Wellbeing at the Archer Academy

At the Archer Academy, we are passionate about promoting positive, emotional, wellbeing and mental wellness for every child and understand that this is integral to each individual feeling happy and fulfilled and able to realise their full potential. At the Archer Academy, we know that students who are able to demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges will be better placed to cope with the stresses of life and will grow and develop into happy, successful adults who flourish in the wider world and beyond.

Through lifelong learning, assemblies, thematic learning, science, SPECC and citizenship, our curriculum covers a wide range of topics from e-safety, bullying, mental health and wellbeing to personal development and self-care strategies. Through these sessions, our students are encouraged to support themselves, recognise signs and symptoms in themselves and others where they may need some support and are signposted with where to seek help.

Our staff complete mental health training awareness training to help them to notice signs of poor mental health in our students and intervene with timely and appropriate advice. Our pastoral and SEND departments deliver targeted interventions and support to students identified as requiring additional support with their social, emotional and mental health.

Each student is actively encouraged at school to self-refer to a trusted teacher, form tutor or head of year to discuss any concerns they have about themselves or another young person’s mental health and to discuss what support may be available and helpful. At the Archer, we want all our learners to take responsibility for self-care and signpost students to engage with online support such as Youngminds or Kooth when appropriate.

Sometimes it can be difficult for young people to understand their feelings and know how to help themselves. We have developed a help-yourself booklet for students to help them find strategies to help themselves. This can be found at the wellbeing wall located at both upper and lower school.

For more information on signs, symptoms and strategies, please use the links below which provide useful information on managing feelings and emotions and when to seek help:

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/a-z-guide/

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

Sometimes, it is necessary for young people to receive more targeted emotional support and guidance, this may be during a time of crisis, a challenging life event or mental health or wellbeing concern. At the Archer Academy, the form tutor will work with the student’s parents and head of year to ensure that each student receives the appropriate support.

It may also be appropriate to refer a student to one of the 3 counsellors in school who are able to offer support to students dealing with a range of mental health concerns. Sometimes, we may feel that a referral to BICs, a counselling service run by Barnet Local Authority, would be more beneficial to a student. We may also recommend that an appointment is made with the GP to discuss a referral to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) or the School Nurse team. We will always discuss any referrals with parents fully and aim to work collaboratively with young people and their families every step of the way.

Advice and Support for Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Wellness

We understand that sometimes students and families would benefit support from agencies outside of the school. To help with accessing these services we have collected the details of local and national organisations who provide support and guidance in relation to topics such as anxiety and depression, suicidal crisis/thoughts, self-harm and eating disorders below. Please also see information signposting further information to relevant helplines, websites and apps which may also be of interest.

Crisis and emergency support

In a life threatening or emergency situation call 999

NHS: For non-emergency professional health advice please dial 111 or contact your GP to make an urgent appointment to discuss your mental health needs. Police: For all non-emergencies please dial 101

Barnet Emergency Mental Health Service (CAMHS): Call 0800 151 0023 24/7 crisis telephone service, the first point of contact for people who are in mental health crisis and who live in Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. The service team consists of qualified clinicians (nurses, social workers and occupational therapists) and administrators (called ‘referral assistants’).

Samaritans: Provide free and confidential emotional support 24/7. Call 116 123

Childline: Provide a 24 hours counselling service for children, young people and parents. Call 0800 1111

General support for mental health and wellbeing

Every Mind Matters – Information from the NHS about looking after your mental health and emotional wellbeing during coronavirus including guidance, advice and tips on how to maintain your mental wellbeing if you need to stay at home: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

Epic Friends has been created by CAMHS to support young people who are worried about their friends’ emotional wellbeing. It is specifically designed for 12-18 year olds. https://epicfriends.co.uk/

Young Minds Are the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. A wealth of advice for young people and their parents/carers can be found at: http://www.youngminds.org.uk including advice/resources for young people and parents/carers during the pandemic, including for those with eating disorders, OCD and anxiety.

Childline offer, free, confidential counselling to Under 19’s through their helpline and webchat. Call 0800 1111, http://www.childline.org.uk

Kooth – Provide free, anonymous online counselling 10 – 25 year olds. You can IM counsellors Mon-Fri, midday-10pm, and Sat-Sun 6pm-10pm. No referral needed. http://www.kooth.com

STEM4 – Aims to improve teenage mental health by stemming commonly occurring mental health issues at an early stage. www.stem4.org.uk

Mind –have information to better understand diagnoses and managing mental illness on their website – www.mind.org.uk or call: 0300 123 3393

Rethink Mental Illness – Are a national mental health membership charity working to help everyone affected by severe mental illness to recover a better quality of life. It aims to make a practical & positive difference by providing hope & empowerment through effective services, information & support. www.rethink.org or call 0300 5000927

MindEd – a free educational resource on children & young people’s mental health for all adults. MindEd for Families has online advice and information from trusted sources and will help you to understand early issues and best support your child. https://www.minded.org.uk

Hub of Hope – the UK’s biggest mental health database aims to bring together all of the mental health support available in the UK in one place. www.hubofhope.co.uk

Wellbeing Service offer CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and group therapy to anyone over 16 years struggling with their mental health. Visit the website to self-refer – www.talkwellbeing.co.uk

Apps which promote positive mental health

Please note that apps should not be viewed as a substitute for proper professional support and are recommended below only in addition. We would strongly advise supervising your child’s use of digital devices, particularly around night time.

