Pupil Wellbeing and Mental Health
We are committed to providing a healthy and caring environment that promotes and supports positive mental health and wellbeing for our students, staff and the whole community. We are passionate about making a difference and positive mental health underpins the crucial work we carry out to support students, staff and their families.
Through our PHSRE curriculum we cover a range of topics including healthy relationships, mental health awareness, drugs and alcohol, online safety and healthy living, set appropriately for each year group. We recognise that students may also need additional support to help with their emotional well-being, behaviour and learning. Our Safeguarding, Pastoral, Attendance and SEN teams work together to provide a number of different 1:2:1 and group interventions to help students deal with personal difficulties by giving them strategies they can use to deal with these situations or build resilience to help them cope.
Pupils can speak to any adult including their form tutor, teacher, Head of Year, Pupil Services, along with the Safeguarding, SEN and Pastoral teams. Staff will listen to concerns, and may offer advice, identify support or signpost to external agencies. In addition to this, the staff listed below can be contacted for additional support.
Senior Mental Health Lead – Miss Harris
Email: eharris@kentshillpark.school
Miss Harris oversees Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Attendance within school, and works with all other departments to raise awareness of some of the barriers to learning that students may face, and how to support them. Where there are concerns raised around emotional and mental health we will look to work with the student and their family to find the right sort of support.
Family Liaison Officer – Mrs Kelly Banks
Email: kbanks@kentshillpark.school
Our Family Liaison officer supports parents and carers and their children by providing information and guidance to help them get the very best from school. She links in with agencies in the local area which can provide advice and support on a variety of issues. She also provides support to students with their emotional wellbeing and links in with other pastoral support in school.
SEN Department – Mrs Frances Berzins
Email: fberzins@kentshillpark.school
SEN staff offer support for students with a range of Special Educational Needs. Provision includes in-class support from learning facilitators, small group and 1:2:1 intervention programmes. Learning support staff run our quiet room at break time and lunchtimes and provide 1:1 mentoring for identified students where necessary.
First Aider – Mrs Hill
Email: ehill@kentshillpark.school
Their focus is to promote and protect health and wellbeing and prevent ill health in young people. She works closely with the SEN, Safeguarding and Pastoral teams, to support students who need additional support. She also links in with the school nursing team where necessary.
We are a host school for the Mental Health Support team, and work with a range of different agencies including Arthur Ellis, Young Persons Sanctury, CAMHS, NSPCC, Think for the Future, Commando Joes, Children and Families Practices, Terence Higgins Trust, Cauldwell Youth Mentoring and Service Six. Please find below a range of links to support mental health and wellbeing, along with a presentation held by the Mental Health Support Team on anxiety.
If you have any concerns for your child’s wellbeing or mental health, please contact your child’s form tutor, head of year, or the staff listed above. Pupils can also report any concerns that they have for their own or another pupil’s wellbeing or safety, using the form below. This may include incidents that they have witnessed or experienced, or bullying that they are aware of.
