Pupil Wellbeing

At Epping Upland Primary School, we recognise that a child’s emotional health and wellbeing influences their cognitive development and learning, as well as their physical and social health and their mental wellbeing in adulthood. The school’s role in supporting and promoting mental health and wellbeing can be summarised as:

• Prevention: Creating a safe and calm environment where mental health problems are less likely, improving the mental health and wellbeing of the whole school population, and equipping pupils and students to be resilient so that they can manage the normal stress of life effectively. This will include teaching pupils about mental wellbeing through the curriculum and reinforcing this teaching through school activities and ethos.
• Identification: Recognising emerging issues as early and accurately as possible.
• Early Support: Helping pupils to access evidence informed from early interventions and support.
• Access to specialist support:Working effectively with external agencies to provide swift access or referrals to specialist support and treatment.

Wellbeing Mentor 

The role of the Wellbeing Mentor is to building good relationships with pupils and help create a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe to talk about their feelings and worries. Our wellbeing mentor responds in a timely way to any worries, concerns or anxieties that our pupils may express. They give pupils the strategies they require to develop their overall wellbeing and mental health.

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

An Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) is a specialist teaching assistant who helps children and young people learn to understand and manage their emotions. At Epping Upland we are fortunate to have an ELSA staff member that can support pupils with programs specifically tailored to meet a pupils' needs. These session may focus on areas such as self esteem, emotional awareness, social skills and loss and bereavement.