A FERMANAGH school has been singled out as an example of best practice in promoting children’s emotional health and well being.
St Mary’s PS in Newtownbutler was selected as one of only three primary schools across the North to be recognised by the Department of Education and the Department of Health in a new publication, launched earlier this month to mark Children’s Mental Health Week.
The ‘Emotional Health and Wellbeing, Effective Practice in Educational Settings’ is a specially-created guide for educators to share examples of best practice, and features a case study on St Mary’s. It was created to support the Framework for Emotional Health and Wellbeing in Education Framework
The Department has singled out St Mary’s as demonstrating “effective practice across a range of settings”, stating the school’s example can help “provide a reference point for settings with some ideas on how [schools] may adapt and improve practice.”
The St Mary’s case study was carried out by the Education and Training Inspectorate, and outalines the many ways the school has been implementing ‘nurture practices’, and have “embedded and extended provision for emotional and physical wellbeing.”
Some examples of the many initiatives at the school include indoor and outdoor sensory spaces, art therapy workshops, whole school health and fitness days, celebrations of student success, specialist programmes for pupils and parents, and continuous professional development for staff.
Principal Paula Kelly thanked the school’s families and fundraisers at the Friends of St Mary’s for their support, and commended the staff and pupils.
“Featuring as example of effective practice is affirming for the staff, who work tirelessly to support the children’s emotional wellbeing, from that first hello every morning, to identifying the child who is alone or presenting as unhappy at breaktime and finding ways to ensure they are supported and included,” said Mrs Kelly.
“Thank-you to families for working with us to embed strategies, which the children can use to develop emotional wellbeing in the present and as they journey through life.”
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