What is Mental Health and Well-Being?

"Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the
stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their
community.’"

World Health Organisation

At Holy Family, we lead a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health. We place importance on 5 key areas that can contribute to being mentally healthy: A healthy diet, taking part in physical activity, getting the right amount of sleep, creating a support network and understanding feelings and emotions. Our aim is for everyone at school to lead a positive and happy life. However, we understand that everybody has times where they suffer from negative mental health which is why we have invested in a Senior Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead at school. As Senior Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, Mr Atkinson oversees that - at school, we are:

• Promoting good mental health and emotional wellbeing for staff and students alike 
• Developing a whole-school approach to support mental wellbeing 
• Educating students on mental health and wellbeing 
• Training staff to identify signs and symptoms of emerging mental health needs in
• students  
• Have a clear process in which staff can report concerns  
• Have a clear process of managing all mental health concerns 
• Have systems in place for students to seek help if they need it 
• Have policies in place to support students through referrals to specialists  
• Know what local and national help and support is available out of school

We also have two dedicated governors who ensure that staff wellbeing and pupil wellbeing
is, and remains, a priority.

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within"  

Maya Angelou