Mental Health & Well-Being

At Hillside, we believe that as well as supporting children to be the best they can be academically, it is even more important to support children to be the best they can be both socially and personally.

We are sure you have seen in the news, on social media, watched on TV or have experience yourself, of how some children need support with their mental health. The statistics tell us that more and more children are being effected.
Did you know that 20% of children under the age of 14 years have a mental health concern and only 20 % of the 20 % that are effected, are able to get the support they need because CAMHS (Child and Adult, Mental Health Services) and other services are so stretched? Another astounding statistic is that 70 % of the children and teenagers having mental health issues did not receive support they needed in their younger years.

At Hillside, we want to ensure we are doing everything we can to support your children and our community. If a child broke their arm, we wouldn’t hesitate to seek medical advice but this isn’t always the case with a mental health concern.
With this is mind, we launched our strategy to support Healthy Minds. Our strategy focuses on ‘You are never too young to talk about mental health’ and that ‘early action to keep our minds healthy will prevent issues in later life’.

The 5 steps to wellbeing we  discuss with children include:
1. Connect with others – who can you share your thoughts and feelings with?
2. Being active – exercise helps to support a healthy mind
3. Being mindful – ensuring your brain has a break
4. Learning new skills – achievement brings about confidence
5. Giving to others – helping others helps us to feel happy