
Shout is the UK's first and only free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. However you're feeling right now, you don't have to face it alone.
Volunteers at Shout work with people to make them feel calmer, and to help them take their next steps to feeling better and handling future issues. They might also be able to signpost you to further support services for more continuous and long-term support.
Just text 'SHOUT' to 85258 whenever you need to talk to someone, day or night. See their website for more information.
Samaritans
Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you with no judgement or no pressure. There are many different ways to get in touch any time of day or night.
You can call them to talk to someone right now, write them an email, send a letter (sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you understand them), chat online, speak to someone face-to-face, or download their self-help app.
They're available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: call 116 123 for free, or visit the website for other ways to get help.
Papyrus
PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide is the UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people. We believe that no young person should have to struggle alone with thoughts of suicide.
Are you, or is a young person you know, not coping with life? For confidential suicide prevention advice contact HOPELINE247. Call 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039976, or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. Click the button below to find out more.
YoungMinds Parents Helpline
Parents/carers – if your child has been denied support from CAMHS, or you are still waiting to be seen, YoungMinds are here to support you. You can call their Parents Helpline on 0808 802 5544 from 9:30am–4pm, Monday–Friday.
You’ll be connected to one of their trained advisors, who will listen to your concerns, and ask key questions to understand your situation as best as they can. They will tailor advice to your situation and suggest practical steps you can take and ways to support your child whilst waiting to access help from services. This could include contact details for relevant support services, practical tips you can implement at home or giving you advice around alternative options for support.
Is This OK?
Is This OK? is a free, anonymous, and confidential service, bringing trained professionals together to provide support to young people through a chat service. You don’t need to provide your real name (a nickname is fine for us!), and we don’t need to know your address. Supporting young people since 2019, their trained professionals can help you through anything you are finding difficult.
If you're worried about something, or someone you know, their website also has information and advice for young people on topics like sex, relationships, gangs, or running away.
Talk to your GP
It's not always easy to start a conversation about your personal feelings with your GP. But it's usually the first step towards working out what kind of treatment and support might help you.
Mind, a leading mental health charity, has lots of great resources about how to approach your GP, including:
- How to find and register for a GP
- How to prepare for and get the most out of your appointment
- Making sense of your options following your appointment
CAMHS
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. It is an NHS service that assesses and treats young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties. There are local NHS CAMHS services around the UK, with teams made up of nurses, therapists, psychologists, support workers, and more.
The first step to getting help from CAMHS is usually that you will be referred for a CAMHS assessment. This referral can come from your parents/carers, a teacher, GP, or the pupil themselves if they are old enough (depending on where you live). Most local CAMHS teams have a website where you can look up how to get access to their service.
STEP THREE: GET IN TOUCH
If you have taken advantage of all of the resources above and you/your child are still struggling, we're here to help. Please talk to us about your concerns, so that we can work together to find the best solution. These email addresses are monitored during term time, and can be used to contact the school about any mental health or wellbeing issues:
- Mental health/wellbeing concerns: pastoral@sjcs.org.uk
- Safeguarding concerns: safeguarding@sjcs.org.uk (see this page for more information about safeguarding)
- Report incidents of bullying: stop@sjcs.org.uk
All pupils have also been informed that they should speak with their ‘go to’ person (i.e. their Form Tutor) or a member of staff they trust if they have any concerns about the safety of themselves or a fellow pupil.
Pupils can also visit our school nurse for advice and support on a range of health issues. Our school nurse is in every Wednesday lunchtime.
CONTACT OUR PASTORAL TEAM
Want to ask a question or share some feedback? You can email a member of our Pastoral team using this contact form. You can also email pastoral@sjcs.org.uk if you have mental health/wellbeing concerns.
ST JOSEPH'S STAFF
headspace
Headspace have kindly offered staff at the school a free subscription (normally £9.99 a month or £49.99 for the year)!
Headspace includes: guided meditations on everything from stress to focus in the workplace; Sleepcasts, sleep sounds, and sleep music to help get a better night’s rest; inspiring videos, quick workouts, group meditations, and much more.
Please note: If you had an existing paid membership purchased directly through headspace.com, it will be cancelled and replaced by your new membership. If your subscription was purchased in-app via Apple (iTunes) or Google Play, you will need to manually cancel the subscription.
Please email Miss Brignall or Mrs Rose to find out how to get free access.
COST OF LIVING
Support for Education Staff During the Cost of Living Crisis
The past few months have seen teachers’ pay thrust into the spotlight, with schools affected by strikes, union negotiations and overall low morale. And with the UK experiencing a cost of living crisis, many teachers are finding themselves struggling to make ends meet.
This page contains lots of tips and advice for teachers and other educators to support their mental and financial wellbeing, including budgeting tips, financial support, coping strategies, and more.
