Well-Being at Stanborough School
Mrs V. Hargreaves, Year 8 Leader / Mental Health Lead, writes:
This week we launched a new Twitter page, StanboroughWellbeing, which aims to share information on wellbeing and mental health, because the happiness and wellbeing of our students, parents and staff is of the utmost importance to us.
This week, there have been two significant events on the national Mental Health calendar which we have marked in school:
Wednesday, 10th October 2018 was World Mental Health Day, an annual event raising awareness of mental health around the world to mobilise support and efforts and to discuss what needs to be done to take care of people’s mental health.
The facts from the WHO (World Health Organisation) website:
Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14;
There is growing recognition of the importance of building mental health resilience;
Prevention begins with better understanding.
At Stanborough, we organised Tea&Talk for staff, bringing World Mental Health Day to their attention to open conversations amongst staff.
7th – 13th October has also been OCD Awareness Week. There are many misconceptions about OCD. This is a diagnosed mental health condition, which can be serious but is treatable. People with OCD have repeated thoughts or images, which can be distressing. They often carry out rituals or habits (compulsions) which temporarily make them feel better. OCD can have a significant impact on someone’s life. Information about this condition was shared with students during tutor sessions this week. Please discuss this with your child at home and reassure them, if necessary, about any concerns. Just because people experience one or more symptoms of OCD, it doesn’t mean that they are definitely affected by OCD. A GP should always be consulted for a full diagnosis.
If you have any concerns about the mental health of your child, please speak to your child’s tutor or Year Leader and for any more general concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me. I can signpost you to the best person for advice or support.
And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @StanboroughWellbeing.
