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IAM celebrate Children's Mental Health Week

Inspire Academy Movement celebrate Children's Mental Health Week

We are excited to participate in Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week from February 3-9, 2025. Place2Be launched this important awareness initiative in 2015 to empower, equip, and amplify children's and young people's voices throughout the UK.

This year's theme is "Know Yourself, Grow Yourself," and each of our Trust schools will participate in the awareness week, including Seal CE Primary School in Sevenoaks, Rusthall St Paul’s CE Primary School, Tunbridge Wells, Four Elms Primary School in Edenbridge, and Maypole Primary School in Dartford.

Each of our year groups will work with Place2Be’s teaching resources to explore topics such as what makes us feel sad and nervous, joyful or happy, what I am good at, and what makes me laugh! These activities will help promote self-awareness and help the children understand its significance. They will also support their growth and development, fostering resilience to handle life's challenges.

Continuous Support of the Wellbeing of our Pupils, Staff and Parents

The Trust's Head of Wellbeing and Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL) Melanie Brocker said, ‘Supporting the mental health of pupils, staff and parents is at the forefront of everything we do. Embedding an evidence-based, holistic, whole-school approach is crucial. Having mental health at the core of our school plan is necessary because it allows us to proactively support our community’s emotional well-being.’

The 8 principles, directed by the Department of Education have been incorporated into the Trust’s action plans. The plans include the following: 

• Creating an environment that promotes respect and values diversity 
• Building strong leadership teams that champion efforts to promote emotional health and well-being 
• Organising staff development to support staff well-being and that of pupils and learners 
• Reviewing our well-being curriculum teaching that supports social and emotional learning 
• Enabling student voice to influence decisions 
• Identifying need, including monitoring the impact of interventions, identifying targeted support 
• Working with parents and carers. 

Inspire Academy Movement’s Mental Health Plan

Our mental health plan covers children from Early Years to KS2; we believe that the support directly impacts children’s academic performance, social development, and overall resilience, therefore creating a positive learning environment where students feel equipped to manage challenges and thrive in their learning. Early intervention through a school-based approach can also prevent more serious mental health issues later in life.

Last autumn, we chose eight members of staff to be trained across the trust to be mental health ambassadors for our children, families, and staff. The training is for 10 months, and the staff members will be responsible for bringing about change and working closely with our senior leadership team and pastoral teams. Creating a whole school approach to mental health, we can create a supportive environment where our children feel comfortable discussing their emotions and seeking help when needed. Supporting our student’s mental health also benefits teachers by reducing stress levels and improving overall staff morale.

Outdoor Walking Groups For Parents

In addition to creating various student well-being activities, we will shortly launch a new initiative aimed at parents and carers. This project will provide them with information on how to prioritise their own well-being. We will organise outdoor walks in local areas near each school, where we can catch up, ask questions, share advice, and enjoy some time in nature together.

If you have any concerns about your child's mental health and would like to discuss it with us, please first contact your class teacher, who will be able to escalate this with our Senior Leadership Team.