Wellbeing Support
We are dedicated to the wellbeing of our students. We have many wellbeing routes for all year groups and work with lots of support services, making sure we provide the very best support.
Below you will find details on who we work with and how, as well as links to useful resources regarding wellbeing.
If you have concerns about a child there are a number of support organisations you can get in touch with as well as our own designated Safeguarding Lead, Mrs Massicks.
Our Wellbeing Team
Mrs Massicks
Safeguarding Lead
Mental Health First Aider
Orange Button Trained
Mr Waddington
Mental Health First Aider
Within our school we support our students through a variety of sessions:
- Self-regulation/ Emotional lit sessions
- Mentoring and nurturing during form time
- Nurture for inclusion
- Mentoring by our SEND team during form time
- Mental health first aiders – members of staff who arrange to speak to students every week
- Pastoral team who meet and support students regularly
- We teach mindfullness in form following work with the Anna Freud INSPIRE research programme
Wellbeing Routes
We have many wellbeing routes set up for our students. Each year group work with our wellbeing partners, building resilience and mental health awareness throughout their school journey.
We also have routes available in school and out of school, when needed,
Routes in each year group
Year 7 All students do ‘Who am I’ rolling programme by Be me. Immersion day around well being. |
Year 8 Complete students on rolling programme for ‘Who am I’. Kooth workshops resilience. |
Year 9 ‘She is’ for girls’ resilience. Immersion day; stress management and mental health session and decision making around risk taking behaviour session. |
Year 10 ‘She is’ by demand. Kooth workshops resilience and exams. |
Year 11 Support with exam stress as needed. |
Routes for the whole school
Support from form tutor Support from pastoral team; 1:1 meetings or check-ins Mentoring form time pastoral team Mentoring in form time SEND team Access to mental health first aiders Self-regulation sessions 1:1 or small group work in inclusion Emotional literacy sessions 1:1 in inclusion Understanding themselves and their need 1:1 and group sessions Referral to mental health practioners Kooth access 3 Mental Health First Aid trained staff available for students. Decider skills sessions. ‘Where to get support out of school’ stickers with contact numbers.
Overview of mental health: Tutor time discussion well being. Assemblies on mental health Awareness days discussed during form time Kooth assembly.
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Routes out of school (by referral, as needed)
SAFA
CAHMS
RAIST Team working with students 1:1 via CAMHs
CBT therapy private
Bluebell bereavement support
Substance Misuse Team 1:1 sessions
PAKMAN online sessions 1:1 relating to keeping safe online
Outreach workers from Women’s Community Matters working 1:1 with students
Pause for Thought Group and Time for Thought group with Women’s Community Matters.
Growth therapy group session including 1:1 session for certain students
Greenacres offer STILL technique for certain students 1:1
Youth Recovery Programme – 1:1 online CBT therapy for anxiety.
Young Carers.
What we do, and the support services we work with
Dowdales School is part of Operation Encompass which operates in conjunction with schools and police when a child attending school in Cumbria may have been affected by domestic abuse.
If you’re concerned about a child you can contact our designated Safeguarding Lead, Mrs Massicks.
Police will share information with us about police attended domestic abuse incidents involving any of our students before the start of the next school day.
The designated officer for Operation Encompass, will then attempt to contact the key adult via a phone call, at the earliest opportunity.
The sharing of information between the police and schools is to allow early intervention support to ultimately help students stay in school, and learn in a safe and secure environment.
The goal is to encourage engagement so as a school we can identify and assist as early as possible.
[Operation Encompass Child Victims Support Code]
For information see
Free and confidential counselling service for young people up to 18 years.
www.childline.org.uk
CAMHs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) – is the NHS mental health services for children and young people living with depression, food and eating, self-harm, abuse, violence, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety difficulties. To get help you need a referal which could come from us.
We work with Greenacres to offer the STILL technique on a 1:1 basis to help reduce anxiety in certain children.
SAFA (self harm awareness for all) aim to make a difference to the lives of those who self harm and those who support them. We work with SAFA to refer children for support.
01229 832269
Kooth.com – online mental wellbeing community that’s free and confidential.
Substance Misuse Team – they offer 1:1 sessions. Schools, parents, carers and young people can also reach out to the Cumbria Youth Substance Misuse team (CYSM). Visit the Westmorland and Furness Family hub for information and contact details for CYSM.
Others we work with:
- ‘She is’ Who am I?’ sessions with Be Me to build emotional resilience
- Mentoring ‘Who am I?’ team
- PAKMAN online sessions 1:1 relating to keeping safe online
- Outreach workers from Women’s Community Matters working 1:1 with students
- Pause for Thought Group and Time for Thought group with Women’s Community Matters.
- Mental Health Support Team – in school sessions weekly
- Referrals to CBT private company who provided 6 sessions around anxiety for a fee.
- Growth therapy group session, including 1:1 sessions for certain students
- RAIST Team working with students 1:1 via CAMHs
Programme of Support
Support programme | Description |
‘Who am I’ programme | Delivered by an outside provider. Be me have been working with us for many years. This programme helps students look at their strengths and weaknesses and provide tools to build their confidence, self esteem, and resilience. |
‘She is’ | For girls to understand their identity. Understand that we all have masks we hide behind. Then help them to build their self-esteem and make better choices and manage friendships better. |
Kooth | Online counselling service all year round, even in holidays. Has peer support and magazines articles of support all fully regulated. |
Mental health nurses | These are trained practitioners that come in to support students in school with lower-level mental health to try to prevent escalation. |
Self-regulation sessions | In school sessions delivered to support students with strategies to regulate themselves. |
Emotional literacy | In school sessions for students to have the space and time to talk through issues they are struggling with. |
Understanding themselves and their need | Understanding autism sessions. Some group work sessions to support and understand interactions and communication. |
Growth therapy | Students taken to an allotment where they are supported by a trained counsellor to talk to whilst they are working and learning on the allotment. |
Greenacres | A local field with small animals to look after they offer support on STILL technique to help manage anxiety whilst working with animals or in the outdoors. |
SAFA | Self-harm support service |
CAMHS | Child and adolescent mental health services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural, or mental health difficulties. |
Bluebell foundation | Bereavement counselling |
Pause for thought time for thought sessions | Pause for thought is for young women experiencing social isolation, mental illness, criminality, domestic and sexual abuse, substance misuse. Time for thought build confidence and self-worth in a safe environment through activities, discussions, and feedback from others. It is a process of self-acceptance within a non-judgemental space, allowing young women to explore and develop their individual identity. |
Young Carers
| Support for young carers who care for someone at home due to their illness, frailty, physical or mental health problems. |
‘Where to get support out of school’ stickers
| Stickers with contact numbers for SHOUT (crisis text) Kooth.com and a crisis line if students found themselves needing support outside of school hours.
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