Wellbeing
At Malorees we are dedicated to the wellbeing of all children, staff and our community.
Our dedicated Inclusion team focuses on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils and families that self-identify or we as a school identify as needing additional support.
Ms Barroso, one of our team leaders, has teamed up with Unlocking Potential ‘UP’, Now and Beyond and the Brent Mental Health Service to support our school in creating a holistic approach to supporting the wellbeing and mental health of all who attend.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Two key elements to support good mental health are:
-Feeling Good – experiencing positive emotions like happiness, contentment and enjoyment as well as feelings like curiosity, engagement and safety.
-Functioning Well – how a person is able to function in the world, this includes positive relationships and social connections, as well as feeling in control of your life and having a sense of purpose.
Ways we can support our own mental health:
-Developing a good opinion of yourself and boosting your self-esteem with daily affirmations
-Eating a healthy, balanced diet and staying hydrated.
-Exercising regularly, at least 30 minutes a day. This can be walking or playing a game.
-Learning how to manage stress and finding ways to cope with unexpected challenges that you may face. Sharing your feelings and discussing solutions with trusted people
-Getting enough sleep and rest
Malorees Mental Health and Wellbeing provisions include:
UP – A charity supporting children's mental health providing 1:1 session with qualified therapist.
MHST – NHS brent mental health service carries out group and individual sessions based on the needs of the children, they provide Art therapy sessions and Brain Buddies for whole classes.
ELSA - Emotional literacy support assistance. ELSA is a block of 6-8, 20-minute sessions, run by a trained adult. It’s to give the child a space to be heard and a space to feel safe to talk about feelings. We cover bereavement, anxiety, social skills, self-esteem, social situations, therapeutic stories, anger management.
This is a short video of how ELSA runs Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) - YouTube
At Malorees the below staff members lead our ELSA session. All staff members delivering these sessions have ongoing supervision and training from the Brent Educational psychologist team.
Miss Barroso – ELSA lead
Mr. Rowe – ELSA trained
Ms. Ferlisi – ELSA trained
Who can refer a child to ELSA?
Teachers, SENCo, Safeguarding team, parents and children. If you have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, your family or concerns for yourself then please do email the school: wellbeing@maloreesjnr.brent.sch.uk this email is checked daily, and a member of the inclusion team will respond as soon as possible.
The aim of ELSA is not to fix problems, but to help individuals to articulate what their concerns are and to find strategies to support.
Zones of Regulation – is a 6-week programme with a group of 4 children, identifying emotions and talking through how they may present themselves during times of heightened emotion.
Useful Links:
Brilliant Parents - Be the best parent you can be!
Feel free to check out these websites and organisations for further information:
-https://www.annafreud.org/parents/
-https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/for-parents/parents-survival-guide/
-https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/
-Three Trees Family Wellbeing Centre | Brent Council
-NHS England » Mental health support in schools and colleges
Safeguarding
-https://www.e-act.org.uk/safeguarding-form/?academyref=thecrestacademysafeguardingteam@e-act.org.uk