Heartwood Mental Health Champions:

Mrs Leonie Cunnington- SENDCo

Miss Katie Collins- Teacher

Miss Ali Ingham- Teaching Assistant 

Nurturing well-being at Heartwood

Nurturing mental health and building emotional resilience is a priority in our school, with our school day being planned around the children's social and emotional needs. The children start the day with Toast, Talk and Tales. This gives the children time to talk with their friends and the adults in the classroom. Each child can share how they are feeling by placing their wooden person on a named emotion. Adults respond to this and support children when needed. 

During 'learning time' we nurture children's confidence, self- esteem and well-being through many different ways. Our continuous provision from Nursery to year 1 fully embeds this too.  After lunch, we have a mindfulness session and yoga to relax and calm the mind. Children can place their wooden person on the emotion they are feeling. 

At the end of the day we have reflection time in collection worship. 

Our classrooms are based on the hygge philosophy; calm, natural, inclusive and homely. This enables children and staff to feel safe, happy and warm. 

The adults in school are trained to support children with emotional needs and raise the profile of a positive mental health. We are a kind, friendly and nurturing family with big hearts. 

Children who are suffering from mental health issues can get extra support through different agencies and the THRIVE programme that we offer. 

The mental health of pupils is extremely important to us, but so is the mental health of the staff. Using a hygge approach we ensure that staff are supported and their mental health is a priority.

Nurture Group- Mole class at Heartwood

Mole Class is offering a short-term, inclusive, focused Nurture Group that works in the long term to reduce exclusions and increase positive experiences and participation in school life. Mole Class is run by at least two members of staff at all times. Children attend Mole Class full-time but remain an active part of their main class group, with the aim return full time to their own class within two to four terms.

Mole Class is based on THRIVE and emotional and mental wellbeing, the children are assessed using THRIVE profiling before and after they leave Mole Class. The focus on Mole Class is to assess learning and social and emotional needs and give the necessary help to remove the barriers to learning. The relationship between the two staff is always nurturing and supportive, providing a role model that children observe and begin to copy. Food is shared at ‘breakfast’ or ‘snack time’ with many opportunities for social learning, helping children to attend to the needs of others, with time to listen and be listened to. The timetable is less-rigid but remains structured and is focused on meeting the emotional and developmental needs of the children before the academic needs – based on THRIVE.

THRIVE – promotes children’s and young people’s positive mental health by helping adults know how to be and what to do in response to their differing and sometimes distressed behaviour. It is based on established neuroscience, attachment theory and child development, the Thrive Approach provides training and an online profiling and action-planning tool.

Fresh air!