St Ives Celebrates Mental Health Week
Liza Askew
/ Categories: In the press
The week began with a whole school assembly, led by St Ives’ newly appointed Wellbeing Champion, Mrs Cooper, who encouraged the children to think about how we all grow, both physically and emotionally, and how much of the way we grow emotionally is down to the people who surround us and support us. The children were then asked to draw a support balloon and fill it with the names of everyone who supports them and add to it throughout the week. The children were also encouraged to see every knock back or failure as a learning opportunity, on which to build and improve until they eventually succeed. These disciplines are already very familiar to the children at St Ives, who have been working under the Building Learning Power Model for several years, in which Resilience, Relationships, Reflectiveness and Resourcefulness are taught in all disciplines.
St Ives has always had a very strong pastoral provision, which has only increased in the last couple of years, as children have had to cope with the challenges of Covid, with remote learning and school closures. St Ives is a small school, where every child is known as an individual and kindness is the most revered characteristic. Since Mrs Cooper’s appointment as Wellbeing Champion, she has introduced a Wellbeing Club that runs every week, as well as Wellbeing Drop-ins and one-to-one sessions for any children that need them. In addition to their friendship bench and worry box, she has introduced a ‘gratitude’ box where children can post messages of gratitude and appreciation, which are read out in Friday’s assemblies. There is also a thought for the week placed on tables in the dining room for the children to consider. This week’s message was ‘Don’t wait for the opportunity, create it!’
Children’s Mental Health week ended with a ‘Dress to Express’ day, where the children could wear whatever they liked to express their unique personalities. There was a huge array of different colours and themes on display. Mrs Cooper even came to school dressed as a unicorn!
Head Teacher, Mrs Kay Goldsworthy, said “Children’s Mental Health Week is a fantastic initiative and one we always support. However, we know that looking after our children’s mental health is our most important job and that’s why we nurture it all year round, not just during Mental Health Week. One of our mottos is ‘Happy children are the best learners’ and that is evident in our excellent academic results, but most importantly, in the way we turn out kind, caring, bright and community-spirited individuals.”