At St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School, we want every child to feel safe, valued and listened to. Caring for our mental health is an important part of growing, learning and enjoying life.

Our approach reflects our mission: Growing in Faith, Aiming for Excellence, Learning for Life. We encourage children to recognise their feelings, build positive relationships and ask for help when they need it. We want them to understand that everyone experiences difficult feelings sometimes, and that they do not have to manage these alone.

Our Five Steps to Wellbeing

We base our approach on the NHS five steps to mental wellbeing, using child-friendly language to help pupils explore small actions they can take each day.

Connect

Build friendships, spend time together and listen to one another. We encourage children to include others, share their feelings and speak to a trusted adult when something is worrying them.

Be Active

Find enjoyable ways to move! Playing, walking, dancing and taking part in sport give children opportunities to look after their bodies and enjoy time with others.

Keep Learning

Try something new, ask questions and practise a skill. We encourage children to be curious, celebrate their progress and recognise that mistakes are part of learning.

Give

Small acts of kindness matter. Helping someone, saying thank you or inviting another child to join a game can make a difference to someone’s day.

Take Notice

Pause and notice the world around you and how you are feeling. Moments of quiet, prayer and reflection offer opportunities to appreciate the present and recognise what matters to us.

Read more about the NHS five steps to mental wellbeing.

Our Mental Health Ambassadors

Our Mental Health Ambassadors are pupils who help promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing across our school. They have received training from a representative of Thought-Full, helping them develop their understanding of wellbeing and how they can contribute to a caring school community.

Their role encourages pupil voice and helps spread the message that looking after our mental health matters. Children should always speak to a trusted adult if they are worried about themselves or someone else.

A Thought-Full School

We are proud to be a Thought-Full school. Thought-Full is the West Sussex Mental Health Support Teams in schools service. It supports schools with mental health and emotional wellbeing and offers short-term interventions for children experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

Working with Thought-Full helps us strengthen our approach to wellbeing and access advice and support when children need additional help.

Find out more about Thought-Full.

Pastoral Support

Our Pastoral Assistant provides a range of interventions and support to help children with their emotional wellbeing. This gives pupils opportunities to talk through worries, explore their feelings and develop ways to manage challenges.

Children can also sign themselves up for a session when they feel they need someone to talk to. Whether something is worrying them, making them feel anxious or simply feels difficult to manage, they have the opportunity to speak with a caring adult who will listen and help.

We want every child to feel confident asking for support and to know that no worry is too small to share.

Working Together with Families

Parents and carers are important partners in supporting children’s wellbeing. At home, simple moments such as talking about the day, sharing a book, playing together or going for a walk can provide opportunities to connect.

If you are concerned about your child’s emotional wellbeing, please speak to their class teacher or contact the school office. We can listen, discuss your concerns and explore the support available.

At St Catherine’s, we want every child to know: you matter, your feelings matter, and there is always someone you can talk to.