Mental Health

About me - Jenny Nash:

I am the Designated Mental Health Lead for Lympstone Primary and have been since 2023. I completed my training with Dragonfly: Impact Education in July 2024.

As Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and a teacher of 20 years, I feel very strongly that protecting the mental health of our children, staff and family members is vital.

As a school, we have been working with the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) for the last two years and their role in the school is firmly established, with Education Mental Health Practitioner’s (EMHP) visiting each week to work with children on a one-to-one basis. They also regularly lead training for staff and coffee morning talks for families to attend.

We are also incredibly lucky to have Heads Up working with our school and they also work alongside children supporting their mental health.

If you ever have questions or suggestions for mental health at Lympstone or you have concerns about your child, please do email me, give me a call or catch me at the school gate. Alternatively, let your child's class teacher know and they can pass on a concern referral to me.

Mental Health at Lympstone

At Lympstone we have Mental Health ambassadors. These are a group of children in Year 6 who have undertaken Mental Health Ambassador training. Their role in the school is to support children at break and lunchtimes (they are visible with their badges and yellow tabards) and they run a lunchtime club once a week with activities to support mental health.

In each classroom we have a designated mental health area with our 10-a-day posters. We also have class worry boxes. In Year 5, the Mental Health Support Team run Decider Skills, which is a weekly hour-long session for the Spring half-term and this equips the Year 5 pupils with tools and strategies to manage worries and anxieties which they can take with them and use in Year 6 and when they move to secondary school. We also offer extra support for Mental Health with Year 6 transition as both the Mental Health Support Team run workshops for parents and Heads Up have a booklet.

Each term I write a mental health newsletter with updates and news, so keep an eye out for this! There is also a display in the window of Chestnut class by the gate into school. This is the Mental Health display for the school. The Mental Health Ambassadors have a display within the main building opposite the School Council display.

Care and Connect

Our offer to families extends well beyond an academic education. We believe that to thrive, a child and their family need to have emotional and social stability. Without this in place, learning would be extremely compromised. We therefore endeavour to support all our children and their families in this area of need. This could be on a daily basis or following a distressing time such as a bereavement or a family separation, or maybe the loss of a friend. Some children also need additional support when making friendships and building self-esteem. This approach teaches you how to be, and what to do, with children's differing and sometimes challenging behaviour. As a result, children become more self-assured and ready to engage with life and learning.

We also offer friendship group support and forest schools to a small select group of children in KS2.

Our door is always open to parents needing support. Please make an appointment with the Headteacher if you or your child would like some support or a conversation about relevant options. We are sure that you will find our school and our staff nurturing and attentive.