At Crosshall Junior School, one of our core aims is to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community - children, staff, parents and carers. We recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is to our lives in just the same way as physical health.
Children's mental health is a crucial factor in their overall wellbeing and can affect their learning and achievement. All children go through ups and downs during their school career and some face significant life events.
We aim to provide a nurturing and supportive environment that has the potential to develop self-esteem and give positive experiences for overcoming adversity and building resilience.
Our role in school is to ensure that children are able to manage times of change and stress, and that they are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a role to ensure that children learn about what they can do to maintain positive mental health, what affects their mental health, how they can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and where they can go if they need help and support.
Our Learning & Wellbeing Team
In school we have a team of Learning & Wellbeing Mentors who are able to offer support and advise on appropriate external bodies who can provide specialist information, help and support.
If you would like to make an appointment or discuss something with our LWM please contact via the school office
Our Learning & Wellbeing Mentors are: Mrs Vicki Hale, Mrs Tracy Searle, Mrs Natasha Tagliarini.
YOUNG CARERS
Young Carers Champions: Vicki Hale and Tracy Searle
Young Carers SLT: Liam Murphy
The Learning and Wellbeing Mentor team within the school have formed a partnership with Centre 33, to provide support to and raise awareness of young carers within our school.
Many young carers look after a parent, sibling or grandparent. Caring responsibilities may include doing extra jobs around the house such as cooking or cleaning, or helping with someone's personal care and mobility. Sometimes they may not do much actual care, but they are significantly impacted by living in the same household as someone who requires assistance.
We have a thriving Young Carers group in school, to provide support and respite from caring responsibilities; it is an opportunity to give carers time just to be children and enjoy fun activities with other Young Carers from across the school. The children chose the name of our group - The Non Boring Club. They even designed the logo. You may see some of the children proudly wearing their club badges around school.
Centre 33 provides support for Young Carers aged 18 and under who live in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Full details on their website HERE
Caring Together offer help and support for unpaid carers. Full details on their website HERE
On 30th June 2024, we were awarded a Young Carers in Schools award.
The award is part of the Young Carers in School programme run by charities The Children’s Society and Carers Trust. The programme provides primary and secondary schools across England with step-by-step guidance for teachers, leaders and non-teaching staff to gain the practical tools they need to help young carers. We won the award by demonstrating how the programme supports young carers.
nessie - mental health support
BEREAVEMENT
Winstons Wish support children to understand their feelings, process their grief and find ways to move forward with hope for a brighter future. Visit their website HERE
Ormiston Families Stars is a children's bereavement support service for young people finding it difficult to cope with the loss of someone significant in their life. Visit their website HERE
St Neots Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
MHSTs are intended to provide early mental health support to children and young people in education settings with mild to moderate mental health concerns. The team linked to Crosshall Junior School is made up of different clinical staff who are trained in mental health. They are able to provide:
- Individual face-to-face work (online or in-person), such as brief, low-intensity interventions for children, young people and families experiencing anxiety, low mood or behavioural difficulties.
- Group work for pupils or parents, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) informed guided self shop for young people with conditions such as anxiety.
Full details available on the NHS website HERE
Speak with our Learning & Wellbeing Mentors if you would like to more information on the St Neots Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
Local Services
EIFA Newsletters
Every month we send out the monthly newsletter from the Education Inclusion Family Advisor team. This service offers information, support and signposting for parents. Check Whole School letters under Letter Day page for latest newsletters.
Dates of EIFA visits to Crosshall are linked below and HERE
HAF Vouchers
Cambridgeshire County Council offer the Holiday Activities & Food Voucher Scheme. Check for full details and eligibility critiera on their website HERE
Local Foodbank
We work with our local foodbank here in St Neots and are able to issue food vouchers and food packages if needed. More details available HERE
Childline
Childline is a free service run by the NSPCC. They are here to support every child or young person in the UK. See their website HERE for information & advice, resources and helpful toolbox.
Childline - Report Remove
Report Remove is a service set up to help young people under 18 in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and remove them from the internet.
It is against the law for anyone to share a sexual image or video of someone who’s under 18 and Childline's Report Remove is safe, easy and free to use. Full details on Childline's website HERE
