Monday 10th October was World Mental Health Day and we celebrated the day by wearing yellow to show we know our feelings matter. We collected a voluntary contribution to support @youngmindsuk which is a great charity that supports children, young people and their parents so they can access the mental health support they need. Mental health and well-being is an important part of life at MTB Primary and our Lead Mental Health and Wellbeing practitioner Mrs. Bisby who is in the process of completing a Government Funded Lead Mental Health CPD planned a fantastic day for us all. We are so proud of the work we do every day to help keep our children, staff and community happy and healthy. We came together to wear yellow to support the Young Mind's #HelloYellow campaign to show young people they are not alone with their mental health. We have had some thought provoking conversations today, sharing ideas of little things we can do each week to improve our mental health. @youngmindsuk #learning #excellence #opportunity #primarylearning #primaryschool #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters So in honour of #helloyellow we wish everyone brighter days ! #youngmind #youngmindsmatter #childrensmentalhealth #worldmentalhealthday #mentalhealthmatters https://www.youngminds.org.uk/support-us/fundraising/sign-up-to-helloyellow

Thank you for all your support in making our Mental Health awareness day on Monday such a success. It is so important for ALL of us and it is important that we support our children and young people to understand that we need to label and understand our thoughts and feelings in order to be mentally healthy. Here at MTB our Mental Wellbeing is one of our Core Principles that drive what we do and our determination to support our community with their emotional health and wellbeing. Taking time to understand our mental health as well as how you feel day to day or in certain situations is vitally important to our quality of life. For our young school community with developing minds this is no exception. We have honoured this pledge through sourcing DofE funding for Mrs. Bisby to attend Anna Fraud Lead Mental Health training to ensure that none of us feel ill-equipped or a child unsupported in their journey. We are opening up conversations calmly and confidently encouraging the children to understand that mental health is something we all have, and that we should be aware of it and learn skills to look after it. Importantly, we have been teaching the children they can also ask for help when they need support. We believe it is vitally important that they understand how there can be changes in their bodies which are connected to their feelings and thoughts. For example, when our heart beats very quickly after we have been running, the same is true when we are nervous or scared. Please ensure that you ‘check in’ regularly with your child/ren to chat with them and ask the opening questions to help them talk about their mental health and to ensure that they know who they can talk to when they are feeling worried, anxious, uncomfortable about something. It is imperative that children know who to talk to and to ask for help when they need it. Please do not hesitate to come and chat if you are worried about your child or yourself. You as parents/carers are the primary care givers and your mental health is as important. If you need support or are worried and need signposting for help do not hesitate to pick up the phone or speak to me on the gate and we can have a cup of tea and a chat – our door is always open to anyone in our MTB community and everyone and everything matters however small or large– We are here for you,