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East Sheen Primary

Upper Richmond Rd West, London, SW14 8ED

Health and Wellbeing

At East Sheen Primary School, our school vision begins with 'Our purpose is to nurture happy, confident children...' Why is this so important? Because we know that children succeed in an environment where they feel safe, happy and enthused to engage with learning.

Wellbeing has always been important to us, whether that is through being a Sing Up! Gold Award school, our focus on using our positive, relationship-based behaviour strategy, or outreach from our specialist team from The Phoenix Room. In 2018, the school gained the Wellbeing Award for Schools, recognising the importance the school places on effective, embedded practices to ensure pupil and staff wellbeing is prioritised. In 2022/23, we proudly received the Bronze Award for being an Attachment Aware school.

This is a school where happy pupils are supported by highly trained, happy staff to succeed well and develop as confident individuals who think deeply about themselves and others.

We understand the need for everyone in our school community to have a healthy lifestyle. This helps pupils, staff and families to do their best and build on their achievements. We know that children do their best when they feel safe to take risks, ask for help and are able to succeed without undue pressure. 

We actively encourage physical and emotional health, and aim to equip pupils with the understanding and skills they need to make informed decisions about their health, both now and in the future. We appreciate that at some point in our lives we all experience difficulties which can make us vulnerable, therefore through our ethos, curriculum, understanding of Zones of Regulation, Attachment Aware ethos, Thinking School tools (including habits of mind, thinking hats and maps), singing, sport and interventions we:

  • help children to understand their emotions and feelings better                            
  • help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
  • help children socially to form and maintain relationships
  • promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
  • encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
  • help children to develop emotional resilience

On this page you will find some examples of how we support wellbeing in school, as well as Wellbeing Week which we celebrate annually in order to achieve healthier lifestyles for our whole school community. 

All children are given the opportunity to talk and forming good relationships is at the centre of our teaching. Language is displayed and modelled to help children express their emotions. Zones of Regulation and The Habits of Mind provide a common language throughout school and help children understand the importance of feelings, of reflecting and of the need for resilience.

Children learn four key words from our school vision: Happy, Curious, Resilient and Kind.  Children are taught that we all make mistakes, but these are learning opportunities.  Children work regularly with partners or in groups as well as independently. Children and adults also use the Zones of Regulation to help talk about and understand their emotions.

Children are encouraged to keep fit and healthy through the curriculum lessons and also by engaging with physical brain breaks and by running our Phoenix Mile, which is printed around the perimeter of the school.

Wellbeing Week Example Report

This year we focused on supporting wellbeing using five of our Habits of Mind: On Mindset Monday we explored perseverance:"Stick with it" even when things get tough. Tasty Tuesday involved sharing each other's favourite dishes as we considered how our senses help us to understand and enjoy the world . Wow Wednesday was a time to be amazed by the wonders of our lives on Earth whilst Thinking Thursday reminded us that we need to think flexibly to solve problems and that there are different ways of seeing and understanding situations; it's OK to change your mind. Fun Friday was celebrated with lots of laughter! Each day was filled with singing, activities in and outside the classrooms, team building, mindful moments and reflection. Staff also enjoyed playing team sports, including a tug of war, yoga and sharing a delicious cream tea. The week finished with a whole school Phoenix Mile relay.  

The links below will take you to sites which offer advice on maintaining positive mental health:

NHS wellbeing advice

Supporting Wellbeing. MIND