Here at Lydiate Primary School, we care enormously about the mental health and well-being of our children. We understand that mental health and wellbeing plays a huge part in a child’s ability to learn. Positive mental health and academic achievement powerfully affect one another and both are equally important to us all. 

We understand that everyone faces a variety of challenges in life and that each of us may need assistance to cope at some point in our lives.  Conditions such as stress, anxiety, worry, bereavement and separation anxiety can be debilitating at times. We therefore want to avoid any barriers to learning and we constantly strive for our children to be happy and healthy. This in turn leads to our children having greater success both in their academic learning, and in their ability to cope in difficult situations.

Our strong leadership and management team promote mental health and wellbeing and ensure that, as a school, we put interventions in place to help reduce any worries or concerns our children have.

Having a whole school approach to mental health and well-being is paramount and we are proud to say we all work collaboratively, enthusiastically and proactively to support our children’s mental health and wellbeing. We have an open door approach for parents/carers and will always make ourselves available whenever possible. Our children know they can speak to us about anything and we love the fact that our children have approached members of staff directly and asked for a chat or some quiet time.

Our Beautiful Blossom Room

Some of our interventions take place in our lovely Blossom Room. This is a safe, quiet space for children to talk if they so wish. It has a calming and relaxing atmosphere which our children love. Children who use this wonderful facility comment on how calm it makes them feel and the feeling of confidence it gives them to speak honestly and openly. They like the privacy that it gives them and they know that they will not be interrupted by others. Sometimes our world can be intolerant; therefore, having that safe space to go is incredibly important to maintain good positive mental health. Our Blossom Room is a place where our children can relax and re-charge in a judgement-free zone. Here, they can let their guard down and truly be themselves.

One of our many goals is to improve resilience and self-esteem, reduce anxiety or any worries or concerns. We want our children to be happy and healthy which will ensure they are more successful in developing coping skills, which can only improve and enhance their academic achievements. This is continuing to be proving extremely successful and we are all very proud of our ongoing accomplishments.

Our Amazing Blossom Corner

We also have another area within our school, which is the lovely Blossom Corner. The impact of the Blossom Corner hits you as you walk into our school; its calming lights and music are just perfect. Again, it is another quiet place for children to come and sit and reflect, read a book or have a chat with a friend. Throughout the day, children visit this area to enjoy the quiet time that they need; This could take place at playtimes, lunch times or during the day with staff.  It works alongside our beautiful library and our amazing book vending machine. Overall, our library area is just perfect!

Our Wonderful Blossom Leaders - Year 5 Children

We have wonderful Year 5 Blossom Leaders and their role is to support children in all key stages during lunchtime. They continually do an amazing job! The blossom leaders support children who are on their own and encourage them to play and interact with other children, they play games, read jokes to them and make our children laugh. Our blossom leaders love helping others; it gives them a sense of pride and self-worth. Children love seeing the blossom leaders arrive on our playground and they improve children’s self-esteem, confidence and social skills every day. Our blossom leaders have many amazing ideas and have initiated activities and resources independently.

The Inspirational Blossom Book

Sometimes children like to write in words how they are feeling before or after the visit to our Blossom Room. The comments they make are powerful and inspirational. This is always anonymous and it is a personal choice if they wish to write anything down. We would like to share one of the comments.

On a few dates, I came to the blossom room feeling anxious and distressed. I have been brought in by two teachers, Mrs Londesborough and Mrs Bowen. I felt right when I stepped into the room, I know I could speak without distraction, annoyance or stress. I was relieved sitting on the beanbag looking at the plastic fish swimming in the tube. I vented about how I felt and thought and by the end I was relieved, relaxed and comforted, back in class, quiet and ready to learn.

So powerful!

Expressing your feelings can help to feel better about yourself

Our Mental Health Team

Mrs Londesborough (Mental Health Lead)

Mrs Bowen (Mental Health Team)

Mrs Smith (Mental Health Team)