Mental Health and Wellbeing

At Hazel Wood Infant School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We have a supportive and caring ethos and our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and contribution is valued.

We are following the Eight Principles created by Public Health England.

We have a Mental Health and Wellbeing Team: Miss D'Arcy (Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader) and Mrs Clarke (ELSA).

At our school, we know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and, at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that we all have a role to play.

At Hazel Wood we:

· Help children to understand their emotions and feelings better.

· Help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries.

· Help children socially to form and maintain relationships.

· Promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count.

· Encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’.

· Help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks.

We provide opportunities for children to look after their mental health and wellbeing and also promote confidence and responsibility:

Celebration Assemblies – each Friday, children are celebrated in front of the school and their parents/carers for achieving the most Dojo Points or for achieving the Learning Value award in their class for that week.
Dojo Points - children collect individual and class Dojo Points for demonstrating these qualities: Being kind Being a team player Being the best I can be Being Responsible Being ready The children collectively gather points to receive a class reward at the end of each half term.
School Council - we have School Councillors from each class who meet with Miss Mote to discuss and make decisions about a variety of things important to the children and the school.
Hot Chocolate Morning – once a month, a child from each class is chosen to have a special treat of hot chocolate with Miss D’Arcy and Mrs Clarke
Calm Club this will re-start in January 2024. This club will run three times a week, providing a nurturing enviroment for children at lunchtimes in which they can talk, play games and complete crafts.
Play Leaders – Year 2 children who set up daily, physical activities during morning play for Year R and KS1. For autumn 2023, the children are currently setting up and running the large skipping rope and the basket ball hoop.
Proud Awards – these certificates are awarded by staff to children who have made them feel proud, for example, by demonstrating kindness.
Rise and Shine Club - children are able to come in for a great start to the day and a slice of toast and chat.
Pets As Therapy - every Thursday we have a dog called Lola come into Hazel Wood Infants from Pets As therapy. This is run by Mrs Clarke.

Mental Health Support Team

At Hazel Wood, we are delighted to be supported by Hampshire CAMHS' Mental Health Support Team (MHST). This is an invaluable service which provides support to children in school and to families. They support a variety of needs including anxiety, phobias and sleep problems.

Services and Agencies used at Hazel Wood

We liaise with a range of services and agencies to support the children at our school. These include:

School Nursing Team

Mental Health Support Team

Family Support Service

Early Help

CAMHS

Occupational Therapy

SALT

School Council

Meeting: October 2023

School Council met with Mrs Beard to discuss activities they would like to enrich playtime and lunchtimes. Miss D'Arcy has subsequently ordered some new play equipment, with more to follow in spring and summer. Thank you to School Council and to all of KS1 and Year R for their ideas!

Meeting: January 2023

This month, we discussed our school assemblies and our school uniform. We talked how we could make assemblies better, and how we could improve the school uniform and PE kit. Miss Mote has passed our ideas on to Mrs Riggs!

Information and Support for Parents

Hampshire CAMHS Information and Workshops

Hot Chocolate Morning – once a month, a child from each class is chosen to have a special treat of hot chocolate with Miss D’Arcy and Mrs Clarke