Pastoral Care

Our Mission Statement

At The Ryleys School, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community (children, staff, parents and carers), and recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing is to our lives in just the same way as physical health. We know that children’s mental health is a crucial factor in their overall well-being and can affect their learning and achievement. All children will experience difficulties and challenges during their school career and some face significant life events. Mental health can have an enormous impact on quality of life, relationships and academic achievement. In many cases, it is life-limiting.

The Ryleys School is a happy and safe place to learn with children benefitting from being within a caring environment, where everyone knows their name. We have a unique family atmosphere where each child is valued as an individual. We encourage a love of learning and promote a child’s natural curiosity through varying challenges, experiences and opportunities.

Aim

The emotional health and well-being of all members of our school is fundamental to our philosophy and aims. Our policies and practices are founded in the development and sustenance of a happy, healthy school, where all learning can flourish.

Our aim is that children within our school will develop the self-esteem, awareness and self-confidence to play an active part in school life, the wider community and be fully equipped for the next stage in their educational journey.

What is ‘good’ emotional health and wellbeing in our school?

• The ability to recognise, acknowledge and manage their feelings
• The ability to develop caring and concerns for others
• The ability to develop meaningful, positive and long-lasting relationships
• The ability to take responsibility for themselves and make practical decisions

We want our children to:

• Be effective and successful learners
• Make and sustain friendships
• Deal with and resolve conflict effectively, fairly and independently
• Solve problems with others for themselves
• Manage strong feelings such as frustration, anger and anxiety
• Be able to promote calm, optimistic states that support the achievement of goals
• Recover from setbacks and persist in the face of the difficulties
• Work and play cooperatively
• Compete fairly and win and lose with dignity and respect for other competitors
• Understand and value the differences and commonalities between people, respecting the rights of others to have beliefs and values different from their own

When a school promotes positive emotional health and wellbeing, pupils can better understand and express their feelings. This builds their confidence and emotional resilience and therefore their capacity to learn.

Pupils enjoy high levels of achievement and success beyond the curriculum in a range of academic, sporting and performance areas.

ISI Inspection, 2020

Child Mental Health and Wellbeing Resources

The Ryleys School Wellbeing Policy