Pastoral Support & Wellbeing

At Norris Bank Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff.

We have a supportive and caring ethos and our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and contribution is valued. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and, at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.

We therefore have trained a number of our staff to ensure the children’s mental health at Norris Bank is well supported. 

  • In school children take part in weekly or daily ‘Circles’(as appropriate) which allow the class as a whole to work on issues which have arisen and need discussion time that is structured by an adult
  • Restorative Practices is a term used to describe a way of being, an underpinning ethos, which enables us to build and maintain healthy relationships, resolve difficulties and repair harm when relationships breakdown and this is what we use at Norris Bank with the children.
  • We have a ‘time to unwind’ club and also a ‘chat and chill‘ club which children can access over lunchtimes if they want to speak to an adult about anything that is worrying them.
  • We have an ELSA in school (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant). They are Teaching Assistants who have had special training from Educational Psychologists to support the emotional development of children in school.
  • We have a wellbeing team in school that supports both staff and children.
  • We have a senior mental health practitioner in school who is Mrs Furness. The DfE supported training in order that our mental health lead could develop and implement a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
  • Mrs Kennerley is also a mental health first aider and again can provide advice and strategies to the children.
At our school we:
  • Help children to understand their emotions and feelings better
  • Help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
  • Help children socially to form and maintain relationships
  • Promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
  • Encourage children to be confident
  • Help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks
We promote a mentally healthy environment through:
  • Promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging
  • Promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision making
  • Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements
  • Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others
  • Access to appropriate support that meets their needs
We pursue our aims through:
  • Universal, whole school approaches
  • Support for pupils going through recent difficulties including bereavement
  • Specialised, targeted approaches aimed at pupils with more complex or long-term difficulties including attachment disorder