Health & Wellbeing
At Bishop Gilpin we recognise and highly value the importance of emotional wellbeing and mental health education, promotion and support.
Every member of our school community is valued and cared for.
We benefit from our very own in-house BG Wellbeing Service, led by Amy Stirling who is a Child and Young Person’s IAPT Therapist, specialising in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), therapeutic art and Mindfulness.
The BG Wellbeing Service supports our children, parents and staff through individual therapy sessions, small group projects, lunch clubs, mindfulness-based class workshops, assemblies and whole school themed days.
Our aim for mental health education and support at BG is for it to be accessible for all. If you would like some support or advice for your child please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance, or contact Amy at amystirling@bishopgilpin.org.
Support, Advice and Resources
The pandemic has led to an increase nationally in families and children seeking support. We have created a list of excellent resources that might be a helpful first step for you, if you have questions or need advice for your child or family.
Gingerbread charity- Single parents, equal families Gingerbread
Children’s bereavement charity Child Bereavement UK
Young Minds: Young Minds
YM parent line- YoungMinds Parent Helpline
YM info guide- YoungMinds Parent A-Z guide
YM Anxiety guide- YoungMinds Anxiety Guide
Merton Mencap Merton Mencap
Merton Autism Parent Service (MAPS) MAPS
Emotional coaching website Emotion Coaching
NHS anxiety pages NHS- Anxiety in Childhood
Mentally healthy schools animation Talking Mental Health
Anxiety resources:
Separation anxiety tools for parents
Kooth Kooth
ADHD foundation ADHD Foundation
Wandsworth ASD WASS WAAS
CAMHS crisis line
Wandsworth Mediation Service WMS
Merton Mediation service Calm Mediation Service
Sleep council/ sleep advice The Sleep Charity- Advice for children
Transitions
5 ways
Just like physical health, we all have mental health, and there are things we can do to take care of our mental health everyday. The Five Ways to Wellbeing are a collection of daily practices we can include in our regular routine in order to build our resilience and sustain positive mental health.
The Five Ways are:
- Connect with Others- by talking, playing, sharing, listening
- Be Active- in any way: running, play time, sports, dancing, yoga, walking
- Keep Learning- enjoy being curious
- Take Notice- through mindfulness, relaxation, observation, awareness
- Give to Others- be kind, help others, lend a hand
School resources
emotional coaching lesson plans and resources
School Nurse
School Nurses work with school-age children and young people to improve their health outcomes, support them with identified health needs and disability in school, and to ensure that they reach their full educational potential. School Nurses are based in community clinics and work in schools, health clinics and other community settings. They also carry out home visits where required.
The school nursing service offers specialist nursing input across education and health, providing a link between school, home and the community to improve the health and well-being of children and young people, working with GP’s, other health professionals, teachers, youth workers, social care and voluntary sector agencies.
The School Nursing Service promotes the health and wellbeing of families and communities including school communities through the provision of advice and/or intervention. School Nurses have advanced and specialist qualifications giving them the additional knowledge and skills to help support children and young people with identified health needs.
Our School Nurse is Jessa Nealega. To access her services, please contact info@bishopgilpin.org.