Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our children at Bussage C of E Primary School is of the upmost importance to the school community and therefore pastoral support and care is taken very seriously.

The development of our school mental health support has grown recently, with Mrs White now a Senior Mental Health Lead having completed her training. We work closely with Young Minds Matter (YMM), referring children when appropriate for assessments, advice and programmes of support when needed. In 2024 a transition workshop was run by YMM for the Year 6 class to help them prepare for Secondary School. Furthermore, members of the YMM team ran workshops with each class in school during wellbeing and mental health week to encourage children to use their voice to speak out.

We also offer ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) sessions to identified pupils as an early intervention for emotional support. Mrs Jo Hawksbee completed her training this year and is running an ELSA afternoon once a week.

Throughout the school, children learn about mindfulness and the importance of being able to find a moment of calm and stillness amongst busy lives. They learn mindful breathing techniques and have the opportunity to participate in simple mindful meditations. 

Children are also offered the opportunity to participate in positive touch sessions to help them be calm, thoughtful and relaxed as well as being respectful to each other. KS1 children learn positive touch techniques, whilst KS2 children learn peer massage. 

Miss Angie Corbett completed her training as a Wellbeing Ambassador meaning that she can now run yoga sessions throughout the school.

Wellbeing and Mental Health continue to be high on our agenda for the coming year and we encourage parents and carers to talk to us if they have any concerns or ideas.

We also have Ginny, a visiting Pets as Therapy dog.