Wellbeing hubs opening to support good mental health in schools
Twenty-one schools in Tendring and Colchester are opening Wellbeing Hubs
Following a successful pilot, new Wellbeing Hubs are being rolled out to support good mental health in schools across North Essex.
Twenty-one schools in Tendring and Colchester are opening up the hubs, to support pupils and their parents.
Great Bentley Primary School, working in partnership with Tendring District Council (TDC), first launched its Wellbeing Hub in April 2017, which was initially running as a six month trial.
After the pilot was so successful, the North East Essex Health & Wellbeing Alliance agreed £245,000 from its Investment Fund to roll-out the scheme across the area to 20 more schools.
The aim of the Wellbeing Hubs is to provide a focus on its pupils’ wellbeing and help them to thrive, as well as supporting parents.
Covid initially delayed the plan, but now all of the training is in place and the 21 school hubs have officially opened.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at Great Bentley Primary School on Monday, 21 June to mark the transition from pilot to permanent initiative.
The Great Bentley pilot hub is an after school facility, where children with mild to moderate mental health issues are supported in group activity around themes of play, art, construction, and science.
The hub also offers information sessions for parents and carers covering topics such as sleep, nutrition and behaviour management.
Tracey Caffull, Executive Headteacher at Great Bentley Primary School, said the hub had made such a positive impact on young people’s lives.
“The Wellbeing Hub works by both supporting pupils with tailored sessions that help them develop an awareness of self, skills to gain confidence and strategies to support gaining regulation, but also engaging with parents to ensure children get that strong foundation of enough sleep, good diet and consistent responses from the adults around them,” said Mrs Caffull, who is also Executive Headteacher at Frinton Primary School which also led on the project.
“This twin-pronged support allows great wraparound support for young people, and has been hugely beneficial for our students – so I am so pleased to see the model funded and rolled-out more widely, and hope to see it grow even further.”
Lynda McWilliams, TDC Cabinet Member for Partnerships, said she was so impressed by the scheme.
“I have been carefully tracking the evaluation of the hub and been pleased by its progress, and the way it has been received across the wider health system and held up as a quality early intervention model for others to follow,” Cllr McWilliams said.
“Being able to have a closer look now and hear from teachers and pupils about the difference it has made has really demonstrated to me, more than data can, how important this is.”
Pam Green, Executive Lead at the Alliance, added: “Good mental health is important whatever age you are, and it is important that we not only support young people who are struggling, but also equip them with skills for life to look after themselves too.
“These hubs do just that, which is why we have invested in them as part of our Start Well and Feel Well priorities as an Alliance, working across health, education and local authority sectors to create positive outcomes.
“All agencies across North East Essex consider providing effective mental health support to young people as a top priority. Across Colchester and Tendring areas, the system has assisted local schools to put processes in place to ensure students are best supported.
“I am particularly pleased that there now exists a support network available for schools themselves which allows teachers to share best practice and resource between each school. This increased level of networking between each school means there is better access for local young people to receive the help they may need.”
Feedback from the children included: “I have someone to talk to now – so my worry seems smaller”; “I understand that anxiety is normal but it doesn’t stay for ever and I have ways to work with it”; “Learning how to use my breath has really helped”; and “Just knowing someone cares and is there for me makes things a whole lot better”.