At Hatfeild, the mental health and well-being of our children is our top priority. We know that when children feel safe and happy, they are able to learn and grow to their full potential. Just like physical health, we believe mental health should be nurtured and supported through a positive environment. We teach our children how to take care of their mental well-being, recognise when they’re feeling down, and understand ways to seek help when needed.

Our wellbeing scheme is based on the 'Five ways to wellbeing' that were identified in the Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008):

1. Connect… With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

2. Be active… Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

3. Take notice… Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

4. Keep learning… Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

5. Give … Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, as linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.

The children at Hatfeild have the opportunity to develop these skills in lessons and embed throughout their time with us. This is an extracurricular offer that we provide our children on top of our RSHE curriculum and ensures that as a school we are fulfilling statutory wellbeing statutory guidance. Through teaching children these skills we are:

• Developing pupils’ confidence, resilience and knowledge so that they can keep themselves mentally healthy.
• Developing pupils’ understanding of how to keep physically healthy, eat healthily and maintain an active lifestyle, including giving ample opportunities for pupils to be active during the school day and through extracurricular activities
• Enabling pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their well-being and making them aware of the support available to them.
• Developing pupils’ age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships through appropriate relationships and sex education.
• Developing pupils to become responsible, respectful and active citizens who are able to play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults.

Lessons are categorised into five key areas which the children return to each year. The wellbeing curriculum is a spiral curriculum. Children revisit the five key areas with increasing depth and maturity every time that learning is revisited. Prior knowledge is utilised so that children can build upon previous foundations.