Wellbeing and Pastoral Care

At Castletown Primary, the wellbeing and mental health of our children, staff and families is at the heart of everything we do. We are passionate about creating a happy, supportive school where everyone feels valued, listened to and able to flourish.

Five Ways to Wellbeing

We are committed to helping our pupils understand the importance of looking after both their mental and physical health, giving them the tools that they need to build resilience, confidence and positivity as they grow. We want our children to feel ready to face new challenges, adapt to change and develop a strong sense of wellbeing that will support them throughout their lives. As part of this, we embrace the Five Ways to Wellbeing, helping children to build healthy habits that can be used both in school and at home. These simple but powerful approaches encourage our whole community to connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and giving. These help everyone to feel happier, healthier and more positive, both inside and out.

Our approach is proactive and preventative, with a clear focus on early identification and timely intervention to reduce the risk of longer-term mental health difficulties. We achieve this by ensuring that support is provided at the earliest possible stage. Staff are trained to recognise emerging concerns and respond appropriately, enabling pupils to develop effective coping strategies and resilience that will support them throughout their lives.

We are committed to offering a comprehensive package of support that extends across the whole school community. This includes guidance and training for staff, as well as advice and support for families, to promote a shared understanding of mental health and wellbeing.

 
Castletown Catch Up

A key element of our provision is our “Castletown Catch-Up” programme, led by Karen, our dedicated practitioner. Karen provides weekly sessions (Mondays), offering pupils a safe and supportive environment in which they can express themselves through discussion, creative activities and play. She is highly experienced in supporting children with a range of emotional and mental health needs and uses an integrative, research-informed therapeutic approach tailored to each individual.

The Castletown Catch-Up service includes:

• One-to-one counselling for pupils experiencing difficulties
• Opportunities for pupils to book short sessions to talk about their worries
• Group work focusing on areas such as friendship, self-esteem and emotional development
• Training for school leaders and staff to enhance whole-school mental health provision
• Professional consultations for staff regarding behaviour and wellbeing
• Advice and support for parents to help them support their child effectively
• Structured group programmes using art and discussion to build confidence and self-esteem

The impact of our work is clear. Evidence demonstrates that our approach leads to meaningful improvements in pupils’ wellbeing and engagement. Feedback from families is consistently positive and the support provided through Karen and our Castletown Catch-Up is fully integrated into our wider whole-school wellbeing strategy. 

SEND

At our school, every child is supported to thrive. Our experienced and highly skilled SENDCo leads our provision with care and expertise, ensuring that children receive the support they need to succeed and feel confident in their learning. We work closely with a range of specialist professionals when needed, drawing on expert advice to provide the very best support for our pupils. Strong partnerships with families are at the heart of this process. Open communication between home and school ensures that parents/carers are involved every step of the way, because your insight truly matters. Just as importantly, we listen to our children. Their thoughts, feelings and experiences help shape the support we provide, ensuring every child feels happy, valued and able to flourish as part of our school family.  

Healthy Heads

The Healthy Heads Team is a school based mental health service based in Sunderland and provided by South Tyneside & Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. The team is built up of Primary Mental Health Specialist, Speech and Language Therapist, Primary Mental Health Workers, Senior Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP), EMHPs and trainee EMHPs. They work with school to support children, young people and their families who are struggling with Mild-Moderate mental health and emotional well-being difficulties. This will be done via a whole school approach, 1:1 or small group work (via referral only) or specific parent support. 

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Saying ‘NO’ to Bullying

 
Our Year 5 and Year 6 pupils attended an afternoon workshop at our local comprehensive school, CVEA, focused on anti-bullying awareness and pupil leadership. The session brought together children from several local primary schools and provided a valuable opportunity for collaboration and shared learning.

During the workshop, pupils developed their understanding of what constitutes bullying behaviour and explored effective strategies for reporting concerns and supporting others. They were encouraged to reflect on their role in promoting a positive and inclusive school environment, both within our school and the wider community.

At Castletown Primary School, we take all concerns related to bullying extremely seriously. We are committed to early identification and swift, effective intervention to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all pupils. Our approach is underpinned by our core school values, with a strong emphasis on kindness, respect and mutual support. We actively encourage our pupils to demonstrate these values in their daily interactions, helping to foster a caring and inclusive ethos across the school.
 

Prevent Bus

Our Year 5 and Year 6 pupils took part in an engaging and informative safeguarding workshop, with a particular focus on the principles of the Prevent Duty UK. This important aspect of our curriculum supports pupils in understanding how to stay safe, recognise potential risks, and respond appropriately to concerns both in school and in the wider community.

The session was delivered in a unique and memorable setting, as the Prevent Bus visited our school for the day. This innovative learning environment provided pupils with an interactive experience, encouraging open discussion and reflection around topics such as online safety, peer influence, and how to seek help when needed.

This learning makes a strong contribution to pupils’ personal development and wellbeing. Pupils were supported to build confidence in expressing their views, develop resilience when faced with challenges, and deepen their understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. The workshop also promoted key life skills, including critical thinking, respectful communication and making informed choices, essential for their future lives both in and beyond school.

Through this experience, pupils developed a greater sense of responsibility for their own wellbeing and that of others. They were reminded of the importance of speaking to a trusted adult if they have any worries or concerns, reinforcing our school’s culture of openness, support and safeguarding.

We are grateful to the team from Together for Children for delivering such a valuable and age-appropriate session. Their work plays a key role in supporting schools and communities to promote the safety, wellbeing and positive development of all children.