One of the biggest challenges to our students and young people right now is not in the risks they face from others, nor the risks they face online – though both of course do still exist. Instead, it is supporting students with their own mental health issues and keeping them safe from themselves and the many pressures they experience as young people.

A survey commissioned by the BBC asked 1000 boys and 1000 girls their views . More than a quarter of teenagers polled said they feel anxious all or most of the time, with exams, going to school and peer pressure being the top three reasons. More than half of male and female responses said they feel anxious when they don't have their phones with them - a third said comparing themselves to others on social media makes them anxious.

Responding to the survey, the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, concludes  “it is clear that the online world and social media is having a very real impact on teenagers' mental health, their wellbeing, and their safety," Dame Rachel says.

Clearly school has an important role to play in supporting students to navigate these challenges and it is something that we at FSG work hard on.

The most beneficial way to safeguard students is to prevent harm from happening in the first place. A mentally healthy school is one that adopts a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing.

A whole-school approach is about developing a positive ethos and culture – where everyone feels that they belong. It involves working with families and making sure that the whole school community is welcoming, inclusive and respectful. It means maximising children’s learning through promoting good mental health and wellbeing across the school – through the curriculum, early support for pupils, staff-pupil relationships, leadership and a commitment from everybody.

Promoting good Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing amongst all our girls is, thus,  a central tenet of our school vision – and whilst we may not always make this intent obvious, it is at the very heart of all that we do.  We want our girls to be well qualified and well rounded – and just well! From the curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities we offer to the staffing and site developments we invest in; from how we set targets to how we schedule tests and mock examinations; from the tone of our communications to our unsung hero award programme and even how we report on progress, we aim to do all we can to support, motivate and encourage our girls in all aspects of their development. We believe that an outstanding education must deliver a balance between intellect and character. An outstanding education is not either/or. It is both. Our school climbing wall is a perfect example – we built this knowing full well it was unsuitable for GCSE PE! We didn’t build it for qualifications but for the chance to do something else, try something new, to just have fun! That’s equally true for the Escape Room, the mountain bike trail, archery, CCF, FSGRadio, DoE – none deliver GCSEs or A-levels; they deliver other things – a balance, fun, a chance to meet new friends, face new (and different) challenges……

Our whole school curriculum is shaped to enable girls to be well qualified, well-rounded (and just well); All students at FSG are able to participate in a whole host of activities that are available, right here on the school site  - climbing, mountain biking, archery, radio station, escape room, CCF etc as part of our comprehensive ’whole school’ approach to ‘promoting the social and emotional wellbeing of children’; ‘improving the mental health and wellbeing of the whole school population and equipping pupils to be resilient and reinforcing this through school activities and ethos’ – all as described in ‘promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing – a whole school or college approach’ as published by the Children and Young People's mental health coalition.

Students therefore do not complete an inordinate amount of qualifications. We subscribe to a ‘quality, not quantity’ rationale. Instead, students at FSG complete what we believe to be a sensible number of qualifications This allows students time to focus efforts on achieving the very best grades within these, but also time to participate in co-curricular activities and interests – both at school and at home, and additionally, time to spend with friends and family. A justifiable balance between intellect and character.

Our co-curricular offer - enables all students the opportunity to try new things and make new friends; to “find their tribe” be that through cadets, through Duke of Edinburgh, as part of our cheerleading squad, as a cast member, or backstage crew in one of our many productions, as part of our radio station, FSGRadio or through music, dance, sport….. Countless opportunities and something to appeal to almost all. For those who struggle to find their tribe we even run bushcraft sessions to help create friendship groups!

Whilst all students are encouraged to do their best in all aspects of the school curriculum, the national obsession with academic results is tempered here with an understanding that for some students a grade 4 or 5 will have been just as hard fought and hard won as a grade 8 or 9 for others and we celebrate and recognise all achievements and all progress made, equally.  Academic Targets reflect this.  We also recognise, record and report other accomplishments such as promotion within the ranks of our CCF contingent, the completion of the Duke of Edinburgh Award or taking a leading role on the stage or the sports field.

