At Killylea Primary School we are keen to develop pupils' well-being by teaching them skills to cope with the roller-coaster of life.

What is well-being?

"A state of well-being in which the individual realises her or her own abilities; can cope with the normal stresses of life' can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her own community".

For our pupils this means:

"...feeling good and strong in our minds and bodies, having energy, getting along with and helping others, knowing our strengths and feeling proud because we are doing our best.  It means we can cope with the little problems and disappointments of life.  It means enjoying life, being grateful for what we have and accepting ourselves just as we are!"

Nuturing children's well-being can lead to increased academic performance, positive behaviour and better life outcomes.   Research has shown that happy people are more creative, can multi-task better, are more tolerant of boring tasks and are more helpful and sociable.

In Killylea Primary School, we foster a whole school culture of well-being through:

• strong positive relationships
• sense of belonging and shared identity
• appreciation and valuing of academic and non-academic achievements
• participative approach to the management of the school where the pupil voice is heard
• clear rules and high expectations

In school, each pupil is taught the following:

• breathing and simple relaxation techniques
• how to recognise and respond to big emotions
• encouraging discussion and openess 
• how to be a good friend and support others
• how to be an upstander for bullying type behaviour

To support our pupils and staff wellbeing we have implemented the following:

• longer mid morning break
• end of term Wellbeing Days
• regular mindfulness sessions
• gratitude journal
• extensive outdoor learning opportunities
• resilience building programmes
• regular anti-bullying assemblies and lessons supported by our Kindness Kids [anti-bullying ambassadors]
• participation in Anti-bullying week
• opportunites to participate in mental health workshops and programmes
• whole school ethos of openess
• pupil voice - listening to and responding to pupil ideas and requests
• one to one emotional literacy sessions as required

If you have any concerns about your child, please speak to your child's class teacher in the first instance.

LINKS TO USEFUL RESOURCES:

https://parentingmentalhealth.org

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/mental-health-parenting/

https://aware-ni.org/be-aware

https://www.amh.org.uk/?s=parents

https://www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/parents-and-carers/supporting-your-child-s-mental-health/