Each year, Hopwood celebrates Antibullying Week, which is coordinated in England and Wales by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. It takes place annually in the Autumn and has a different theme each year.  We start the week off with Odd Socks Day, where adults and children wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique. We have always have a fun-filled week, where children take part in workshops, drama, pair activities, class activities and even whole school activities. It's always an exciting week for the children, who learn more about who to tell if they are being bullied, what to do if they are getting bullied or see bullying happen, how we are all different and lots about cyberbullying.

Drama enhances learning and we always welcome a visit from a theatre company! A magical, shared theatrical experience supported children’s personal, social and emotional development whilst igniting imaginations. This production was about the growth of an unlikely and unique friendship. Two very different characters who both love their allotments, overcome misunderstandings, from which the seeds of friendship and trust begin to grow. The children watched the characters go through many emotions: excited, upset, lonely, disappointed, nervous, cross and proud but in the end, friendship won! Definitely thought provoking for the children.

KS2 experienced exciting workshops to address children’s knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. All the workshops support the DfE statutory requirements for RSHE and are aligned with the National Curriculum. The children thoroughly enjoyed these interactive workshops, which were designed to give pupils a voice and for them to feel empowered, able to identify and articulate their needs and feelings and to make healthy choices. Harold, our healthy-living giraffe mascot, helped to convey these messages to Hopwood children, within a magical learning environment. Children's experience of Coram Life Education’s workshops is fun, engaging and memorable. 

Each year, our Y6 children take part in Crucial Crew - an event which aims to raise awareness of safety issues for children. The children engaged with various people who work in the community, including police officers, the British Transport Police, Metrolink officers and local council workers. Everyone learnt lots about how to keep themselves and others safe, including some very important first aid skills!

Our children experienced a very special performance based upon county lines, in the form of a monologue. The main character reflected upon his own experience of being groomed by a gang, to move substances and how he then tried to coax a younger family member to do the same. The performance led to some in-depth discussions on return to class. 

Hopwood’s Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing of Pupils

Personal development and well-being is central to all our work and we aim to promote positive mental health for every pupil.  We pursue this aim using universal, whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable pupils.

Whilst all staff have a responsibility to promote the mental health of children, staff with a specific, relevant remit include:

• Mrs Dixon - Designated Safeguarding Lead
• Mrs Hill, Mrs Sarginon and Miss Harland– Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads
• Mrs Hill  – Mental Health First Aiders
• Mrs Dixon and Mrs Leary – Mental Health Champions

A tiered approach has been devised across the school to achieve the following aims:

• Promote positive mental health in all staff and pupils
• Increase understanding and awareness of common mental health issues
• Alert staff to early warning signs of mental ill health
• Provide support to staff working with young people with mental health issues
• Provide support to pupils suffering mental ill health and their peers and parents/carers

Tier 1 – Whole school approaches (PSHE curriculum, behaviour policy, school initiatives, staff CPD)

Tier 2 – Targeted support (interventions)

Tier 3 – Specialist intervention (outside agencies)

Mental Health Support Teams

Hopwood is proud to be part of the Young People’s Mental Health Support Teams (YPMHST) for the fourth year running. The YMPHST was developed in response to the government’s ambition set out in the ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health: a green paper’ to enhance the mental health support in schools and education settings.

As part of this on-going work, we continue to work closely with Place2Be and have a counsellor based in school one day a week. This allows for direct work to be completed with specific children and for groups of children to take part in ‘Journey of Hope, which is a school based programme designed to help children normalise emotions associated with challenging life experiences and develop positive coping strategies.

Parenting support is also offered via Place2Be, where parents can attend parenting workshops to support their child or access resources of the Place2Be website, which gives advice on a range of issues/concerns (for example, anxiety, bereavement, separation).