Ribbleton Avenue Methodist Junior School

Our Vision 

  

Within this truly distinctive Methodist School, our common purpose is to enable every child to thrive academically, emotionally and spiritually and to become the person God intends them to be. We will be a school of which the local community and the Methodist Church are justly proud. 

  

Our Mission 

  

“Brighter futures built with Ambition, Courage and Respect; filled with Love, Hope and Faith”  

 

Definitions:

 

 

‘Emotional health and wellbeing is the emotional resilience that enables us to enjoy life and to survive pain, suffering and disappointment. It is a positive sense of wellbeing and an underlying belief in our own worth and of others. Emotional health and wellbeing is embedded in social relations built upon social skills that are developed from birth.’ (Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer, 2001)

 

What is ‘good’ emotional health and wellbeing in our school?

• The ability to recognise, acknowledge and manage their feelings
• The ability to develop caring and concerns for others
• The ability to develop meaningful, positive and long lasting relationships
• The ability to take responsibility for themselves and make practical decisions
• For all in our school

 

We want our children to:

• Be effective and successful learners.
• Make and sustain friendships.
• Deal with and resolve conflict effectively and fairly.
• Solve problems with others for themselves.
• Manage strong feelings such as frustration, anger and anxiety.
• Be able to promote calm, optimistic states that support the achievement of goals.
• Recover from setbacks and persist in the face of the difficulties.
• Work and play cooperatively.
• Compete fairly and win and lose with dignity and respect for other competitors.
• Recognise and stand up for their rights and the rights of others.
• Understand and value the differences and commonalities between people, respecting the rights of others to have beliefs and values different from their own.

 

Rationale

The emotional health and well-being of all members of our school is fundamental to our philosophy and aims. Our policies and practices are founded in the development and sustenance of a happy, healthy school, where all learning can flourish. When a school promotes positive emotional health and wellbeing pupils can better understand and express their feelings. This builds their confidence and emotional resilience and therefore their capacity to learn.

 

Curriculum organisation

Emotional health and well-being cover the spectrum of activities in school and the range of educational and health/ welfare agencies who support our children. Our school is proactive in its approach and welcomes opportunities to promote emotional health and well-being through the formal and informal curriculum.

Staff use a variety of methods for ensuring sound emotional health and well-being for children. These complement and reflect the overall aims and philosophy of the school. Our approach includes:

• Clear vision and value for the school
• Codes of conduct linked to the Christian values of the school
• Clearly identified rewards and sanctions, understood by all.
• Rewarding positive behaviour and achievement through our house point system
• Positive Growth Mindset
• Setting appropriately challenging tasks.
• Providing a forum for listening and talking, e.g. SAP groups, Learning mentor support, Family Support Work, Nurture sessions
• Encouraging co-operation and collaboration.
• Developing social competence.
• Encouraging and developing coping strategies and resilience.

 

The school places emphasis on problem-solving, positive self-assessment, time for reflection, quality feedback and encouragement to participate in school and community events.

The delivery of personal, social and health education and citizenship is fundamental to our promotion of emotional health.  This is delivered through the use of Jigsaw. Through the planned programmes and informal curriculum, opportunities exist to explore issues appropriate to children’s ages and stages of development. Staff deal sensitively with these issues and differentiate according to the varying needs of the children in their care.

We also promote emotional health and wellbeing through our Christian Values which are embedded into all our learning: 

• Ambition
• Courage
• Respect
• Love
• Hope
• Faith

 

We see parental involvement as a vital part of emotional well-health. Regular opportunities exist to promote partnership with parents, including:

• Welcome meeting in September – a chance to meet the staff, find out about the organisation and routines and curriculum in each class.
• Either a Parents meetings in the Autumn or Spring Term (1 per term).
• Parental workshops-Coffee Morning, Toddler Group
• Involvement in pupil profile plans and reviews for children with special educational needs.
• Inviting parents to school every Friday for collective worship, stars of the week and achievements assembly.
• Inviting parents to Harvest celebrations, Remembrance service, Christmas Nativities, Carol Service, Easter Service and End of Year Service.

Inclusion

We have high expectations of all of our pupils to ensure that every child celebrates and achieves their unique God given talent. Curriculum provision is based on an understanding that we may need to cater differently for individuals in order to provide equality of opportunity. This approach to equal opportunities is extended to all members of our school community and included in our Equal Opportunities and Race Equality Policies. These needs include specific policies for SEN children. Differentiation and awareness of a variety of teaching and learning styles are used to provide appropriate curriculum approaches for different children’s needs.

 

Pastoral organisation for pupils

We pride ourselves on the whole school, team approach that is integral to our way of working at Ribbleton Avenue Methodist Junior School. Our methods include:

• Recognising and responding positively to a child’s emotional, mental health and/ or behavioural needs.
• Communicating with parents positively and realistically to create a partnership approach to children’s emotional, mental health and well-being’.
• Liaising with appropriate agencies to enlist advice and/or support.
• Weekly/Daily nurture sessions.

 

Clear policies for Behaviour, Child Protection, Anti-Bullying and Attendance are promoted in school. Together, they provide the foundations for emotional, mental health and well-being.

 

Alongside our policies are a range of practices to promote positive mental health;

• A School Council with elected membership from Y3-Y6.
• School Health Champions
• ‘random acts of kindness’
• Achievement assemblies.
• A whole school system of rewards for individuals: star of the week, top table, house points
• Well-being Champions

 

Where appropriate, our SENCO may become involved to support a child experiencing emotional, mental health and / or behavioural difficulties. If appropriate, the child will be given time to work with our Pastoral Support. We recognise the effectiveness of our early intervention approach and our commitment to pastoral care for all.

 

Pastoral organisation for staff

Pastoral support for all members of the school community is fundamental to the aims and philosophy of Ribbleton Avenue Methodist Junior school. We believe that a well-supported, valued staff with a clear and shared purpose is best placed to provide emotional well-being for children in their care.  We follow L.A. guidelines and policies for supporting personnel, including those for harassment, anti-bullying, race equality and managing staff absence.

We have a named Governor for health and well-being and a sub-committee which meets  to implement and monitor the procedures for supporting emotional well-being within our school.

 

Monitoring and evaluation

Provision across the school is monitored by the Head teacher and the health and well-being committee.

The Head teacher together with members of the health and well-being committee will provide support and advice to members of our school community about the provision and implementation of pastoral care in school. Regular staff meetings and termly full governor meetings provide regular opportunities for the quality of care to be evaluated and developed.

 

This policy will be reviewed every year or in light of new legislation regarding child welfare.