Well being - 'the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy'

Well being incorporates many elements that add to our general and overall health. Physical health along with good meaningful social connections helps us feel a certain type of well that can produce joy and happiness. A persons well being is inclusive of mental, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual wellness. 

Here at Ormskirk C Of E Primary school we are looking at more ways to help with a whole school approach to good well being and mental health wellness. 

Staff are working together with each other to improve knowledge, gain ideas and implement strategic ideas that support this. Lead staff are working with the community and service providers to continue improving the well being support that is offered.

 As a school we are registered to the wellbeing charter and aware that the 5 steps to improve your mental health are linked to connection, being active, taking notice, to keep learning and to give. Display boards are being implemented around school and a QR code will be available so parents and carers can see specific information and support that may be available. Watch this space!

Staff are dedicated to the improvement of well being here at school, with several staff taking up qualifications in lead mental health, hypnosis therapy, challenging and traumatic response, researching the importance of sleep etc,  the benefits that these skills and knowledge will provide will be vital in helping staff, children and families deal with ever growing complexities that can impact wellness.

At our school we already have our school dog 'Pebbles' on hand for some cuddles and a calming walk around our beautiful grounds. Meditation, relaxation sessions and yoga classes have been enjoyed by children along with a whole timetable of sporting activities to keep children active and connected. Some parents and carers have enjoyed some free hypnosis therapy sessions ran by renewyouhypnotherapy who you can check out on instagram, and on our facebook page. The sessions are now charged and off site as she has qualified, but if you want to try this therapy then feel free to connect via her pages. 

I am thinking of running a drop in session on a Wednesday morning each month after Easter to widen our hands in working with parents and carers of our school children to chat and share. We want to make you feel connected and if we can help improve wellness then its a good start. Sometimes a problem shared, is a problem halved. email me at t.comerford@ormskirk-ce.lancs.sch.uk if there is anything you may wish to ask and I will be happy to help. I am open to suggestions, any parents or carers that think they have anything to offer, like therapy sessions, free craft expertise, den builders, animal specialists that could come in with some animals, any well being volunteers, anything relevant then please let me know and start to widen our network.

There are lots of places that offer professional support which you will be signposted to if need be.  I have access to lots of services and will update and add links on to this page this week.

There is a lovely service here in Ormskirk which you can check out on line. letstalk@hopest.org.uk

They sent me a time table to share too so keep an eye out in our weekly newsletter too.

Please keep checking back in to see updates

.  A recent report by The Royal Society for public health found that the average person living in the UK gets one hour less sleep each night than they need.

• Do you wake in the middle of the night and struggle to go back to sleep or just find it hard to fall asleep in the first place? In either case, unless you have a recognisable disorder the chances are that the problem is the result of a mind that has learned to become agitated by thoughts.
• If we compare our contemporary evening lifestyle habits with the way people have been living for the past ten thousand years we see some notable differences that may impact our potential to get a good night's rest. For thousands of years the working day was determined by light, and as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon our minds adjusted to the growing darkness and turned naturally towards sleep. This natural daily ritual unfolded over several hours, giving our mind ample time to slow down and adjust, and the physical activity of our day created a sense of drowsiness in which we quickly and effortlessly fell asleep. Today, many of us are much less active than we used to be and we can prolong our day with artificial light long into the night, watching high action movies that may arouse and stimulate our emotional responses. There is also evidence to show that what we think about and watch in the hour before we go to bed, influences the way our mind works while we are asleep. Happily there's a lot we can do to help ourselves if we are willing to practice a few simple strategies that will positively improve the quality of sleep we experience.  

With this in mind we might choose to consider 5 important things-;

• Being on a 'wind-down' curve as you approach bed-time will help.
• Increase daytime activity and exercise, avoiding caffeine after mid-afternoon.
• Avoid – remove gadgets and work from sleep environment.
• Create a habit of switching off the TV and rediscover books – but not backlit Kindle.
• Experts advise switch off electrical devices at least 1 hour before bedtime.

• Try to get the morning light, it helps to set our circadian rhythms and generally helps our mood.

Matt Walker: Matthew Paul Walker is an English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the impact of sleep on human health and disease. Previously, he was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also the founder and director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science. "There is no tissue within the body and no process within the brain that is not measurably enhanced by sleep, or demonstrably impaired when we don't get enough of it." ---- Matt Walker. Why We Sleep, by Professor Michael Walker.