We place great emphasis on the Emotional health and Wellbeing of all members of our school family through the following:

• Emotional Health and Wellbeing is an integral part of our SIP and a large amount of resources and time have been dedicated to it. Mrs Howard is our  Emotional Health and Wellbeing Lead and  we also have an  EHWB Team  comprising of: Headteacher (Mrs O’Dwyer), Deputy Head/ Restorative approaches Lead (Miss Dommett), EHWB lead (Mrs Howard), SENDCO (Mrs Burrows) and PSHE lead (Miss Fahy).  In addition, Mrs Howard and Mrs Taylor are trained in the EHWB toolkit and can support individual children.
• An Arts and Culture team has also been set up to ensure that children are supported across all areas of the curriculum to share their God-given talents.
• Behaviour reflects the high standard expected of all the children. ‘The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Their eagerness and very positive attitudes towards school and their learning contribute exceptionally well to their outstanding achievement.’ (OfSTED, November 2014)
• Children and adults show high levels of respect for each other and positive relationships are evident throughout school. ‘Staff have exceptionally positive relationships with all pupils. They take every opportunity to get to know the pupils as individuals so that their skills, interests and abilities can be nurtured and celebrated.’ (OfSTED, November 2014)
• The vast majority of children think deeply about their own and others’ experiences and try to relate them to a clear set of personal values. They have a keen interest in ethical issues, act in a principled manner and understand the importance of reassessing values in the light of experience.
• A Restorative Approach to defusing conflicts is now at the heart of our school behaviour policy.  All staff have had appropriate training and children are encouraged to use the steps to defuse disagreements themselves.  Staff appraisal has also been linked to this area of the SIP. Therefore, children resolve conflicts intelligently and seek consensus while accepting the right of others to hold different opinions and beliefs. They have a very good insight, based on first-hand experience, into similarities and differences between their own and others’ cultures and how these are constantly changing. They are open to new ideas, appreciate cultural diversity and challenge racism.
• Circle time is now at the forefront of practice and teachers hold circle time to ‘Check In’ with their classes at the beginning of the week.  Teachers use this time to approach situations that are pertinent to their individual classes.  Teachers continue to hold specific circle time sessions in times of need.
• GIFT Team members, playground leaders, prefects, buddies and special friends look after and care for other children, as do all of our children at St Winifred’s. ‘Pupils play harmoniously and get on extremely well with each other and with staff. Pupils support each other and are thoughtful and considerate. This is reflected in their treatment of anyone alone at breaktimes  or their eagerness to help charities with fund-raising including CAFOD, Stockport Food Bank and a number of national and international charities.’ (OfSTED, November 2014)
• Everyone goes to great lengths to ensure the children feel safe. Every classroom has a ‘worry box’ to enable children to share any concerns with their teacher. ‘The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils have an excellent knowledge of how to stay safe and keep others safe. They eagerly told inspectors about safe cycling, road safety, stranger danger and how to keep safe on the internet.’ (OfSTED, November 2014)
• The school has a very effective policy for Safeguarding and Child Protection in place and ALL staff and governors receive annual Basic Safeguarding awareness training. The Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher are both trained as Designated Safeguarding Leads. Excellent provision is made for children at risk and the LA guidelines are followed consistently.
• The Welfare provision for the pupils is further enhanced through the allocation of extra provision for the most vulnerable children. ‘Governors…have made particularly good use of additional funding for pupils eligible for the pupil premium to ensure they are progressing as well as others in school…’ (OfSTED, November 2014). This includes the employment of a social worker from CARITAS to support vulnerable children and families to enhance wellbeing and positive self –images; as well as employing a music specialist to nurture the gifts and talents of such children.
• Outside agencies work closely with the school as appropriate to specific needs, including educating children on personal, social and emotional issues.
• Quality before and after school care is provided for families needing extra support.
• The school follows the Diocesan guidelines for Sex and Relationships Education and use the Catholic scheme, ‘A Journey in Love’. Children in Year 6 also use materials from the Archdiocese of Birmingham’s scheme: ‘All about Me’.
• The PSHE policy has recently been updated which ensures current issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, cyber bullying, racial tensions are covered and explored.   In September 2020  the PSHE curriculum was reviewed and updated to ensure that the children are equipped for the pressures of life in modern society. We use the Jigsaw PSHE scheme throughout school.
• To support children who have experienced loss, we use the ‘Rainbows’ programme and five members of staff have been trained as facilitators. The Headteacher is the Rainbows Co-ordinator.
• The school now has its own outdoor classroom and a member of the SLT is the Forrest School Coordinator.  The work they complete encourages our learners to think about the welfare of the world which God gave us.
• The CARITAS Ambassadors are beginning to raise awareness of how they and the other learners within school can support the welfare of members of our wider community.
• The school works closely with local high schools, to ensure that sensitive issues are given strong priority in KS2/3 transition arrangements.
• Children love being at St Winifred’s . ‘A typical pupil comment was, “I love this school because you learn so much and the staff really care about us.”’ (OfSTED, November 2014)

WELLBEING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Please refer to our ‘Parents’ Tab under the ‘Support for Parents’ section to access some useful resources for parents/ carers and children during these unprecedented times.