Mental Health in Children

Children’s Mental Health

“Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” (World Health Organization)

At St Mary’s RC Primary school, we aim to promote positive mental health for every member of our staff and student body. We pursue this aim using both universal, whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable students.

In addition to promoting positive mental health, we aim to recognise and respond to mental ill health. In an average classroom, three children will be suffering from a diagnosable mental health issue. By developing and implementing practical, relevant and effective mental health policies and procedures, we can promote a safe and stable environment for students affected both directly and indirectly by mental ill health.

Please have a look on the drop down tab on our Mental Health in children page, for courses for parents and further information on numerous topics.

Please contact Mrs R Gerrard for further support.

Young Minds Bullying For Parents

Signs And Symptoms Of Mental Health In Children 2020

Anxiety In Children 2020

Anxiety Disorders In Children 2020

Bereavement Support For Children 2020

Dealing With Childrens Anger 2020

Talking To Children About Their Feelings 2020

Parent Anxiety Pack 3

Rebuild And Recover Anxiety Tools For Parents

Mental Health And Well Being Offer June 2022

Childline Mental Health Resources

Childline has a wild range of brilliant resources on it. Please take a look!

Types of mental health– Find out everything you need to know about different mental health issues.

Supporting a family with a mental health issue- Living with someone who has mental health problems can be hard.

Taking care of yourself– Lots of things can leave you feeling overwhelmed, numb or low. Lots of tips to help!

Coping with stress- Get tips to help you deal with stress, no matter what is causing it.

Getting support from CAMHS- If you’re struggling with mental health you don’t have to cope alone. Find out how CAMHS can help.

Suicide- Get help and support if you feel suicidal.

Coping with suicidal feelings- Get help coping with suicidal thoughts and feelings.

Hearing voices- It can be scary if you’re hearing or sensing things that other people don’t. Whatever’s happening there are ways to cope.

Tough to talk- If you’re having suicidal thoughts, it can be tough to talk about how you’re feeling. Watch the video and get tips to cope.

Getting through a tough time- If you’re struggling with something that’s happened, ther is advice to help you.

PTSD and flashbacks- PTSD and flashbacks can affect you in lots of ways. Support to help you cope.

Advice about helping a friend- If you are worried about a friend, look at this advice.

Controlling your panic attacks- Learn how to get panic attacks under control.

Managing your anxiety- Top tips to help you manage anxiety.

Self-harm- Find out about self-harm and learn how to cope if you want to hurt yourself.

Loneliness and isolation- If feelings of loneliness are taking over, see how Childline can help.

Depression and feeling sad- You’re not alone. See how Childline can help you.

Building confidence and self-esteem- Try boosting your confidence with our top tips.

Getting help- It can really help to talk to someone you trust. Find out about getting help.

Calm zone- If you’re feeling overwhemed or anxious, there are calming activities to help.

CAMHS

Bury CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service), formerly Healthy Young Minds. (Click on image for link.)

We offer specialist services to children and young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties.

We help children and young people up to the age of 16 years, and provide assessments, intervention and support to their families/carers.

Some of the problems that we can help with include:

Anxiety
Depression
Eating disorders
Psychosis
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Emotional dysregulation
Self-harm
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder)
More complex psychological difficulties
Mental health support is also available to 16 and 17 year old young people with emotional dysregulation and risk presentations.

We also provide consultation, advice and training to other agencies and accept referrals from a wide range of professionals. Our clinicians come from a range of clinical and professional backgrounds, including psychiatrists, nurses, CAMHS practitioners and psychologists, amongst others.

1 in 4 people have some sort of mental health problem at some time in their lives. This can include things like feeling stressed or worried, down or depressed, angry or overwhelmed. Sometimes these feelings can be a reaction to problems in your life like bullying or arguments at home. Sometimes the feelings can be a response to memories or problems from the past. And sometimes you just don’t know why you feel the way you do. CAMHS is here to help. This website gives you information on how to help yourself, where to go for more help and what we offer here. The website is for parents/ carers, children and adults working with children.

