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Emotional Wellbeing
Your child's emotional wellbeing is incredibly important to us. With statistics being released stating that 3 children or more in ever class room could have mental health problems we are putting multiple strategies into place to identify and support our pupils with their emotional wellbeing.
Empowering and educating children to look after themselves both physically and mentally is part of our school ethos. It is embedded in our curriculum through the use of the Jigsaw scheme. Staff at the school have regular training on how best to support your child's emotional wellbeing. If they need more than what is offered in the class room then we have a variety of interventions in place to support their needs. This support comes as part of our wellbeing offer which includes; Social and Emotional Groups and 1:1's, Lego Therapy, Zones of Regulation, Talkabout, ELSA and East to West Relational Support Work. We offer SEMH interventions for our SEN pupils which are directly linked to their learning targets. We are in the process of having a staff member trained as a TALA (Therapeutic Active Listening Assistant) and hoping to be able to offer this in the spring term 2025.
Please don't hesitate to contact your child's class teacher if you are worried about your child or want to find out more about what is being offered in school.
ELSA- Emotional Literacy Support Assistant
We are lucky to have two fully trained ELSAs at Marnel Junior School. An ELSA is a teaching assistant who has had special training from Educational Psychologists to support the emotional development of children in school. They receive regular supervision from the Educational Psychologists. The ELSAs role is to help children to understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them. They help children think about their personal circumstances and how they can manage them. An ELSA programme will usually last between 6-12 weeks and helps the child learn new skills or coping strategies, for example managing their anger appropriately. However, ELSA support cannot help a child resolve all their difficulties.
TALA - Therapeutic Active Listening Assistant
From Spring 2025 we will be offering TALA in school. TALAs provide an emotionally safe therapeutic space, where children and young people can experience being attuned and listened to at a deep level. Whilst TALAs are not counsellors, they help children and young people to process their emotions, to understand how they have responded so far, to uncover new ways of responding and to increase their resilience.
East 2 West
We employ East 2 West who provide a Relational Support Worker in school. They work alongside young people to understand their situations, grow their confidence and help them thrive. Often their work takes place in 1-1 and group sessions, listening to and caring for students over several months or even years. But it can also involve practical help like going with children to doctor’s appointments or food banks, connecting them with a social worker or specialist counsellor, mending holes in their school uniform, or just making sure they get breakfast.
External Support
Sometimes children need a little more support than what can be offered in school. If this is the case we will get in touch with you to discuss the possibilities of referring to external agencies for support. There are lots of great agencies, both locally and nationally that can support you and your child if you are concerned about their mental health. We will always aim to guide you through these services and what they have to offer, assisting with form filling and making referrals where needed.
One of the most heard of organisations is Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). They have some resources and information available for parents and carers on their website and full referrals can be made by school where needed.
Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
The Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) is a Hampshire CAMHS early help service designed to improve access to psychological therapies for young people, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.
They work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health difficulties using a range of low-intensity and high intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CBT). These mental health difficulties can include low mood, worry, phobias, PTSD, OCD, sleep difficulties or behavioural difficulties.
We are fortunate enough to also have the MHST's coming in to school, working with all year groups across the academic year. This may be in the form of assemblies, workshops or classroom sessions. They are also working with staff across the school to ensure they are best equipped to support your child should they need it.
Useful Contact Details for Emotional Well Being Support
CAMHSEmotional Wellbing ContactsMHST
School Health
School Health can support you and your family with a variety of things including; fussy eating, healthy diets, personal hygiene, puberty and hormonal changes, toileting, sleep and mental health. You can access their services by using the Southern Health ChatHealth service by texting across your concerns. Please see the poster or link below for more details.
Alternatively please speak to your child's class teacher, SENCO or Vanessa Dore our Home School Link Manager for more details on a full referral into Southern Health.
Young Carers
We run a half termly young carers group, where the children come together for an afternoon and take part in various activities including cooking, crafting, team building and walks in the local community. The group is open to all ages and is for children who are carrying out a caring role at home. The children love to be around each other and have the chance to talk to a member of staff if needed. The children do not have to talk about being a Young Carer or share this with the rest of the group. The whole purpose of coming to Young Carers is to have fun, relax and feel supported. If you think your child is a Young Carer and would like them to attend the group in the future, then please let Vanessa or their class teacher know. If your child is currently or has previously attended Young Carers Group in school and you would like to discuss more support, please get in touch with Vanessa by contacting the school office. We can also make referrals to Basingstoke Young Carers who offer a variety of support to young people and their families.
For more information on Young Carers please have a look at the following websites or come in for a chat!
