Pupil Health and WellBeing
Our Ethos
At St. Finian's we are committed to developing the 'whole' child, which means we care about how the children develop socially and emotionally as well as academically.
We do this in a variety of ways:
- Being a small school, we know each child individually and really well. We have a strong team of both support and teaching staff who always have the children's best interests at heart.
- A set of Christian values and learning values which are specifically taught.
- A clear set of school rules which provide safe boundaries.
- A curriculum which is based around the interests of the pupils.
- A robust personal, social, health and emotional (PSHE) curriculum.
- Opportunities for mindfulness across the school.
- Support for parents via workshop sessions or 1:1 sessions.
- An ELSA who will work with pupils who are showing concerns.
- Lunch time clubs including board games, sports activities, colouring and Emotional First Aid sessions.
If you are worried about a child's mental health and well-being.
Talk to your child and ask them if anything is bothering them. This is most successful if the subject is raised whilst doing something where you are both relaxed such as playing a game, colouring or baking together.
If they do not open up freely then encourage them to talk to another family member or an adult at school.
More information about supporting your child can be found on our ELSA page or in our regular Wellbeing Bulletins which can be found here
Please feel free to discuss any matters with your child's class teacher.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a practice where you use the five senses to engage physically and non-judgementally with the world around you.
Mindfulness can help children:
- feel empowered, so they can learn to try new things and take more risks.
- manage difficulties or any concerns when they make mistakes by using techniques like deep breathing, sensing and relaxing the muscles.
- coping with exam concerns and appreciate what is going well and allowing them to flourish.
- overcome dilemmas by promoting self-love and self-compassion.
Mindfulness activities include breathing, yoga-type activities, listening to music, being outside and enjoying nature and colouring.
PSHE - Personal, Social and Health Education
A great deal of importance is placed on PSHE and as a Catholic school itis embedded in our ethos as defined in our Mission Statement. We nurture and educate our pupils in order to help them to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to live happy, healthy and successful lives, now and in the future. We promote our pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
PSHE is taught through a range of implicit and explicit learning opportunities and is embedded throughout the curriculum. PSHE objectives are covered during lessons and covered across the curriculum e.g. as part of our Religious Education and Science curriculum using TENTEN Resources. In addition to this, PSHE content is complemented by whole school events such as assemblies, enrichment days and themed weeks - such as the Well Being week (the week commencing the 9th March 2020).
Our PSHE curriculum includes (but is not limited to) objective linked to the following themes:
- Health and Well-being (including balanced diets, exercise and drug education.)
- Relationships (including friendships, RS, equality and diversity.)
- Keeping Safe (Internet, Road and Stranger Danger Safety.)
- Living in the wider world (including citizenship, values and financial education.)
For more information about how PSHE is taught across the school, please go to our PSHE curriculum area
