Mental Health and Wellbeing

At Riversdale Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. Now, more than ever, it is essential to look after our wellbeing and to support, not only our own mental health, but that of those around us.

We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s responsibility, that we all have a role to play and that the mental health of our students, and their families, can have a lasting impact on their attainment and progress. A student who is struggling emotionally cannot learn.

At our school we:

• use a colour based scheme, called zones of regulation, across the school to help children identify their feelings and discuss with them strategies for returning to “green”;
• have our own emotional development strategy (PIP) that runs alongside our school values;
• teach children about online safety and the realities of the digital world;
• promote self-esteem through strategies such as our positive behaviour management policy and rights respecting based approach. 

These are just a few of the different programmes of support we have in place. To find out more, please see the Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy here.

By implementing these across the school, it allows our children:

• to become resilient and to ‘bounce back’ in difficult situations,
• to understand their feelings and to look after themselves; mentally and physically,
•  to form social connections and maintain relationships,
• to know they are important, special and that they matter,
• to believe in themselves and their potential for their future.

As well as a wide range of school-led programmes of support and interventions, the school also employs a full time therapist to provide a wide range of therapeutic services based on the needs of the school community/children. For this to take place, we have a dedicated set of child friendly therapy rooms on site.

Where necessary, the school will also make referrals to external agencies and educational wellbeing practitioners, to ensure that the children in our care receive the most appropriate support available. 

Online Safety

It is becoming increasingly clear that social media and the virtual world play a huge part in the development of children. Negative experiences can have a severe impact on a child’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. To this end, Riversdale actively works to ensure children and their families are educated on both the advantages and dangers of being online. To find out more about this, including access to a range of useful parent/carers guides, visit our dedicated Online Safety page here.

Services and Websites

We have all had times where we have found it difficult to understand and to cope. There are lots of common life events that may affect you or your child’s mental wellbeing, but everyone deserves to feel good and in control of themselves. 

Be kind to your mind, look after yourself. 

Below you will find a comprehensive list of support charities and organisations that will provide support for you and/or your child now or in the future.