Knole Academy is a proud member of ‘The Wellbeing Hub’ from Teen Tips, supporting the mental health of our whole school community.
Using this link, parents can view the various resources designed to support young people’s social, emotional and educational needs.
Wellbeing
The well-being of our students is a key priority for the school. We want all our students to be resilient enough to cope with life’s demands. There are five elements of wellbeing which we promote around the academy and through our broad curriculum:
- Connect with other people. Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing.
- Be physically active. Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness, evidence shows it can improve your mental wellbeing.
- Learn new skills. This helps to boost self-confidence, self-esteem, build a sense of purpose and helps to connect with others.
- Give to others. Acts of giving and kindness can create positive feelings and a sense of reward.
- Pay attention to the present moment. Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.
Tips to Improve Your Wellbeing-
- Relax and lower your stress (listen to music, go for a walk, try mindfulness)
- Learn new things and be creative (play an instrument, draw or bake)
- Spend time in nature
- Be in contact with others
- Look after your body (drink enough water, eat healthily, do some exercise)
- Get enough sleep
Many of us need additional support to keep our emotional well-being in check. At Knole, we currently have a range of provisions to promote positive emotional wellbeing.
Mental Health
Sometimes, we feel that we may have mental health needs (or that our children have) or are experiencing traumatic experiences.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point in their life. For example, you may feel worried and anxious about sitting an exam or having a medical test or job interview. Anxiety is different to depression, but they can come together.
Depression
Depression is a mood disorder where you feel very down all the time. Depression can happen as a reaction to something like abuse, bullying or family breakdown, but it can also run in families. Depression often develops alongside anxiety. Depression is one of the most common types of mental illness.
LGBTQ+
While this is not a mental health issue, it can lead to anxiety, depression or stress, for example. For LGBTQ+ children and young people, connecting and sharing online can be a vital way to interact with peers, educate themselves and find solutions to issues that friends or family may not understand. However, there are also areas of risk for young people within the LGBTQ+ community when interacting online.
Domestic Abuse
The government define domestic abuse as any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to, the following types of abuse: psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional.
Bereavement
Grief is universal. At some point in everyone’s life, there will be at least one encounter with grief. It may be from the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, or any other change that alters life as you know it. It may also be triggered by the knowledge that someone is terminally ill.
Grief is also very personal. It’s not very neat or linear. It doesn’t follow any timelines or schedules. You may cry, become angry, withdraw or feel empty. None of these things are unusual or wrong. Everyone grieves differently, but there are some commonalities in the stages and order of feelings experienced during grief.
Self-Harm
Self-harm is when you hurt yourself as a way of dealing with very difficult feelings, painful memories or overwhelming situations and experiences. Some people have described self-harm as a way to:
Papyrus is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. They have created a BAFTA-award-winning animation video called ‘Sinking Feeling’. The video tackles the heartbreaking reality that many children and young people suffer silently without the necessary help and support.
Online Safety
Online safety refers to the act of staying safe online. It is also commonly known as Internet safety, e-safety and cyber safety. It encompasses all internet-enabled devices, from PCs and laptops to smartphones and tablets.
Being safe online means individuals are protecting themselves and others from online harms and risks which may jeopardise their personal information, lead to unsafe communications, or even affect their mental health and well-being.
Useful Resources
Online Counselling and Support
MindFresh is an App and a website designed to meet the growing need for better communication and support in children and young mental and emotional healthcare. Click here for more details.
Togetherall – The heart of Togetherall is its community of members, who support, help each other and share what’s troubling them in a safe and anonymous environment. The site is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can find support simply by signing up here.
Kooth offers emotional and mental health support to 11-19 year olds (or 25 with SEND). Young people choose an avatar and can have ‘drop in’ chats with a counsellor or therapist, book a 1:1 session, or talk to other young people anonymously by clicking here.
Childline is a counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday in the United Kingdom provided by the NSPCC. Get help and advice about a wide range of issues, talk to a counsellor online, call us on 0800 1111, send Childline an email, or post on the message boards here.
Apps and Websites for Wellbeing Skills and Support
WYSA (Google Play/Apple store) – an ’emotionally intelligent’ penguin that learns to react to the emotions you express. Over time it gets to know you better and proactively reaches out to help you. It uses evidence-based CBT techniques to help you feel better. You can chat with WYSA using text and photo responses.
Headspace is a site which uses meditation and mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and help relieve anxiety. Click here to find out more about the app.
Pacifica gives you psychologist-designed tools to address stress, anxiety, and depression based on CBT, mindfulness, relaxation, and mood/health tracking. Calm down in moments of stress or anxiety using deep breathing, muscle relaxation, positive visualization, mindfulness meditations, and more (Google Play/Apple store)
Stop, Breathe & Think Kids is a mindful games app designed for kids age 5-10. Kids can check how they are feeling using emojis and try mindful meditations around those emotions. Stickers reward progress and keep mindful activities engaging. (Google Play/Apple store)
Young Carers
A carer is someone of any age who provides unpaid support to family or friends who could not manage without this help. This could be caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems. Carers Trust helps young carers to cope with their caring role through specialised services across the UK. Click here to learn more.
Autism Support
The National Autistic Society is the leading UK charity for autistic people (including those with Asperger syndrome) and
Society their families. More information here.
The Kent Autistic Trust provides confidential support, reliable information, practical advice and emotional support, to families, parents/carers, professionals and individuals affected by autism across
Kent and Medway.
The Kent Autistic Trust Website
Contact: Jo Blamires (Family Support Officer)
01634 405168 • jo@kentautistic.com
Beams is a local charity that supports disabled children, young people and their families via advice, short breaks and direct
payments. Click here for more • 01322 668501
Suicide Support
Are you, or is a young person you know, not coping with life? For confidential suicide prevention advice contact:
Papyrus Website • 0800 068 4141 • pat@papyrus-uk.org
Zero Suicide Alliance is a collaboration of NHS trusts, businesses and individuals who are committed to suicide prevention in the UK and beyond. The alliance raises awareness and provides free suicide prevention training at: Zero Suicide Alliance Website
Bereavement Support
Holding On Letting Go is a Kent-based charity that helps children to cope with the death of someone close to them.
Holding On Letting Go Website • 03445 611 511 • info@holg.org.uk
Cruse Bereavement Care is the leading national charity for bereaved people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We offer support, advice and information when someone dies and work to enhance society’s care of bereaved people.
Cruse Bereavement Care Website • 0808 808 1677
Slide Away offers support to children and young people in West Kent who have been bereaved of a family member or friend. We also support children and young people who have a parent or sibling with a life limiting illness • Slide Away Website