St. Gerard’s Catholic Primary School

Mental Health and Well-being

We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. It’s about how we think, feel and act. Sometimes we feel well, and sometimes we don’t. When our mental health is good, we feel motivated and able to take on challenges and new experiences. But when our mental health is not so good, we can find it much harder to cope.

At St Gerard’s, we take mental health and well-being very seriously. Wellbeing and mental health in our pupils, staff and parents are at the forefront of our school’s vision of leading a mentally healthy school.

We are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.

 We want to provide an effective and enjoyable teaching and learning environment, where children and young people flourish.  We aim to promote the mental and physical health and emotional well-being for our staff, parents and pupils. Well-being is at the forefront of the school’s curriculum and promoting good mental health is a priority 

Mrs Renwick is our Designated Mental Health Leader.

 Mrs Coe is our Deputy Mental Health Leader. 

At St Gerard’s we:

• help children to understand their emotions and feelings better
• help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
• help children socially to form and maintain relationships
• promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
• encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
• help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks.

We offer different levels of support:

Universal Support – To meet the needs of all our pupils through our overall ethos and our wider curriculum. For instance, developing resilience for all.

Additional support – For those who may have short-term needs and those who may have been made vulnerable by life experiences.

Targeted support – For pupils who need more differentiated support and resources or specific targeted interventions such as wellbeing groups or personal mentors.

Support Agencies

HeadStart

HeadStart – giving all South Tees children and young people the necessary support to build resilience to achieve good emotional health.

The aim of the HeadStart school programme is to implement an early help and prevention
model which will ultimately reduce the onset of common mental health problems by building
resilience of pupils to be able to better cope better in difficult circumstances. The HeadStart
model is a capacity building approach to improve the resilience and capability of pupils to
have good emotional health, to have the skills and confidence to cope, solve problems,
achieve well and be happy young people.
HeadStart services include:
Staff development – supports school based staff to be able to better respond to the
emotional needs of pupils.
Transition – support offered for young people to make the move from primary to secondary
as easy as possible.
HeadStarters – a training pathway for young people to develop school based projects and
support the delivery of HeadStart.

HeadStart is a whole school approach where everyone feels safe and comfortable to be
themselves, learn and develop in a positive environment and access support when needed.
Our school is committed to the HeadStart principles to allow every young person to have the
best possible experience and outcomes throughout their school journey.

Young Minds

Together, we can create a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health.

Young Minds provides young people with tools to look after their mental health. Their website is full of advice and information on what to do if you’re struggling with how you feel. They empower parents and adults who work with young people, to be the best support they can be to the young people in their lives. And they give young people the space and confidence to get their voices heard and change the world we live in.

The Bungalow Partnership

The Bungalow Partnership is a Teesside based Charity supporting the Emotional Wellbeing of local children, young people and families.  They do this by providing parenting, mentoring and therapeutic support aimed at improving the emotional wellbeing of local people and supporting families to enjoy positive relationships with each other. The therapists within The Bungalow Partnership have a wide range of experience and specialisms.  They work across Tees Valley supporting children and families impacted by loss, divorce and separation, bereavement, autism, attachment/ relational difficulties, those displaying behavioural or emotional responses to their environment, those who have been displaced from their own country of origin, those impacted by trauma, those with poor communication skills, families impacted by domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse and/or sexually harmful behaviours.

InsideOut Mental Health Support Team

This year, World Mental Health Day was on October 10th 2025. Children were invited to come into school on Thursday 9th October wearing a splash of yellow!