At Ridgeway Farm CE Academy our aim is to care for and develop the whole child educationally, emotionally, spiritually, morally and physically. As well as caring for their education we also care for their mental health and wellbeing and feel that it is essential to provide children with information to enable them to make life long, well informed decisions about their diet and health.
Looking after our emotional well-being and mental health
What do we do at Ridgeway Farm CE Academy to support children’s and adults emotional well-being and mental health?
Ridgeway Farm CE Academy is committed to creating a happy, caring and supportive environment. As well as a learning environment, the school ensures there is a positive, supportive and inclusive ethos where children can thrive and achieve their personal best.
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is a central to the curriculum across the whole school. PSHE assists pupils to cope with the changes at puberty, introduces them to a wider world, manage transitions and enables them to make an active contribution to their communities. The concepts covered in PSHE include identity, managing feelings and emotions, relationships, change, resilience and being healthy, which includes physical, emotional and social well-being.
Within the National Curriculum, every child has a minimum of two hours of physical education each week. We hire specialists sports coaches to encourage children to take part in sports they might not otherwise experience such as Archery, Curling and Tchoukball. The majority of pupils attend at least one sport-related after-school club.
We promote healthy eating throughout the school.
To support children’s social and emotional development, and their well-being we offer an extensive range of after-school clubs - all with a view to increasing the range of experiences that children have, enabling them to make informed choices for adult life. Activities are designed to be fun and cater for a wide variety of interests.
We monitor our disadvantaged and vulnerable children. All children for whom the school receives Pupil Premium funding, have a Champion who is a member of the senior Leadership Team.
We include World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Week in the school calendar and plan activities for the whole school community.
The school is committed to gaining a fuller understanding of mental health and supporting the needs of identified children.
All staff are trained in supporting children’s well-being and we will continue to seek opportunities to learn more and support staff and children in their mental health and wellbeing. The school has trained mental health first aiders in school.
As a school, we have and continue to access outside help and support for pupils when required.