I’m a young person…

Growing up isn’t always easy and everyone has problems from time to time.

It’s Good to Talk…

Sometimes all you need is to share how you feel with someone you can trust. Is there anyone you can talk to about how you are feeling?

Maybe:

Your parents or other relatives like Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, close family friends?
Anyone at school – teachers, school counsellor, friends?
Anyone outside of school – sports coach, dance instructor, club leader, someone from within your faith community?

Self-help

There are also plenty of ways you can help yourself to feel better at home. Finding ways to relax and unwind such as listening to music; or writing down your thoughts and feelings to get them out of your head. There’s also loads of online support and advice and organisations that you can talk to for support – see CAMH’s website for further information.

Worried About Your Child?

Many children and young people experience emotional and behavioural problems from time to time. They may be stressed about exams, unhappy about friendship problems, confused about changes to their body, anxious about the future. They may experience worries and sadness. There is lots of advice and information online about how to help.

Make time to listen – create a calm, safe space where they can communicate their feelings. They may feel overwhelmed by a changing situation that isn’t being clearly explained in a way they can understand.
Take time to talk – some young people find it easier to talk while doing something together such as playing in the park, going for a walk, painting or other activities.
Try to understand the problems and provide reassurance that you have heard them and you are there to help. Their problems could be something you haven’t picked up on – it’s very common, so don’t feel guilty about this.

Are you worried about a child right now?

If a child has taken an overdose or needs urgent medical help call 999 or take them to the nearest A&E. In Bury, it will be Fairfield General Hospital nhs.uk/location

If you need urgent mental health support or advice, for instance, a child is having suicidal thoughts or is self-harming call Pennine Care’s 24-hour mental health helpline 0800 014 9995 or contact your GP for advice

If you have noticed physical injuries such as deep cuts or burns contact NHS 111 online or your GP for advice.

Help and Advice

For support around young people and substance misuse, please contact Early Break on 0161 723 3880 or email info@earlybreak.co.uk. Visit www.earlybreak.co.uk for more information about their services.

The Bury Young Carers service (BYC) offers information, support and advice on issues relating to young carers who are looking after a parent or guardian who is disabled, has a mental health issue or has a problematic use of drugs or alcohol. They offer one to one and group support and activities for young people aged 7-18 years old Tel: 0161 253 5144 http://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4855

Free, 24/7, anonymous online support network at Big White Wall. Young people aged 16-25 in Bury can log in using their postcode.

For more information on any services available in Bury, you can call the local children/families information service: 0161 253 5941

If you are worried about your child you can get excellent advice and support from YoungMinds.

They have a free helpline (0808 802 5544) staffed Monday to Friday. You can also find information on their website.

You can also get lots of information about how you can help using Mind-Ed.

Mind-Ed is an online e-portal offering free, simple advice to help adults identify, understand and support children and young people with mental health issues.

Sections about Talking to children and Is your child depressed? may be particularly helpful for parents.

There are also lot of local services which you can contact for help, support and advice before considering a specialist mental health service.See the website for further information.

Calm Zone Ideas from Childline

Try one of these activities to help you feel better when you’re feeling anxious, scared or sad.

Stress Sock

Fill an old sock with something soft.

You could use bubble wrap, foam packaging, a washing up or shower sponge, rolled up socks or scrunched up wrapping paper.

Tie a knot in the top of the sock or use a hair bobble or elastic band to keep the contents in.

Squeeze and release the sock in a rhythm that feels right for you.

The Question

Pause and notice what you are saying, doing or thinking.

Write it down.

Ask yourself if that thought or activity is helping you or not right now.

If it’s not helping, choose to think or do something different.

You could try getting out of bed and doing 10 star jumps, thinking about a happy memory instead of a sad one or chatting to a friend online instead of feeling alone.

