Staff Sponsored Walk

On Saturday 2nd April staff did a sponsored walk to raise money to purchase resources to support the children's mental health and wellbeing.  13 staff and their dogs walked form Baggeridge to Himley Park. 

Families have raised a massive £409.00.

Children's Mental Health Week 7th - 11th February 2022

We hope that over the course of the week you have found the information and activities useful and of benefit to yourselves and your children. If you need any further information, support or advice on children’s mental health then please don’t hesitate to speak to Leigh-Anne.  Alternatively we can put you in contact with Jackie our Safeguarding Pastoral Lead.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to each and every one of you for your kind donations during Children's Mental Health awareness week.

All money raised will now be donated to Place2Be, which will allow them to continue supporting children’s mental health at a time when it is needed the most.

Below are some examples of the dedicated services they provide to both children and their families as well as schools to be able to best support their pupils.

"Place2Be offers a menu of different services to meet schools’ needs.  The services we offer include advice and support for families and consultations and training for school staff. This builds resilience and raises awareness of the importance of good mental health across the whole school community."

The services we offer include:

• One-to-one counselling for pupils who are struggling
• Short appointments to talk about worries, booked by pupils
• Group work about friendship, self-esteem and other issues
• Training for school leaders and staff to make schools more mentally healthy
• Consultations for school staff about behaviour and wellbeing
• Advice and support for parents to help them look after their child

Group programme using art and discussion to build pupils’ self-esteem

For more information on the services Place2be offers you can use the link below https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/our-work/ 

Children's Mental Heath Week 2022

This year we have decided to take part in 'Children's Mental Health Week' between 7th-11th February 2022. This event is organised by Place2Be. Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 25 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools.

We realise the last year has been incredibly difficult and challenging for many families due to the ongoing restrictions of COVID-19. This has had a massive impact on both adult's and children's mental health. Whether this be because of the anxiety of normal life becoming different, the loss of a loved one, being unable to see family and friends, constant changes in routine, home schooling and adapting to a lifestyle using more technology like FaceTime and Zoom.

During the week, we will be raising the profile of positive mental health through a variety of activities and information uploaded onto Tapestry and carried out during sessions and group times.

On Wednesday 9th February 2022 we would like to invite all staff and children to wear bright coloured clothing or alternatively a favourite outfit to celebrate and promote Children's Mental Health Week. We will be collecting £1 donations on the day, which can be handed to your keyworker in an envelope or deposited into our collection buckets. 

We really hope that you will support this event and look forward to seeing your children in their brightly coloured clothes.

If you would like to know more about Children's Mental Health Week, please follow the link: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers/ 

Mental Heath First Aid

We are pleased to announce that  Alison has completed a Mental Heath England First Aid training course.

 Alison is now fully qualified and are our school Mental Health at Work First Aider.

Dudley MBC have invested in online courses for parents (and teenagers). These FREE* courses (*Free to residents of Dudley) can help support the Mental Health and well-being of children and young people, and of parents.

BRAND NEW!! Online course ‘Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing’ from the Solihull Approach (NHS)
 
Access for free:

Did you know Dudley MBC have PRE-PAID for every parent and carer in Dudley to access a course for parents/carers (access now for life-long access)? FREE (with access code: CASTLE at: www.inourplace.co.uk ) for residents in our area. There are courses for parents, carers and grandparents about children from bump to 19+ years.

How do I access?
www.inourplace.co.uk 
 
What’s the code?
If you haven’t used it already here is the access code for all the online courses (funded for residents): CASTLE
If, like many parents, you have already used this code, log into your account here and this course will be ready in your dashboard to start whenever you are ready.
 
Can I tell my family and friends?
Absolutely! Share the news with family members and other families in the area so that they too can take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
 
How long is it?

‘Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing’ itself is in 2 parts (2 modules long in total):
1. Take Part 1….
2. …then take ‘Understanding your child’ OR ‘Understanding your child with additional needs’ (11 modules each taking 10-15 minutes to complete, benefitting from time to digest in between)….
3. …then take Part 2.

If you like this…
…you might like the other courses ‘Understanding your teenager’s brain’ (short course) or ‘Understanding your child’s feelings’ (taster course) , or other courses in the series.  www.inourplace.co.uk 
 
 
Any queries please contact Parenting@dudley.gov.uk

Mental Health Awareness Week 10th-16th May 2021

The 10th-16th May 2021 is Mental Health Awareness Week and with the after effects of COVID it is now more important than ever before. We've all felt the lows of 'lockdown' and will have our own individual experiences and that is okay. Even now Mental health is still such a taboo subject and is massively overlooked as it is unseen unlike a broken arm or chest infection. Some of you may have noticed in between watching the soaps on the television there are adverts promoting 'Get Britain Talking', this is encouraging people to talk about their mental health, whether that be their negative or positive experiences and break the stigma associated with this topic. The first and most important step in helping to support your own mental health is talking to somebody whether that be a family member, friend, work colleague or counsellor and admittedly this stage can be hard.

This week I would like to urge you all to check in with your family members, friends and work colleagues giving them the opportunity to simply talk. Remember to take time for yourselves to enhance your own well-being, this could be: going on a walk, reading a book, taking a soak in the bath, playing football or painting your nails.

The focus for this years Mental Health Awareness week is actually around Nature. The Mental Health Foundation explain the reason for this theme is because “during long months of the pandemic, millions of us turned to nature. Our research on the mental health impacts of the pandemic showed going for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45% of us reported being in green spaces had been vital for our mental health. Websites which showed footage from webcams of wildlife saw hits increase by over 2000%. Wider studies also found that during lockdowns, people not only spent more time in nature but were noticing it more”.

‘There is something to be wondered at in all of Nature’ - Aristotle

Please be reassured that all of the staff here at Netherton Park are here to help support all our families if you are experiencing difficult times and need someone to talk to.