Mental Health and Wellbeing

At Broom Barns School, we take mental health and wellbeing very seriously. We are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils, staff, and school community. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.

A child’s mental health and wellbeing is as important as their physical health, and we promote its importance within our curriculum and through the support we offer our children. Our staff build positive relationships with all our children, and we pride ourselves in supporting each other, knowing everyone very well and being sensitive to needs and changes.

At Broom Barns we offer distinct levels of support:

Universal needs – the needs of all children and young people and opportunities to develop resilience.

Additional needs – the needs of those made vulnerable at some time by life experiences.

Targeted needs – the needs of those children and young people who need differentiated support and resources.

Specialist needs – those children and young people who are having specialist intervention by trained professionals.

We promote and support children’s positive mental health by offering information and advice for our parents and our pupils, signposts to further specialist agencies and some suggestions for activities which develop emotional literacy, with a strong focus on social and emotional aspects of learning. These include self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy, and social skills. We organise enrichment activities throughout the year focussed on children’s mental health and wellbeing. These include themed weeks, guest speakers and workshops, and special assemblies. Most notably, we participate in the national Mental health and Wellbeing Week each year. We look at building resilience, critical thinking, and issues such as social media representation and how we deal with the stresses of modern-day life.

We have a number of trained staff who work directly with children in times of difficulty – direct work can be offered to address a child’s anxiety, anger, family changes, friendships, and self-esteem. The work is personalised to meet each child’s needs and may involve therapeutic interventions such as Drawing and Talking therapy, 1:1 play sessions or simply time to talk through worries.

Pastoral Care Worker

We are fortunate to have a pastoral care worker who sees children in school for as long as required.

Family Support Worker

Our Family Support Worker supports many of our families, helping them to navigate their way through challenging times in their home lives.

Nurture Club

In addition to these interventions, Mrs Portman and Mrs Blott run a nurture club each lunchtime. This club is a place where children can enjoy a peaceful lunch together and a creative activity of their choice.

PSHE curriculum

Our PSHE curriculum offers a comprehensive Programme for Primary PSHE including statutory Relationships and Health Education, in a spiral, progressive and fully planned scheme of work, giving children relevant learning experiences to help them navigate their world and to develop positive relationships with themselves and others.

With strong emphasis on emotional literacy, building resilience and nurturing mental and physical health.

Feel Good Five

To learn effectively we equip pupils with the skills to look after their emotional health and well-being. There are five ways pupils are encouraged to improve their emotional health and well-being:

• Connect: Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy doing things together and talking to each other.
• Be active: It keeps you physically healthy, and makes you feel good
• Keep learning: Try something new. Try a new hobby or learn about something just because it interests you.
• Take notice: Take a break to see how you feel. Relax and look around you or listen to music, take a few deep breaths.
• Give: Do something for a friend or relation/adult, as well as making them feel good, it can make you feel good too!

What to do if you are worried about your child’s mental health/ wellbeing

We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support.

If you are worried about your child’s mental health and wellbeing, you could:

• Speak to their class teacher, Our family support worker, Mrs Phillips, our Deputy Headteacher or Mrs Hogan our Senco about your concerns. We may be able to put in place additional support, or signpost you to further help.
• Speak to your GP – they are a useful place to gain medical support and signpost to local services.
• Explore the links below for additional advice and support.

Useful Links

Information for parents/ carers to support their child’s mental health:

Young minds – a mental health charity for children, young people, and their parents.  https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/for-parents

Childline – a service run by NSPCC which provides help and advice about a range of issues. www.childline.org.uk

Healthy Young Minds in Herts- provides information about emotional health and wellbeing support for children and parents/ carers in Hertfordshire.  www.healthyyoungmindsinherts.org.uk/parents-and-carers

MindEd- has advice and information from trusted experts about how you can support your family and take care of yourself.  www.mindedforfamilies.org.uk/young-people

NESSie- an organisation we work closely with providing support for children, families and professionals.  https://nessieined.com/parents

Young Minds- offers advice and support about what to do if you are worried about your child’s mental health, and ways you can help. Includes a phone helpline.  www.youngminds.org.uk

Place2be- national charity offering advice and support to children and their parents/ carers.  www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/parents-and-carers/supporting-your-child-s-mental-health

Bereavement

Stand by me.  www.stand-by-me.org.uk

Information for parents/ carers to support their own mental health

Mind- Offers support for difficulties you may face as a parent with a mental health difficulty:  www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/parenting-with-a-mental-health-problem/parenting-and-mental-health

NSPCC- national charity to protect children from abuse, but with far reaching support for families:  www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/mental-health-parenting

Our Mental Health & Wellbeing Newsletters

• Mental Health and Wellbeing Newsletter December 2025 (175.33KB)
  

Helpful Websites

HertsHub – Learn about Hertfordshire’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) System: https://www.hertshub.co.uk/