Getting further help and support at High Ercall Primary School
Our Early Help offer
Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing in our school
Key Staff:
Mrs Sarah Roberts: Headteacher, DSL, SENDCo and Early Help Lead
Mrs Lauren D'Angelillo: Class Teacher and Mental Health Lead (Maternity leave 2024-25)
Mrs Gemma Lingham: Deputy Head and DSL
Mr Paul Meredith: Mental Health First Aider
Mrs Ricki Thiara - Our Safeguarding Governor
Can we help you?
At High Ercall Primary School, we want all our families to feel that they can approach us for help and support - in any way. We are here to listen!
At High Ercall Primary School, we have developed a community where children can enjoy a welcoming, secure, happy and healthy environment, where we hope that all members can develop self-confidence, self-esteem, self-motivation, independence, compassion, tolerance and understanding of others. We have a supportive and caring ethos model of respect and kindness, where everyone is valued.
At High Ercall Primary School, we have the view that ‘it could happen here’. Because of this, the suite of safeguarding policies; the expectations and training of our staff; the effective working relationships with other agencies; the communication with and knowledge of our families; the pastoral and broader care of our children, all contribute to our effective culture. Staff always act in the best interest of the children to protect them, identify who may need extra help and secure the best additional help and support for both the children and families.
Our Whole School Approach
- Promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging.
- Promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision-making
- Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements.
- Celebrating success through tweets, certificates, class assemblies, and sharing experiences.
- Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others.
- Access to appropriate support that meets their needs.
- Being available for our families - in the office, on the playground, at the door, in the classroom
How can we help you?
We want to help - and often we can work with other professionals who can support you in different ways.
At High Ercall Primary School, we work with a range of agencies to support children and families. This includes but is not limited to:
- Strengthening Families within T&W – Early help
- Family Connect – T&W Early help
- Educational Psychology
- Learning Support
- BEAM
- Speech and Language Therapy
- School Nursing Team
- Attendance Support Officer
We can share with you links to agencies who can help - even if we haven't quite got that expertise, we can find someone to help!
In school, we also offer a range of support and help:
- Just a chat - come and talk to us to see if we can help, or drop us an email
- Pastoral support with extra staff in all classes
- Lunchtime pastoral clubs and care
- Breakfast and after school care to support families
- Staff with a range of training including mental health first aiders, counselling, speech and language therapy and many more
- Attendance support through the early identification of any concerns and proactive role of the Business Manager and office team
- 1:1 meetings with parents and carers to signpost support
- Informal meetings with all staff available daily –staff are on the playground for support
- Parent support through online safety workshops or drop in sessions with the school nurse
Please see our leaflet below for further information:
Other people who might be able to help you:
Telford Crisis support for food parcels and a baby and toddler bank.
PODS - for parent and carer advice (Parents and Carers opening doors)
The Wrekin Housing Group - for help with housing
SENDIASS - for help and support if your child has special educational needs
Home Start - helping families with children under 5 years old
For other agencies supporting mental health and wellbeing, see the table below.
Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing
We are committed to developing our own professional development around mental health and wellbeing; this ensures we are up to date with the latest approaches. We currently attend Future in Mind workshops and have developed the Mental Health Lead role. We join in with a range of wellbeing awareness days and plan activities for the whole school community. For example, this year we have celebrated ‘Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week’ and ‘Anti-Bullying Day’. We know that everyone experiences life challenges than can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We believe that everyone has a key role to play in promoting positive mental health and wellbeing across the school.
We promote a mentally healthy environment through:
The 5Rs - The 5Rs are thread throughout the PSHE curriculum which covers the RSE statutory requirements.
- Respect is taught through promoting positive friendships and relationships.
- Resilience is taught through developing strategies towards positive thinking, future aspirations and teamwork skills.
- Resourcefulness is taught through building self-esteem and confidence within the pupils.
- Responsibility is taught through learning about careers, the economy, first aid and online safety.
- Reflectiveness is encouraged through gratitude and offering opportunities to reflect.
The Wellbeing Warriors
The Wellbeing Warriors are a group of children from Years 4, 5 and 6 lead by Mrs D'Angelillo the Class 4 teacher and Mental Health Lead. The group believes that promoting positive mental health and wellbeing across the school is fundamental. We meet on a regular basis to ensure that any concerns are highlighted and that the mission statement that we have in place, is implemented and effective.
Promotion of positive mental wellbeing
The school offers pupils many opportunities to do physical and relaxing activities to promote positive wellbeing:
- Themed days such as our beach day
- Fundraising days such as our reindeer run
- Summer and Christmas Fairs
- Residential visits including Arthog
- Educational visits with valuable links to our curriculum
- After school clubs focusing on sports, creativity and building skills in ICT
- Play/lunchtime games
We offer different levels of support:
Universal Support- To meet the needs of all our pupils through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum. For instance, developing the 5Rs across the school.
Additional support- For those who may have short term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences such as bereavement.
Targeted support- For pupils who need more differentiated support and resources or specific targeted interventions such as wellbeing groups. Staff across the school provide appropriate interventions for pupil’s mental health and wellbeing through lego therapy, social skills groups and 1:1 wellbeing support.
Parents and Carers - Parents or carers should approach their child/children’s class teacher if they have any mental health concerns. This will be shared with the Mental Health Leader for assessment. In addition to offering universal support within school, we may also discuss with you additional support mechanisms available to you.
Mental Health Concern for Your Child
The school values the support of parents by working in partnership with them to support their child. If parents have a mental health concern about their child they are most welcome to discuss this with Mrs Sarah Roberts, Headteacher and Miss Fletcher, Mental Health Lead.
Mental Health Concern for Yourself
If parents have a mental health concern about themselves they are most welcome to discuss this with any of the staff mentioned above who can signpost you to any support agencies.
Signposting Information
Below, we have sign-posted information and guidance about the issues most commonly seen in school-aged children. The links will take you through to the most relevant page of the listed website. Some pages are aimed primarily at parents, but they are listed here because we think they are useful for students and school staff too.
