"Mental Health is a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community"

World Health Organisation, 2018

At Fairfield Road we aim to promote good mental health and wellbeing for our whole community: students, staff, parents and carers.

We aim to develop protective factors by being a community in which all:

• are respected 
• have a sense of belonging and feel safe
• are able to talk openly with trusted adults
• see good mental health as something to be valued and nurtured

We want all members of our community to:

• feel confident in themselves
• be able to express a range of emotions appropriately
• be able to make and maintain positive relationships with others
• cope with the challenges of everyday life
• manage times of stress and deal with change
• thrive and achieve

We aim to achieve this through:

• our PHSE curriculum 
• awareness raising (wellbeing assemblies, wellbeing weeks, tips for good mental health)
• listening to our students 
• gaining insights via student voice
• working in partnership with parents/carers where there are concerns about mental health 
• signposting sources of external help and advice
• making referrals and working with external agencies to provide additional support to those who need it
• recognising the importance of staff mental health and wellbeing. 
• modelling healthy attitudes and habits 

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

Mental Health Awareness Week has taken place from 9^th May – 15^th May 2022. The mental health Foundation’s focus has been loneliness this year. Here at Fairfield Road, we teamed up with our local Johnnie Johnson Housing Ltd to help combat loneliness.

Children at school wrote letters, designed and created posters and informative texts to residents in Johnnie Johnson Housing, Clayton, aiming to put smiles on the faces of those who are feeling lonely and isolated. Our aim was to raise awareness of the links between poor mental health and loneliness and provide residents with tips on self-help strategies and services that can help. The residents thoroughly enjoyed looking at our work showcased in the lounge area.

Take a look at our fantastic work!

What's happening in the news?

Please find below some advice that may help you to talk about the events that are currently happening in Ukraine. 

• Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation. - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk) 
• How to Help Students Talk About the News - Educate Against Hate

More general advice can be found here.

• British Red Cross – Relevant Well being Activities, How to Talk about Conflict and Adult Wellbeing Resource
• One of the best is BBC Newsround as the videos and features are constantly being updated

Children's Mental Health Week 2022

From 7-13 February 2022  schools,  youth groups, organisations and individuals across the UK will take part in Children’s Mental Health Week. This year’s theme is  Growing Together.

Growing Together is about growing emotionally and finding ways to help each other grow. Challenges and setbacks can help us to grow and adapt and trying new things can help us to move beyond our comfort zone into a new realm of possibility and potential. However, emotional growth is often a gradual process that happens over time, and sometimes we might feel a bit ‘stuck’.

For Children's Mental Health Week 2022, we will be encouraging children at Fairfield to consider how they have grown and how they can help others to grow. 

Nursery

To celebrate Mental Health Week in school, Nursery have been exploring different emotions as a class. We had lots of lovely group and one to one discussions talking about what makes us happy, sad, excited, scared and angry. Take a look at some of our lovely work this week! 

Reception

During our PSHE session this week, Reception have been looking at how we support each other to grow. We made a hot air balloon and thought about our support network and how this lifts us up if things get tough. This reiterated the fact that with the right support, we can grow together. Take a look at our support balloons.

Year 1

We linked in children's mental health week with our RE lesson this week where we discussed what made a great classmate and how to help others. We finished off with a little SuperMovers dance on self belief to really get those endorphins moving!

Year 2

Year 2 have been looking at the best part of themselves. The children looked at what mental health is, used  sorting cards to see how to improve mental health and the mental health of others and then chose one idea to write and draw. This created some excellent classroom discussions. They then made class flowers to represent what they can do to help their own mental health.

Year 3

We have explored our emotions and how we can grow emotionally. We had group discussions and stuck post it notes at the front with our ideas on. We then competed the sheet all about growing together.

Year 4

Giving a genuine compliment is an amazing positivity boost! Compliments are not only good for the recipients-they're good for the people who give them as well. When you say something complimentary and give someone thoughtful praise, it amplifies self-confidence. Compliments help people to stand and grow taller. You can make someone's day by sharing a positive, genuine compliment. Taking a compliment can be difficult. The best thing to do is smile and say 'Thank You!'

