Wellbeing
At Lynch Hill, we believe that the children’s wellbeing is paramount for their physical and emotional health and, with the right levels of support in order to thrive, children will be ready to learn in our school.
At Lynch Hill we make great efforts to foster a culture of happiness and wellness, and are totally committed to ensuring pupils stay happy and well, as this will lead to them gaining the best possible education for themselves.
We strive to support each individual pupil to help them understand their emotions and feelings and begin to process the experiences they have had. We will support pupils to engage with self-regulation strategies and tools which help them to feel safe and calm.
As a school, we actively use Jigsaw to support the effective delivery of PSHE and also make full use of the Jigsaw Resilience and Engagement Scale and Toolkit (REST) as it offers an effective screening and measurement tool to determine children’s levels of resilience and emotional well-being. R.E.S.T. also suggests interventions to develop each of the 10 resilience-building descriptors and these interventions are used with identified pupils.
We promote physical activity and a healthy lifestyle through our Active Movement programme and children are given many opportunities to participate in a wide range of activity clubs before and after school. Learning walks show that active teaching is present in all lessons, with children active in lessons within the classroom as well as outdoors. We recognise that maintaining good levels of physical activity throughout the day, helps wellbeing and good mental health.
In addition, our children are actively taught about risk online and to recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of technology and social media so that they are fully equipped to make the right decisions to help safeguard their wellbeing.
There is a constant wellbeing focus achieved by ensuring there is a wellbeing thread woven through each and every subject. Our PSHE lessons, supported by the Jigsaw PSHE programme, effectively respond to children’s needs. Activities offered across all areas of the curriculum provide numerous speaking and listening opportunities in order for pupils to be able to express thoughts, feelings and opinions and understand differing viewpoints.
We provide excellent pastoral support for pupils through well-trained staff providing access to ELSA sessions, Mental health first aiders, and other therapies and counselling, including bereavement support and partnership work with Daisy’s Dream and Thames Hospice. Additional information regarding some of these services can be found under the wellbeing tabs.
Our aim is to ensure we have a mentally healthy school where children feel safe, happy, resilient and ready to learn.