Intent

The team at The Grange Academy is passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people. We believe in teamwork: working with each other, with teachers and colleagues across the school, with the wider school community, and most importantly with the young people in our school. We act with determination. Whatever issues our pupils, their families, the school, our team, or the community face, we always support, respond, and pull together. Finally, we are committed to making a difference; we are not passive players in young people’s lives but active participants who can and do make a real difference.

Like the weather, our mental health can change, and at times it may leave us feeling tired and lacking in motivation; struggling to get on with day-to-day life and activities. We help our students to realise their potential through developing their resilience of coping and responding to the challenges of life. The school, led by our Mental Health Lead, Miss Vernon, is committed to improving the outcomes of students and adopting a whole school approach to mental health, ensuring all parts of the school community work together coherently.

Linking to Learning for Life

At The Grange Academy, our Learning for Life principles underpin everything we do, including our approach to mental health and wellbeing. By fostering adaptability and resilience, we help students develop the skills to navigate life's challenges with confidence and determination. Through responsibility and ethics, we instill a sense of care for oneself and others, encouraging a supportive and inclusive community. Our commitment to lifelong learning empowers pupils to understand and manage their mental health, equipping them with strategies that will benefit them throughout their lives. With a focus on critical thinking and problem-solving, we guide students to identify and address their challenges proactively, while our emphasis on knowledge application and curiosity inspires them to seek solutions and embrace growth. These principles ensure that our students are not only supported but are also prepared for the opportunities and obstacles life may bring.

Aims and Objectives:  

• To have a whole school approach to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing within a culture of high expectations and support. 

• To ensure that, through the promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing, our children are helped to understand and express their feelings, build their confidence and emotional resilience and therefore their capacity to learn. 

• To have a committed staff team that sets a whole school culture of positive mental health and wellbeing, support, and values that everyone understands, believes in, and is prepared to strive for. This is echoed through our Therapeutic Thinking behaviour policy. 

• To increase the awareness and understanding while reducing stigma amongst children, staff and our wider community of issues involving the mental health and wellbeing of young people. We endeavour to provide support at an early stage to any child who is or appears to be suffering from mental health issues. 

• To ensure that, embedded within our curriculum and daily routines, we enable our children to become healthy, independent, responsible, and confident members of society. Children will understand how they are developing personally and socially. We also cover many of the moral, social, and cultural issues that are part of growing up and give children tools which they can use throughout their lives. They will be provided with opportunities to learn about rights and responsibilities and to appreciate what it means to live and thrive as part of a diverse society as well as contributing towards their community. 

This intent statement sits alongside our SEMH policy.