Social, Emotional and Mental Health

Inclusion, Diversity and SEMH It has been good to see our pupils engaging in so many different activities this week as we celebrate inclusion and diversity. From an SEMH perspective, these have been some of the positives:

S = Social - pupils and staff have had the opportunity to try out new experiences together such as joining a Bollywood dance-off or a scavenger hunt in Regents Park. In order to form and maintain friendships, it is important to have shared experiences - and the pupils have had lots of these to talk about this week!

E = Emotional - there has been much talk about how inclusion and diversity can influence our emotions and the importance of helping everyone feel valued and respected. The messages have been positive though we have also acknowledged some of the challenges people may experience when they feel ‘different’. Being able to talk about our feelings is so important for mental health and well-being and we have heard some lovely stories of pupils sharing at home some of the experiences they have had during this special week.

MH = Mental Health - good mental health is often the result of feeling included, having supportive social networks and bein

g open and honest about our emotions. We hope that the experiences the pupils have had this week will contribute to positive mental health awareness, whether by having engaged in a new, fun activity, learning about other people and developing their empathy or simply by having fun and a change to their usual routine.

Sue Madraszek