Mental Health and Wellbeing

We believe well-being is all about our holistic health including physical and emotional. At Chilthorne Domer, we are committed to supporting the health and well-being of our pupils and staff to ensure that the school is a community where everyone feels able to thrive. Positive mental well-being is essential if children and young people are to flourish and lead fulfilling lives.

At Chilthorne Domer we:

help children to understand their emotions and feelings better
help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
help children socially to form and maintain relationships
promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks

At our school, 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.

Two key elements to support good mental health are:

Feeling Good – experiencing positive emotions like happiness, contentment and enjoyment. Including 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.

Our role in school is to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. Children are taught when to seek help, what help is available, and the likely outcome of seeking support so that they have the confidence and knowledge for themselves or others. We also have a role ensuring that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health and how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. As part of our targeted provision, we have, and continue to access, outside help and support for pupils when required.