Emotional Wellbeing

At Braeburn Nanyuki we are passionate about supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health. Our lead in this area - Charlie - is a psychotherapist who has worked in the mental health field for over 25 years.

We have strategies and approaches embedded into our daily school life, the curriculum, policies, early intervention and targeted support.

One strategy in place is our team of pupil Wellbeing Ambassadors; children recruited from Years 5-8 who, supported by Charlie, help identify and support children who may need assistance. Their main focus is to help other children normalise everyday emotions like stress and sadness and better understand how to differentiate them from mental ill health and know where to access support if needed. This can, particularly in primary schools, significantly improve emotional wellbeing and mental health literacy. It is absolutely OK to not feel OK ! Communication is key.

Through Relaxation Techniques and Mindfulness based exercises, our wellbeing ambassadors will be trained to understand and deliver some relaxation and Mindfulness based sessions to help support children’s emotional wellbeing

We believe strongly that Braeburn Nanyuki works hard to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for the whole school community (children, staff and parents), and we recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is to our lives, in just the same way as physical health is.

We recognise that emotional wellbeing and mental health is a crucial factor in overall wellbeing and can have a huge impact on learning and achievement. Everyone goes through ups and downs during their life, and some will face significant life events.

We are a school that offers a nurturing and supportive environment that creates opportunities to develop self-esteem and give positive experiences for overcoming adversity and building resilience which is so important in life.

We work to help individuals develop the skills to help them manage times of change and stress and support them to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also ensure that everyone learns about what they can do to maintain positive emotional wellbeing and mental health, what affects their wellbeing and mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and where they can go if they need help and support.

We discuss emotional wellbeing and mental health within our staff teams and work to support each other. We know the impact that an adult’s mental health can have on children and know this applies to staff in our school.

Our aim is to help develop the protective factors which build resilience to mental health problems, and to be a school where:

All individuals are valued.

Everyone has a sense of belonging and feels safe.

Children feel able to talk openly with trusted adults about their feelings without feeling any stigma.

Positive emotional wellbeing and mental health is promoted and valued.

Bullying is not tolerated.

Here is a photo of our Wellbeing Ambassadors Team !