Welcome to Wilstead Primary School, we hope you enjoy looking through our website and welcome any feedback you have. The Website will have content added regularly over the coming weeks so keep checking back.
Emotional resilience and positive mental health are our first priority. We believe that unhappy children do not thrive or learn and that is our moral imperative to support them to the best of our ability, so that they can achieve to the best of theirs. We also believe that happy, fulfilled staff do their jobs better, and we endeavour to take good care of the people who choose to work with your children.
Well-being is a balance of both physical and mental health. We promote the NHS Five Steps to Mental Well-Being approach, which provides proactive suggestions that can support the mental health and well-being of both children and adults.
We know and understand that children may need adult support to overcome difficulties in their early lives. Here you will find resources and suggestions for supporting children with these difficulties. Should you need further intervention or wish to talk it through with us, please do contact your child's teacher and ask to speak with our SENCO, or alternatively you can self-refer following the CHUMs link below.
Please watch this useful video which helps to explain Wilstead's approach to children's mental health and well-being.
Strategies to support families
Here are some useful links and activities
Anxiety in children - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds
Child health and development | NSPCC Learning
Home | CHUMS - Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Service
CAMHS: Mental Health Support Teams (Schools) | Bedford Local Offer
Bereavement Support
Sadly, children experience bereavement and we need to be prepared to support them through these times. Here are some useful links including a book list.
Support for Children Looked After/Post Looked After
Like every school, Wilstead has a Duty of Care to ensure that we prioritise the needs and learning of Children Looked After - those who are or have been in care at some point in their life. this is because these children are recognised as potentially disadvantaged by their situation, and we have a moral imperative to ensure that they have all possible encouragements to thrive in today's society.
Our Designated Teacher for Looked After Children is Caron Brown, our Headteacher. Please ask to speak with her if you need to share information or seek advice. Our School Policy is also available following the main menu.
Here are links to resources to support Children Looked After.
Children in care - Overview | Bedford Borough Council
Looked after children | NSPCC Learning
Children with a Parent/Relative in Prison
Surprisingly little is known about the number of children in our schools with a parent in prison - there are no national statistics on this. However, it is estimated that over 300,000 children in English schools are in this situation, and it is essential that we understand the challenges this presents to a family and support to mitigate the negative impacts it can have. We can only support once a parent or carer has identified this need to us.
Please be assured that school staff will treat this information with respect and all due care.
Wilstead's Designated Teacher for children and families with a relative in prison is Caron Brown, and the school's policy can be found following the main menu. Here are links to other organisations who can support.