In Year 4, each pupil was given their very own compliment card. Members of the class anonymously filled in the cards. They didn't just write things like 'You're nice' or 'I like you' but wrote more meaningful comments such as: 'You are a kind friend because you always chat to me at breaktime". "You are a funny person because you always tell great jokes." "I've noticed you try so hard in maths even when things are hard or challenging". 

Pupils took their compliment cards home so parents and carers could add a compliment too!

Year 5

In Year 5, we have spent the afternoon learning some relaxation techniques, including taking part in a Yoga session. We did some different stretches and poses as well as some breathing exercises to clear our minds and help let go of some of our stresses!

Also in Year 5, this term we have been litter picking and gardening as part of our ECO work. It makes us feel happy to know we are making a positive difference to our part of the world. We also recognise that gardening is calming and theraputic, which is good for our mental health.

Year 6

To celebrate Children's Mental Health week, the children in Year 6 have been writing down things that they are grateful for and placing them in a gratitude jar throughout the week.  This small, but powerful activity helps us to think positively, which is great for developing our wellbeing. 

"A 5-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term wellbeing by more than 10% (Happier Human, 2020)."

At Fairfield Road we believe we have an important role to play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our children. Through our tailored curriculum we aim to develop physiologically, emotionally, intellectually  and spiritually mentally healthy children. Through teaching our PSHE sessions and relationships and sex education sessions, we provide children with the skills, coping strategies and resilience to prevent poor mental health.

We have been awarded the AcSEED Award in September 2020. The AcSEED Award is a quality assurance mark presented to schools that have made a substantial effort to support the mental heath of their students and staff. It encourages and rewards the provision of high quality emotional wellbeing services, the broad provision of information right through to appropriately targeted intervention. Based on the best practices, the scheme defines a set of standard criteria that all schools must meet to receive the award.

In EYFS and Key Stage 1 much of our work is based on understanding feelings to ensure children feel confident enough to speak about their emotions. In Key Stage 2 we focus on keeping our bodies safe and healthy, how our body and emotions will change as we get older and the range and intensity of all types of feelings.

Links to coronavirus and wellbeing information

Click here to find advice for parents and carers on looking after the mental health and wellbeing of children during the coronavirus outbreak.

MIND

Click here to find out information regarding coronavirus and mental health. This link will help to understand difficult feelings, give tips for caring for your wellbeing and gives advice and support for you if you need it.

YOUNG MINDS

Click here to find out what to do if you’re anxious about the coronavirus. This link will give you helpful tips if you find you are worried.

Links to useful websites and services in the area

Tameside Oldham and Glossop MIND have teamed up with 42nd street to introduce Tameside and Glossop community mental and emotional wellbeing offer, providing a range of support, information, guidance and training to young people aged 8-18 years old. Delivered via local community bases located in Ashton, Hyde, Stalybride and Denton, services offered are 1:1 support, wellbeing sessions, therapeutic courses, counselling, training and parental support.

YoungMinds is a charity committed to improving emotional well-being and mental health. Click here to find out more.

Click here to find out about the Be Well Tameside service to support with a range of health and wellbeing benefits

Click here to find out about the NSPCC Pants Rule to keep your child safe.

Click here for links to Childline offering free support for children on a wide variety of issues.

Click here for information on mindfulness and relaxation techniques from Relax Kids.

Click here to find more information on the five ways to wellbeing which aims to promote positive wellbeing.

This guide features what children do online, the threat of online strangers and how to ensure a healthy balance between internet use, your children's online digital security and more on online safety to mention.

Wellbeing Wallet

The wellbeing wallet is a resource created by Tameside that brings together the arts and wellbeing by partaking in practical activities. There is lots of evidence to suggest creativity helps emotional and mental health.

Tameside's Mental Health Poster