For Me – is a free app from Childline. It offers counselling, group message boards and advice. https://www.childline.otg.uk/toolbox/for-me/

Headspace – an app which teaches mindfulness meditation principles to improve wellbeing. www.headspace.com

Moodpanda – app-based platform allowing people to track their moods. www.moodpanda.com

Recharge – Move well, Sleep well, Be well uses a free, personalised 6 week program to help you improve mood and energy levels.

Smiling Mind – provides free mindfulness meditations aimed at reducing stress, anxiety and concentration levels.

SuperBetter – evidence based app that has been created to help young people build resilience to become stronger, happier and healthier. https://www.superbetter.com/

StressHeads – an app approved by the NHS Choices website to help 16-25 year olds identify and cope with stress. It includes games to help distract young people from immediate stress and monitor their causes. https://www.themix.org.uk/apps-and- tools/stressheads

Support for Anxiety/Depression

Students against Depression – offers information & resources validated by health professionals alongside tips & advice from students who have experienced it themselves. www.studentsagainstdepression.org

Anxiety UK – helps all those suffering with anxiety disorders. Self-help leaflets and contact lists as well as groups, counselling & email support. Section on young people and anxiety. www.anxietyuk.org.uk

No Panic – a registered charity which helps people who suffer from panic attacks, phobias, OCD and other related anxiety disorders. www.nopanic.org.uk

OCD-UK – Information & support for OCD in children & young people. Useful guides including teens’, children’s & parents’ guides. www.ocduk.org

Charlie Walker Memorial Trust – Awareness, information and resources for those who are depressed. www.cwmt.org.uk

Support for suicidal thoughts

Stamp Out Suicide – points of contact for those feeling suicidal, bereaved by suicide or concerned about suicide. Promoting awareness & prevention: www.stampoutsuicide.org.uk

CALM (Campaign Against Men Living Miserably) – a charity helping to prevent male suicide in the UK. They provide a helpline, webchat service & advice if you are worried about someone. www.thecalmzone.net

Cruse – Bereavement Care – offers support, advice & information to children, young people & adults when someone dies and work to enhance society’s care of bereaved people through face-to face talk, telephone, email and website support. www.cruse.org.uk

PAPYRUS (Parents Association for the Prevention of Young Suicide) offer support through their helpline (HOPEline UK) to those under 35 that are having thoughts of suicide, Mon- Fri, 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun 2pm-10pm, call 0800 068 4141 text 07786 209 698, www.papyrus-uk.org

Hector’s House was set up by the family of Hector who died by suicide. Their website offers advice on where you can seek further support, www.hectorshouse.org.uk

The OLLIE Foundation – a Hertfordshire-based charity aiming to increase the awareness of suicide & help prevent young people from feeling this is the only option left for them. www.theolliefoundation.org

Spot the Signs – Is a suicide prevention campaign helping to remove the stigma of talking openly about suicide. Spot the signs aims to increase public awareness of suicide in young people, reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health support and promote support for families where a family member is at risk. www.hpft.nhs.uk/spot-the-signs

Apps which you may find helpful to support with suicidal crisis and/or thoughts

Apps should not be viewed as a substitute for proper professional support and are recommended below only as an addition

Stay Alive – offers help & support to people with suicidal thoughts & those concerned about someone else. Key features include: Quick access to UK national crisis support helplines, a mini-safety plan, a LifeBox to which the user can upload photos from their phones to remind them of their reasons to stay alive, strategies for staying safe, tips on how to help a person thinking of suicide & suicide bereavement resources. https://www.prevent- suicide.org.uk/stay_alive_suicide_prevention_mobile_phone_application.html

Child Bereavement UK – developed by Child Bereavement UK and a group of young people who have experienced bereavement. It helps young people who have experienced loss to feel less alone & provide information on where they can get more support. https://childbereavementuk.org/our-app/

Support for self-harm

Selfharmuk – supports young people impacted by self-harm, providing a safe space to talk, ask questions and be honest about what’s going on in their life. Part of Youthscape. www.selfharmuk.co.uk

Alumnia – An online course by selfharm.co.uk for young people aged 14-18 helps them to find other ways of dealing with the ups & downs of life. http://alumnia.selfharm.co.uk/

Lifesigns – charity aiming to guide people who hurt themselves towards new ways of coping when they’re ready for the journey. Helpful resources & strategies to minimise harm. www.lifesigns.org.uk

Harmless – provides a range of services about self-harm including support, information, training & consultancy to people who self-harm, their families, friends and professionals. www.harmless.org.uk

National Self-Harm Network – monitored forums supporting individuals who self-harm to reduce emotional distress and improve the quality of their life. www.nshn.co.uk

Self-Injury Support provide TESS, a support and information text service for females under 24 years who are struggling with self-harm. Call 0808 8008088, text 07800 472908 or visit www.selfinjurysupport.org.uk

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer support to males struggling with low mood, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Helpline runs daily 5pm-midnight 0800 585858, or you can use their webchat at www.thecalmzone.net

Support for eating disorders

Anorexia and Bulimia Care (ABC) – provides personal advice & support to anyone affected by anorexia, bulimia, binge eating & all kinds of eating distress. They support sufferers & their family & friends towards full recovery. www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk

Male Anorexia – information about anorexia in boys in association with the book ‘Boys Get Anorexia Too’ by Jennifer Langley. www.boyanorexia.com

Student Minds – information about a project aiming to improve support available to students & young people with eating disorders by setting up a network of student run self- help groups. The website contains information about existing self-help groups & how to get involved. www.studentminds.org.uk

BEAT (Beating Eating Disorders) – offers advice and guidance on all aspects of eating disorders www.b-eat.co.uk or call 0808 801 0711