Health and Wellbeing

At the Ursuline High school we fulfil our school values through our outstanding pastoral care. We understand that young women need to have the best view of themselves and the world around them to succeed.

This page is a catalogue of some of the useful sources of help available for parents or students looking to explore mental health issues as well as general wellbeing!

Our Positive Mental Health Policy details further information on student wellbeing.

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Webinar for parents ‘Overview and introduction to teenage mental health’

Part 1:

Part 2:

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Our Mental Health Support Offer

We really do care for each and everyone of our students and we ensure that their individual needs are known and met. Students have a variety of mental health support available that they can access in school to support them, with any worries or anxieties students may have about school or outside of school.

These include;

Tutor

Our pastoral care starts with a tutor that that all students see daily and discuss tasks around mindfulness, well-being and respect.

Pastoral Support Assistant

Further support is provided by pastoral support assistants that work alongside the head of year to give guidance and can help find out the right support for you from organisation skills to friendship concerns.

Year 7 & 8 School Pastoral Assistant: Ms Sarah McCourt
sarah.mccourt@ursulinehigh.merton.sch.uk

Year 11 School Pastoral Assistant: Ms Sylvia Brown 
sylvia.brown@ursulinehigh.merton.sch.uk

Health and Wellbeing in our Curriculum

Beyond that our focus on health and well-being is at the forefront of our curriculum and PSHEC with your tutor is an excellent way for students to express and develop their knowledge on physical and mental well-being as well has how to have successful relationships.

Take a look at our PSHEC offer to find out more information about and how PSHEC is active in our curriculum.

Additional Support

To support the well-being of students within our school we offer referrals to the following; a qualified school counsellor, a well-being coordinator who students can talk to if they are feeling like they need a better routine or you are spending too much time on social media, school nurse and mentoring from older students. These services and our EWP application form can be accessed by contacting our Wellbeing Co-ordinator below.

EWP Secondary School Application Form

Wellbeing Co-ordinator: Ms Jo Wild
jo.wild@ursulinehigh.merton.sch.uk

Mental Health Trailblazer Programme

Our focus on well-being is further supported by being part of the South West London Mental health Trailblazer. This partnership provides mental health support teams that work with students and their parents with the aim of ensuring they are well equipped to have healthy and honest conversations about emotional well-being – as well as connecting them to local services.

This has enabled us to develop the services we have on offer at the Ursuline such as;

• A clinical psychologist
• An emotional well-being nurse
• Educational Well-being Practitioners - who focus on sleep hygiene, low mood and anxiety issues

These services can be accessed by contacting our Wellbeing Co-ordinator below.

Wellbeing Co-ordinator: Ms Jo Wild
jo.wild@ursulinehigh.merton.sch.uk

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Additional Support - Mental Health Support Recommendations

The below list is not exhaustive, there are a lot of other resources available online and in local libraries, and it is not an alternative to consulting your GP, which you should always do if you have serious concerns.

As a first port of call we would recommend:

Directory of Mental Wellbeing Services in the London Borough of Merton

Young Minds- Mental health charity for children, young people and their parents

Off The Record- Counselling, Drop Ins & Online Support

Off the Record offers an Online Counselling service to all of our young people aged 14
and over. The service provides real time support and email counselling with specialist practitioners and therapists all who have experience of working with young people.

Kooth: An online counselling and emotional well-being service for children and young people aged 11-18

Kooth is anonymous and free at the point of use. Children and young people can chat to professional counsellors, read articles written by young people, receive peer-to-peer support and keep a daily journal.

Kooth continues to provide online mental health and wellbeing support to young people via any accessible device that can connect to the internet e.g. phone, tablet, laptop, computer. Kooth provides an opportunity to access information, ask questions and interact in a supportive way with other young people. You also have the option to receive support from a qualified counsellor. Visit www.kooth.com. See Kooth Poster here.

MindEd for Families: online advice and support you can trust

A site dedicated to providing expert advice for parents on a wide variety of issues, from bullying, to eating disorders, depression, risky behaviour and parenting.

MindEd for Families was built by parents and the MindEd Consortium of professionals, funded by the Department of Education, in partnership with Health Education England. It is accredited by the NHS Information Standard. 

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