Mental Health & Wellbeing
If you have any worries or concerns please email worried@northstowesc.org and someone from the safeguarding team will help you.
Recommended Mental Health Support Websites
Welcome to the NSC Wellbeing site. Below is a list of recommended websites, which we have split the into two areas, one for parents and one for students. We would always recommend that anyone struggling with their mental health should look at the support offered on the websites below. They offer a range of information, advice, support strategies and links to websites specific to a need.
If anyone has a serious mental health concern, we would always suggest you seek medical advice from your doctor/ GP or by calling NHS direct (111).
We would always like to know about the wellbeing of our students and would encourage you to speak to someone in school so we can support you/ your child in the best way possible.
Students:
Firstly, well done for getting this far. It’s great that you have found your way to the website and hopefully you will find some of the links below helpful.
We all go through some struggles during our lives and these are perfectly normal. We need to be a little worried about an exam or a big sports match because it makes us focus and perform to our best. Often the best way of managing tough things is to talk about it. We would always say that talking to your friends, someone in your family, your teacher or even a doctor is the first step to feeling better. It might feel scary but without talking to someone no one will know that you need help. The websites below are a great way to help you to understand what you’re going through and how you can access extra support.
Useful Sites:
Resource | Link |
Selfharm UK is the lead UK charity dedicated to supporting young people impacted by self-harm. | |
Beat has helplines, online support and a network of UK-wide self-help groups to help beat eating disorders. | |
Students Against Depression offers information and resources validated by health professionals alongside tips and advice from students who have experienced it all themselves. | |
Get Connected is a free confidential helpline service for young people under 25 who need help, but don’t know where to turn. Support is given by the telephone helpline, email or webchat. There is also a free telephone counselling service. | |
Show Racism the Red Card is the UK’s anti-racism educational charity to help tackle racism. | |
Ditch the Label is one of the UK’s largest anti-bullying charities providing digital advice, support and training for young people. Their goal is to end bullying and to resolve the harmful impacts once and for all. | |
Caring Together supports young carers age 8-19 in Cambridgeshire. | |
Caram Voice offers help (called advocacy) to young people who are living in care or have recently left care. They can also help you if you cannot live at home anymore and feel you need extra support and services. | |
STARS offers support to children and young people in Cambridgeshire who have experienced the death of an important person in their lives and those who know that someone important to them is going to die. | |
FRANK is a national drug education service, providing targeted and accurate information on drugs and alcohol. | |
Alateen is for teenage relatives and friends of alcoholics. Alateen is part of Al-Anon. | http://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/alateen/ or call 0800 0086 811 |
Nacoa provides information, advice and support for everyone affected by a parent’s drinking. | |
QUIT is the UK charity that helps smokers to stop and young people to never start. | |
Gamcare offers a telephone help line for people with gambling problems in the United Kingdom. Also offers an Internet chat help line. | |
Brook is the UK’s largest young people’s sexual health charity providing sexual health services, support and advice to young people. | |
Stonewall campaigns for the equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people across Britain. | |
Cambridgeshire Child and Adolescent Substance Use Service (CASUS) provides information, support and specialist treatment in Cambridgeshire around drug and alcohol use to young people and their families. | |
LawStuff gives free legal information to young people. It is run by Coram Children’s Legal Centre, which provides more detailed information both over the phone and online. | |
Pinpoint is an independent information, support and involvement network for parents who have children with additional needs and disabilities in Cambridgeshire. Their website is a ‘one-stop shop’ for parents telling them what services are available, how to get support, who they can speak to and issues that may interest them. |
At Northstowe Secondary College, we care about the Mental Health and Wellbeing of all of our students, you will find below our Mental Health Strategy. Our Feeling worried or anxious page has lots of helpful information on support services available to you and resources for self-help.
Mental Health Strategy
Intent:
At Northstowe Secondary College, we firmly believe that the mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff is ‘everybody’s business’ with all members of our school community, including governors, students, parents, teaching, admin and support staff having a role to play in its promotion.
Implementation:
Northstowe Secondary College is working towards the Carnegie Mental Health Award in Schools. It is our belief that good mental health and wellbeing in schools can best be realised through a whole school positive culture alongside specific, targeted actions and practices.
We are keen to secure an environment in which all of our students are resilient, eager to learn, feel valued and look forward to coming to school every day. Staff also have a responsibility to set a good example in matters relating to their own mental health and wellbeing. Key procedures:
- Simple, clear and coherent mental health and wellbeing strategy.
- Mental health and wellbeing lead who works alongside a trained Mental Health Champion (Place2Be)
- Raise awareness of mental health, through assemblies, ‘How to Thrive’ curriculum, staff training, parent information sessions, newsletters and displays.
- Each week, all students receive 1 hour of “How to Thrive”. A fully designed curriculum that teaches students’ skills to develop their resilience, to enable them to deal with life’s challenges and to thrive. Students will learn 5 key coping strategies:
- Relaxation activities (linked to the Sport England, increasing Physical Activity Plan)
- Thinking about something good
- Leaving a Situation
- Talking to Someone
- Mental Games
- Provide excellent mental health support through the Mental Health and Wellbeing Wave / The Nest (e.g. YMCA Counselling or Dog and Equine Therapy). Partnership work with other agencies, professionals and forums.
- Allow students to take a lead in developing what they feel is most important for their wellbeing e.g. The creation of space place.
- A focused wellbeing programme for staff through structured CPD.
- Securing the Carnegie Mental Health in Schools Award.
Meet Oscar and Mickey, our therapy dogs!
As part of our Mental Health support, we provide canine therapy. Michelle and her lovely dogs Oscar and Mickey work with many of our students to support them. We love seeing them around NSC, they brightens up everybody’s day! Mickey is now a qualified pets as therapy dog at just 14 months old, following an advanced training process.
If you want to learn a little bit more about Oscar and Mickey along with the other Meridian Trust therapy dogs, take a look below!
Worried about something? Report it.
In the Northstowe family it is important that we all work together to help with any problems you may have in or out of school. We want to make sure that our school is a safe, friendly and fun place to be, please get in touch using the link below.
This is a CONFIDENTIAL way to stop you or a friend suffering. You don’t have to leave your details if you don’t want to. Email worried@northstowesc.org
Carnegie Mental Health in Schools Award
We are delighted to confirm that following verification, Northstowe Secondary College have been awarded the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools ‘School Mental Health Award’ – Silver Status! The School Mental Health Award lead Mr Russell is incredibly passionate about this work and continues to work extremely hard with students.
