SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH (SEMH)
- Students may have hyperactive, aggressive or controlling behaviour towards staff or peers.
- Students may be demanding of adult attention, lack concentration and consistently disturb the learning of others.
- Students may be anxious, emotional and negative in their opinion of themselves.
- Students may be socially withdrawn, refuse to communicate/attend school, socially immature of isolated from their family or peers.
The school supports students with SEMH needs through a comprehensive intervention timetable, delivered by a trained ELSA’s (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants). They deliver sessions on friendships, self-esteem, anger, anxieties and bereavement. In addition we also have a trained member of staff, who uses a CBT programme to deliver exam anxiety intervention. We are also training a Thrive Practitioner to join our wellbeing support team.
In school we have a mental health practitioner, 2 school counsellors and a practitioner that delivers 1-1 anger management support to individual students. We also have a superb team of well-being mentors who have been trained by a CAMHS Advanced Nurse Specialist. They are available to speak to students on a drop in basis or via appointment. Have a look at some of their brilliant podcasts under the well-being section of the website.
Shine is one of our Inclusion Support Hubs. It is a calm, quiet, low sensory room for students who need time to self-regulate. It is based in Engage away from the main school building. It is led by a trained Thrive Practitioner, who also works with students requiring Nurture and wellbeing interventions across the Engage provision. This space is also accessed by students with Emotional Based School Avoidance as a steppingstone back into mainstream lessons.
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The three small school offices have designated areas to support students with their SEMH needs including calming books, stress balls or sensory items such as a fan and bubble wrap. A range of calming strategies and breathing techniques are also available in these areas. Students can use these as and when they need to either independently or with support from a member of staff or well-being mentor.
The well-being mentors are regularly coming up with new and exciting strategies to support our students with SEMH needs such as a tub full of positive and inspiring messages; the perfect way to give someone a little lift when they need it.
We recognise the impact animals can have on supporting students with SEMH needs and now have both a tortoise and fish. They have a very calming influence on the students and are both very good at listening.
The small school offices contain a notice board dedicated to SEMH and well-being. These boards include details of Beam (drop in support in Wellington), Kooth (online support) the Samaritans and details of our trained staff well-being mentors.
