Mental Health

We take the mental health and wellbeing of all within the Thakeham Community seriously. We have a wide range of support mechanisms in place, such as: 
 
1] A trained ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) on staff 
 
2] A trained Mental Health First Aider on staff 
 
3] A qualified Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Senior Leader (MHEWL)
 
4] We are a base for the Thought-Full school. Please see the tab on our website about this
 
5] We have an open, caring culture that promotes 'talk' and kindness 
 
Below is our Intent Statement. This sets out our plan for support those in our Community with their mental health and wellbeing. 
 
If you have any questions or queries, please ask to speak with Mr McDonald who is the school's MHEWL. 
 
If your child (or you) are in crisis, please consider one of the following options
 
1] Visit your local GP 
 
2] Call 999 
 
3] Call the West Sussex Mental Health phoneline on 0800 0309 500
 
5] Consider making contact with West Sussex Mind. You can call them on 0300 303 5652 or email them at helppoint@westsussexmind.org
 
If you or your child's mental health is placing you in an emergency situation, you can: 
 
1] Call 999 
 
2] Call Child Line on 0800 11 11
 
3] Call The Samaritans on 116 123

Vision

Thakeham Primary School seeks to ensure that every member of the community can show they CARE.  We are all aware that positive mental health is key to succeeding and we are committed to ensuring that an ethos of positive mental health is at the heart of all that we do.

Key Principles

In an ever changing world, positive mental health is key to everyone’s well being and quality of life.  It allows us to respond effectively to the challenges that daily life bring.  At Thakeham Primary School, we are passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people and we actively promote the values of resilience, self awareness, kindness and compassion.

 We foster a culture of teamwork:  working with each other, with the wider school community and most importantly with the young people in our school.  Our house system brings an added sense of connectedness, belonging and community between children and also between staff and children.

We act with determination. Whatever issues our children, their families, the school, our team or the community face, we are committed to supporting everyone to making a real positive difference to their lives.  We believe that a resolution to any issue begins with a conversation and so we encourage all of our stakeholders to talk openly about issues that they may be facing.

Aims and Objectives

  • To have a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing within a culture of high expectations and support.
  • To ensure that, through the promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing, our children are helped to understand and express their feelings, build their confidence and emotional resilience and therefore their capacity to learn.
  • To have a committed staff team that sets a whole school culture of positive mental health and wellbeing, support and values that everyone understands, believes in and is prepared to strive for.
  • To increase the awareness and understanding and reduce stigma amongst children, staff and our wider community of issues involving the mental health and wellbeing of young people and to provide support at an early stage to any child who is or appears to be suffering from mental health issues.
  • To ensure that, embedded within our curriculum, we are enabling our children to become healthy, independent, responsible and confident members of society.  Children will understand how they are developing personally and socially and many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up will be tackled.  They will be provided with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and to appreciate what it means to live and thrive as part of a diverse society.