Find Freedom

When you’re not able to see friends or go out you can feel trapped. It’s can help to notice the freedom you do have, even if it’s much smaller than you’re used to.

It might be that you can choose to go to a different room, look out of the window, connect with friends online or set up a video call with relatives.

Think of someone else who has less freedom than you and call or message them so they feel less alone.

Nature

Spend 5 or 10 minutes every day to connect with nature.

Look out of the window and watch the clouds. Look at holiday photos on the beach or in the countryside. Watch a video of the sea or a walk through a forest. Listen to birds singing or dogs barking nearby. Imagine being outdoors somewhere calm and peaceful by a waterfall or on a mountain path.

You could also change your homescreen on your phone or computer to a nature picture or your favourite animal.

Let it go

Find a box, something small like a shoe box or a chocolate box.Write down what’s worrying you on a piece of paper and place it in the box.Tell yourself that you don’t need to think about the worry at the moment and you can let it go and leave it in the box for now.You can do this as many times as you like.Remember to keep the box somewhere private.

Calm Aid Kit

Find 4 or more items to hold or feel.

You can choose things like a blanket to wrap around yourself, a smooth stone to hold, something that was given to you by someone important to you, the lyrics of a happy song or a poem that makes you feel positive .

Put them in a bag or a box in your room. When you feel under pressure, worried or upset choose 1 item out of the box to hold while you remember a time that you felt safe and calm . After 2 or 3 minutes replace it and choose another.

You can do this as many times as you like.

Sense Drawer

Make a space in a cupboard or drawer for things that will help you when you’re feeling anxious or panicked.

Choose things with a noticeable smell, taste, feel, colour or that make a noise.

You could include shampoo or soap to smell, a mint to taste, a fluffy sock to touch, a brightly coloured drawing or wrapping paper to look at or a plastic container with beads or dried pasta in to shake.

Letter to yourself

Choose a day that you’re feeling happy and write a letter to yourself, either on paper or on your phone, to read when things are more difficult or you’re struggling to cope.Remember to include advice about things that have helped you to cope in the past.Read your letter to remind yourself that you have days when you feel less anxious and your mood improves.

Place2Be

Parenting Smart (Place2Be)

The children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, has launched a new website aimed at helping parents with typical situations they can find themselves in with their children.

Advice can be found on over forty topics including:

Understanding sibling rivalry?
My child is lying, what does it mean, what should I do?
My child has trouble going to sleep
My child says ‘I hate you!’
Cultural identity: who am I?

The Parenting Smart website can found here: https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/

Mental Health Courses For Parents

Understanding your child – It was the first online course for parents to be awarded the Government’s CANparent Quality Mark. Solihull Approach – The Solihull Approach is all about emotional health and well-being. They provide training and resources for practitioners and parents working with children and families. Click on the logo to access the course.

Overview

‘Understanding your child’ is the core parenting course for parents with children aged 6 months to 19 years. It is also available in a version for parents with children with additional needs. ‘Understanding your child’s mental health’ is a slightly different format based around the core course.

Features and Benefits

The course can be done at a time and place to suit family life
It is 11 Modules long and each Module takes ~20 minutes, with voiceovers for the main text
There are interactive activities, quizzes and video clips
It works on mobiles, tablets, PCs and laptops (Recommended browser: Google Chrome)
Available as professional translations in Urdu, Modern Standard Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Polish, Somali, Bulgarian and more
Costs just £39 for lifetime access

Our school child protection and safeguarding providers, Educare, also give access to short courses for parents/ carers and some courses suitable for children aged 11 years and up.

Topics include: Mental well being; Low mood and depression; Dealing with bereavement and loss; Understanding anxiety, Self-harm and more.

Parents and carers
https://www.educare.co.uk/edusafe-pc

Children and young people
https://www.educare.co.uk/edusafe-cyp
(generally aged 11 and up so please check first)

Please use the uploaded resources and links on this page to support you and your child. Please contact Mrs Gerrard if you need any further support and/ or you are worried about your child.