Resources
World mental Health Day 10/10/2022
Week commencing 3rd October we had a mental health focus week to prepare students for World Mental Health Day on Monday 10th October. The focus was on self-help. All students in College had an assembly about mental health and how they can best support their own wellbeing. During the assembly, the newly launched Student Wellbeing Hub was also relaunched to students with useful resources and videos for students to access.
Students were also introduced to foods and drinks that can contribute to an increase in anxiety. Many of these are food that are high in fat or sugar. Students were shocked to hear that a pink Lucozade bottle contains up to 11 teaspoons of sugar.
In the heart space, students were able to find out more through information leaflets and support from the wellbeing desk at lunchtimes. Students were also challenged on some healthy and non-healthy foods.
Mental Health Awareness Week 10/01/2022
Mental Health Awareness Week took place w/c 10th January. The last focused week was about raising awareness, this week focused on wellbeing through practical strategies. Students were introduced to 'Mars'
Mindfulness
Awareness
Relationships
Self-care
The students were made aware of charities that support mental health and how to live a calmer and healthier life. Over the week the following took place:
- A focused assembly for all year groups about practical strategies to support wellbeing.
- Student bulletin strategies for a better night's sleep. We ran a poster competition. These pictures would be used in future communication, the winners being:
- All citizenship lessons had 20minutes of the lesson dedicated to mental health and wellbeing
- Wellbeing support desk in the heart space
- Some students got the chance to make healthy smoothies, and these were sold to staff
- Key focus display of mental health and awareness books in the library
- Awareness posters around College
The Careers Team have been developing subject guides and we used these as a basis to signpost students to different careers and skills linked to subjects around the college. Students were involved in the week in workshops, activities and we also presented to every year group in their assemblies including sharing this great video focusing on the world of work for 2030 and the ambitious programmes for Barnsley that they will be a part of. Barnsley 2030 We also highlighted careers within the College itself from Teacher to Operations Director. Throughout the week we had businesses coming into the Careers Café at lunch including local companies Masonite, Berneslai Homes and Naylor.
Our departmental signposting is staying as it has provided great talking points and really has started our students and staff thinking about careers paths and skills.
Mental Health Awareness Week 29/11/2021
At Horizon Community College, we take Mental Health and Wellbeing very seriously. As a College we have appointed two Mental Health Leads; Mrs Wake who works very closely with outside agencies to enable us to offer the best possible support for our students, monitoring and tracking outcomes and Mrs Ola-Craig who works to ensure we drive Mental Health and Wellbeing awareness across College.
We are very fortunate at Horizon and work with a number of agencies to offer students the best possible support that is available to us. Some of these agencies work with students remotely but many come into school to carry out direct work with students. In-house, we have a dedicated team of staff who work in a non-teaching capacity as part of the wellbeing team. This includes:
Mrs Ola-Craig and Mrs Wake - Senior Mental Health Leads
Mrs Booth and Mrs Wake Deputy Safeguarding Leads
Mrs White
Mrs Derbyshire
Mrs Wilson
Miss Gibson
Miss Palmowski
Mrs Fielding
Having a healthy sense of mental wellbeing has many benefits, it lifts your mood, promotes resilience in difficult situations and helps you get the most out of life. Taking a few moments for yourself each day will help you be happier and become more resilient . Throughout the year we hold three focused Mental Health Awareness Weeks, the first of which took place during the week commencing 29th of November.
Each week will have a slightly different focus. The focus for the one in November was on raising awareness and understanding our emotions. The pandemic and especially the lockdowns have affected lots of people in different ways. Students learnt that anyone can be affected by low moods. They learnt that having a growth mindset and doing new challenges can create a healthy mind and contribute to overall wellbeing.
Each year group had a focused assembly that introduced students to what we mean by mental health. There were case studies of people who showed signs of needing support, this allowed students to recognise what to look for and where to go for help both within school and externally. During the assembly, students were also introduced to the weekly challenge card, encouraging a wellbeing strategy per day to create a healthy mind eg going for a walk, decluttering, and doing something nice for yourself. Each completed card is awarded an achievement point and put into a draw to win one of two infinity pads or a wellbeing journal.
The Citizenship department reinforced the importance of mental health by dedicating 20 minutes of the start of each lesson that week on mental health and developing a growth mindset. Students learnt about some of the language associated with someone who has poor mental health and were introduced to different conditions along with the stigma and negative stereotypes that someone can be labelled with.
Over lunchtime, students were able to visit the mental health and wellbeing desk where they were able to pick up leaflets and ask for advice. They were offered advice on sleep, creating a healthy mind and tips for supporting a friend. The library also showcased a display of the wellbeing books that are available for loan. These can be loaned at any time.
Students were finally introduced to the Wellbeing Fair that is running in January. We have managed to secure a number of agencies to come into school on Tuesday 11th January. Staff, students, and parents will be able to ask for advice and find out more about the work these agencies and charities do.
Our next Mental Health week starting 10th January will focus on practical strategies to create a healthy mind such as relaxation methods.
Resources
