Health and Well-Being

This half-term (Autumn 2), we are focusing on ‘kindness’.  Acts of kindness can help reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective and deepens friendships. Kindness can help boost our self-esteem and can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism.

Here are some suggestions that you can do as a family:

• Donate to a local charity

• Write a thank-you letter

• Help someone in your family

• Help with a household chore

• Say good morning

• Offer a helping a hand

• Smile at others

There are also more suggestions on our website. All of the suggestions were thought of by the children in school. Scroll down to the following subheading:

Class suggestions for each Becontree Way'

The deadline to email, using the email address below, photographs and, or videos, to show how you have taken part in meeting our Becontree way is January the 5^th 2022.

FiveWaysToWell-Being@becontreeprimaryschool.com

In your email we also need the following information:

• Name and year group of your child or children
• If possible, a short message explaining what you family are doing in the photographs or videos.
• Consent to your photographs being on our website.

We are looking forward to seeing how you and your family have shown acts of kindness.

Becontree's Five Ways to Well-Being

We are extremely excited to introduce our new Becontree’s Five Ways to Well-Being. This is a new initiative at our school to help support you and your family meet the international Five Ways to Well-Being.

Research suggests that trying the Five ways can improve positive mental health and wellbeing. Although not intended to be ‘quick fixes’, the suggestions below could help you to nurture your own wellbeing and the wellbeing of your family.

We have amended some of the international five areas to reinforce what we promote as a school. Our Five Ways to Well-being are:

1. Connect with others

Happy and positive relationships are important for your mental wellbeing. They can help build a sense of belonging and self-worth, give you an opportunity to share positive experiences and provide emotional support and allow you to support others.
 

2. Learn a new skill

Learning new skills can improve your mental wellbeing by boosting your confidence and self-esteem, helping you to build a sense of purpose and achievement and possibly helping you to connect with others with the same interests.

3. Be physically active

Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness, but evidence also shows that it can really improve your mental health and wellbeing by raising your self-esteem and helping you to set goals and feel motivated to achieve them. It also causes chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively change your mood.

4. Respect

Receiving respect from others is important because it helps us to feel safe and to express ourselves. Being respected by important people in our lives teaches us how to be respectful toward others. Respect in relationships builds feelings of trust, safety, and wellbeing.

5. Kindness

Acts of kindness can help reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective and deepens friendships. Kindness can help boost our self-esteem. Kindness can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism.

Each half-term, as a school, we will focus on ONE area. However, we would like you and your family to have a go at meeting our half-termly Becontree Way as we feel it is very important for children to have a positive mental well-being: each half-term we will provide suggestions of how you can meet our chosen area on our website. We would like you to take photographs and, or videos, of you and your family taking part in the activities and email them to:

FiveWaysToWell-Being@becontreeprimaryschool.com

To congratulate you on meeting an area, you and your family will receive a certificate and a rosette.

In your email we also need the following information:

• Name and year group of your child or children
• If possible, a short message explaining what you family are doing in the photographs or videos.
• Consent to your photographs being on our website.
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This half-term we are focusing on, ‘Learn a new skill’. Here are some suggestions that you can do as a family: 

• Try learning to cook something new – there are lots of free recipes online and on social media channels, or you could ask friends and family members to share their favourite recipes.

• Start a new DIY project – Pintrest is a free app that is full of cheap and simple DIY projects for around the home and garden.

• Download a free or affordable app to help you start to learn a new language

• Try a brand-new hobby such as painting, sewing, starting a jigsaw, writing a short story or starting a blog.

• Learn more about recycling and reducing the use of plastic and pass on your knowledge to friends and family (and school!).

The deadline to send photographs and, or videos, to show how you have taken part in meeting our Becontree way is the 1^st of November. FiveWaysToWell-Being@becontreeprimaryschool.com

Below are suggestions created by the children in class:

Youth Mental Heath Day- Yellow Day 2021

Youth Mental Health Day (YMHD) is an awareness day founded by leading young persons mental health charity stem4.

YMHD encourages understanding and awareness of mental health in young people, enabling them to live happy and healthy lives all year round. Each year, the day aims to get young people, and those who support them, talking about how to improve mental health.

This years’ YMHD theme is ‘Stride Forward.’ From cancelled exams to school, college and university disruptions, the past year has seen countless decisions made on behalf of young people, without their input. Placing young voices front and centre of the conversation once more, YMHD 2021 will invite young people across the country to reflect on how the last year has impacted their lives and share how they will #StrideForward and move towards positive mental health.

To raise awareness, on the 10th of September, we wore something yellow and produced pieces of work to show our understanding of the theme #StriveForward.

 Have a look at some of our amazing work and our yellow clothing.

Becontree’s  Health and Well-Being Recovery Curriculum

At the centre of our thinking, Becontree Primary school have put the children’s well-being of the utmost importance.  We know that the children will have had different experiences and challenges during school closure. With this in mind, we have planned the most effective way in which to support our children at Becontree Primary school. This approach will encompass and support the academic expectations and ensure a positive, safe and efficient return to school.

Our Health and Well-Being Recovery Curriculum consists of 5 areas. Weekly lessons will cover all 5 areas this half term. The 5 areas are: 

• Area 1- Supporting the children to rebuild positive relationships with others.

• Area 2- Supporting the children to manage feelings and emotions

• Area 3- Supporting the children to enjoy and achieve

• Area 4- Supporting the children’s physical health and well-being

• Area- Supporting the children’s sense of community.

Welcome to our Healthy Schools page.          

In September 2018, Becontree signed up to an awards programme set up by Healthy Schools London. This programme aims to assess how well schools prepare children towards leading healthy lifestyles- making the right food choices and staying active.

Our Healthy Schools Co-ordinator is Mr Hack.

Since signing up, we have applied for the bronze award. We continue to work towards making sure that  pupils have the best and healthiest start in life. 

Update: 

In May 2019, we received the Bronze Healthy Schools Award. We are now working towards the Silver Award.

At Becontree Primary School, to help support and promote Health and Well-Being, we have a designated specialist Learning Support Assistant for Health and Well-Being. 

Miss Lewis runs interventions that focus on developing children's social, emotional and mental health skills. The interventions include Lego therapy, mentoring, art therapy and self-esteem programmes, e.g Dove Project and Counselling. She is also one of our Mental Health First Aiders.

Miss Lewis also runs a Nurture Provision for those children who require additional support to help develop their social and emotional skills. She encourages language skills, turn taking and listening.

At Becontree Primary School, we now have 5 members of staff who have attended the Youth Mental Health First Aid Two Day course and are now Youth Mental Health First Aiders.

The course taught in-depth skills for providing first aid to people who may be experiencing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.  

Being a Youth Mental First Aider does not provide a person with the knowledge and skills to be a therapist. However, it does provide the first aider to recognise the symptoms of mental health issues, provide initial help and enable a young person to access appropriate professional help.

Useful links