Well Being and Mental Health
Meet our Ryhope Infant School Academy “Well Being Team Champions”…
We have a team of “Well-Being Champions” at Ryhope, all of whom have roles which ensure that the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and our families is forefront and well supported. Mrs Allen and Mrs Simpson take the lead on our Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum, and Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum, ensuring that we experience visitors and take part in national initiatives that will support healthy minds and bodies. Mrs Allen’s role in school also extends to Anti-Bullying lead and monitoring Social, Moral, Cultural and Spiritual Development, whilst Mrs Simpson also takes the lead on P.E, Health and Wellbeing, all very important components to ensuring our minds and bodies are well cared for.
Our Link Governor For PSHE is Mrs Kathryn Pinchen, who has a special interest in Emotional Wellbeing…
The 5 Ways to Wellbeing…
Looking after your mental health is so important! In school we have adopted ‘The 5 Ways to Wellbeing‘ that have been identified by the New Economics Foundation.
5 ways to wellbeing are relevant for adults as well as children! Here is some information about how you can improve wellbeing with these in mind…
Child Voice…
At Ryhope Infant School we believe every child has a voice.
As a staff we practice ‘active listening’, we encourage children to talk about their experiences, we listen to any issues they may have and support them with the best ways to deal with them.
At Ryhope Infant School we want our children to become ‘resilient, respectful, develop relationships, take safe risks and to be resourceful.
We call these our 5 R’s.
Although we offer our children appropriate strategies in the event of someone behaving negatively towards them, our curriculum is centred around:
- Families and people who care for me
- Caring friendships
- Respectful Relationships
- Online Relationships
- Being Safe
Anti-Bullying…
As part of our PSHE curriculum we learn about bullying and support children to understand the various forms of bullying and how they can deal with it. We make use of online resources, videos and team building activities to do this. We focus on ‘Respectful Relationships’ and Friendship.
A Restorative Approach
At Ryhope Infant School Academy, a restorative approach is deeply embedded into our culture.
Developmentally, young children are still learning to regulate their emotions and share. Restorative approaches focus on separating the behaviour from the child (e.g., “that choice was unkind,” rather than “you are a bully”). This ensures that the child who exhibited the bullying behaviour feels supported in learning new social skills, while the child who was targeted feels heard, valued, and safe.
In an infant school, restorative approaches treat negative behaviours and conflict not as a punishable offense, but as an opportunity to teach empathy. By guiding young children through conversations to understand how their actions affect others, staff build emotional literacy and a strong sense of community, helping children learn to resolve conflicts independently.
The Restorative Philosophy
Instead of relying on harsh, reactive punishments that often breed resentment or drive unkind behaviours into hiding, restorative practice focuses on four core pillars:
- Respect: Listening to others’ feelings and learning to value them.
- Responsibility: Helping children take ownership of their own actions.
- Repair: Figuring out how to make amends and stop the behavior from happening again.
- Re-integration: Helping both children move forward positively as part of the school community.
How It Works in Practice
For children aged 3 to 7, adults use highly structured but gentle conversations to unpack incidents. Instead of simply forcing a quick, meaningless “sorry,” practitioners focus on specific questions:
- What happened? (Allowing both children to share their side of the story).
- How are you feeling, and who else has been affected? (Building the child’s emotional vocabulary).
- What do you need to happen now? (Encouraging the child to find a way to fix the harm, such as sharing a toy, playing together, or agreeing to use kind words).
The Ultimate Goal
When restorative approaches are embedded into school culture—such as through daily “circle time” or teaching emotional regulation—they stop relational harm before it escalates. The aim is to create an environment where children naturally learn to treat each other with kindness and respect.
Resources and guidance on implementing these strategies can be found via the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
Supporting Good Mental Health Through Enrichment…
We now also have a Fundraising Committee, which at present comprises of Mrs Simpson and Mrs Scotter who coordinate a variety of initiatives throughout the year, including discos and sporting events, to fund enrichment opportunities and enhance our wellbeing curriculum even further.
Supporting our families…
We are here to help…
As always, school is your first stop if you need any support or advice, please get in touch if you need us.
Mrs Allen and Mrs Scott are in charge of parent links and are available to listen to our families if they need help and will signpost to relevant support services if needed. Miss Lumsden, our SENCO, is there to support with any SEND needs.
Useful Websites…
Anti-Bullying alliance: https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/
Heathy Minds: https://www.healthymindsforhappykids.com/
Young Minds: https://youngminds.org.uk/
Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/wellbeing/wellbeing/
Washington Mind: https://washingtonmind.org.uk/
You can find great relaxing tunes by Rockabye Baby on YouTube for children to chill out to!
Here is a snippet:
Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is also great to relax the body and mind! Here is a taster:
Kooth provides free, safe and anonymous mental health and wellbeing service, providing online counselling and support for children and young people aged 10 to 25 years old in Sunderland.
Kooth is the UK’s largest digital mental health provider and is a confidential way for young people to get help with their emotional wellbeing. You can seek advice and information, or to speak to someone who understands.
The online service offers peer to peer support through moderated discussion forums, as well as self-help through reading or submitting content. Kooth’s fully trained, qualified counsellors and emotional wellbeing practitioners are also available to talk to every day from midday to 10pm every weekday, and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends.
You can drop in for one-to-one text-based chats, or more structured booked sessions depending on your individual needs. There are no waiting lists, no referrals and no thresholds required to access the service, which is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and delivered by Kooth.
Watch the video below to find out more and join Kooth now at www.kooth.com.
