For information on the Trust Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy please click here
At Meridian House we aim to promote positive wellbeing and mental health for our school community. We pursue this using universal and targeted approaches with staff, pupils and families.
At times quality first teaching alone at Meridian House may not be enough to meet the needs of our students. If this is the case, in partnership with the home school, Meridian House may implement a range of specific and targeted therapeutic interventions, designed to individual needs. We are committed to working in partnership with a range of therapeutic services, education and community stakeholders to make ensure we do all that we can to make students successful at Meridian House.
Underpinning this is Meridian Trust’s commitment to its vision that every child is known and supported to achieve their potential. This commitment also includes that the Trust’s school’s communities are supported by the services we partner with, for example:
•CAMHS
•Social care supporting alcohol, drug and substance abuse
•Welfare support with agencies including EHA, TAC, CIN
•Equine and dog well-being and therapy
•Home School Counsellors Kooth, online support with professional counsellors
Our success comes from us working together, caring, being kind and looking after each other. We promote positive mental health in our school community by ensuring everyone can look after and develop their wellbeing. This is the first and most important tier of embedded emotional wellbeing support.
As a Trust we promote the NHS “5 Steps to Wellbeing” to our pupils, staff and families:
Connect with other people
Be physically active
Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)
Learn new skills
Give to others
Need someone to talk to?
Don’t worry if you usually get help & support in school. During the time we are closed you can pick from the suggested list of services if you need to talk to someone:
| Service Name | Information/Support Offered | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| NHS 111Mental Health Support | Call to speak to a first responder from the NHS. Open 24/7. National. Available to everyone. | Call 111 and press option 2 |
| Young Minds | Text message support. Open 24/7. National. Texts are free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus. They also have a helpful website with lots of self-help resources. | Text YM to 85258 www.youngminds.org.uk/ |
| Childline | Call, chat online or email. Open 24/7. National. Available to anyone under 19 years old. They also have a helpful website with lots of self-help resources. | 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk |
| Samaritans | Call or email. Open 24/7. National. Available to everyone. They also have a self-help app. | 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org |
| Shout | Text message support. Open 24/7. National. Available to everyone. | Text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 |
| The Mix | Call, email, live chat, telephone counselling service and crisis text messaging service. Open 24/7. Available to anyone under 25 years old. | 0808 808 4994 www.themix.org.uk/ |
| ChatHealth | Text Messaging Service for 13-19 year olds. Open weekdays, term time only. Local. | Text 07480635443 |
| School Nursing | Call to speak to a member of the Cambridgeshire school nurse team. Local. Available to young people. | 0300 029 5050 |
| Kooth | Online support. Open daily until 10pm. Also has peer-to-peer support moderated forums, and a range of self-help materials. Available to young people. | www.Kooth.com |
Coping Strategies
| Relaxation | Mindfulness Colouring: colouring a picture.Controlled breathing and progressive muscle relaxation: Rectangular Breathing – using windows, doors, picture etc. Breathe in and out deeply as your eyes follow the rectangle. Box Breathing – breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. 7-11 Breathing – in for 7, out for 11, or as long as you can manage. |
| Thinking about something good | Example: sit and draw a picture about a time when you were on holiday. Think about: What were you doing? What could you see? Who were you with? What were you wearing? What could you smell? |
| Leaving a Situation | Leaving the room and coming back later. |
| Talking to Someone | Talking to someone, including assertiveness and seeking advice and support. |
| Mental Games | Practice mental games to shift your attention (2-3 minutes): Alphabet games (naming someone famous for each pair of initials: AB, BC, CD). Category games naming as many categories within 2 minutes: vegetables, flavour of ice creams etc. Memory games: naming all the teachers in the school. |