Students at FSG therefore do not complete an excessive amount of qualifications as a matter of course. We subscribe to a ‘quality, not quantity’ rationale and thus, students at FSG complete what we believe to be a sensible number of qualifications – one early too, to spread the load just a little. This allows students time to focus efforts on achieving the very best grades within these but also time to participate in the huge array of co-curricular activities that we offer. These activities are a central part of what we do; they are genuine co-curricular activities and not a ‘bolt on’ after-school extra-curricular offer. Instead we value them so highly and think them to be so important that they form part of the school day in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. They offer, fun, balance, self-confidence; they build “Courage, Kindness, friendship, Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings and propel us on occasion to greatness”

We believe that ‘exam results are what you get; they do not define who you are and will play only a part in shaping the person that you become’. We further believe that whilst exam results don’t define you, its an inconvenient truth that shyness can; a lack of confidence can  -  Those who lack confidence don’t join in, don’t sign up, don’t take part, don’t have a go. They settle!

Opportunities are missed.
Options are narrowed.
Doors are closed.

That lack of confidence starts to chart their course for the future and to define the person they become - but working together, parents and school, can tackle that. We want our girls to realise that they are capable of more than they know.

We want our girls to sign up, join in, take part, STAND OUT!

Exams, then, are only a very narrow definition of success and whilst we routinely are one of the higher performing schools in the country we further recognise that examination success looks different for everyone too. Within the headline figures of course are hundreds of individual triumphs and successes; and that’s not necessarily all about grades 7, 8 or 9 or A*/B. For some of our girls that grade 4 or 5 may have been equally hard fought and hard won and we recognise, value and celebrate those achievements, that progress made, just as much.

We have invested heavily in our pastoral care teams, with 7 Student Development Leaders, one for each year group, who move with students as they move through the school from Year 7 to 13 – so that we can establish the best working knowledge and positive relationships we can with girls and their families. We have 2 full time emotional health & well-being practitioners on site and staff dedicated solely to Personal Development & Character Education. Over half a million pounds annually on staff to support ‘just’ emotional health and well-being as girls move through the school. In combination with an ethos and a curriculum which focuses on ‘well-qualified, well-rounded – and just well’, it is clear then that it is our intent to not only not overload our girls but to see them flourish – academically , pastorally, personally!

We provide adequate curriculum time to complete courses in lessons without the need for hundreds of hours of additional lunchtime or after school sessions. This supports our personal development and character education programme, the FSGBacc, in providing girls with the time to take part in and enjoy the many additional opportunities it affords. There is also time left to pursue other interests and activities at home and additionally, time to spend with friends and family; to watch Netflix; to hang out; occasionally to just do nothing! A justifiable balance between intellect and character.

We also want to ensure that determination, perseverance and all those attributes that contribute to progress, success and learning are recognised and celebrated. Similarly, we want to recognise values like courage, kindness, friendship, character, commitment, service; these are the traits that can define us as human beings and propel us, on occasion, to greatness. Students who turn up every day and who simply get on quietly doing their best work, day in and day out, can go unnoticed. Not in this school! Students like that are too often the unsung heroes. With that in mind, at FSG, we have created the Unsung Hero Award. Staff turnover is low and our comprehensive personal development & character education programme, The FSGBacc, alongside a wealth of trips and visits facilitates strong positive relationships between students and staff. Students know how hard the staff work for them and how much they are cared for. We also have an expanded and expansive pastoral team dedicated solely to pupil well-being and progress and whilst much of this work is reactive, we also seek to be pro-active. So for example quieter, shyer, more vulnerable students are identified and enjoy bushcraft sessions to enable them, perhaps, to form a few friendships as they join us. Our FSGCamps, all free of charge, also allow students to bond and to establish lifelong memories and perhaps even lifelong friends to help each other through when the going gets a little tough.

So, we are a happy school with a relaxed but purposeful atmosphere. Our curriculum is framed around developing intellect and character and whilst we aim to deliver outstanding academic results alongside traits such as resilience and self-confidence, we are equally concerned to promote a work hard/play hard balance in our girls that will enable them to achieve success, at school and in the future, whilst considering their own mental health & emotional well-being.

From our school curriculum and ethos & the tone of our communications, to how we set targets and even how we schedule exams,  we do all we can as a school and as a body of staff to ensure that girls can be well qualified, well-rounded (and just well!)

What does success look like? 

Our teenage lives can be a challenge. Home lives, school lives, friendships, deciding what sort of person we are and what sort of person we want to be. Finding something that inspires us. Finding something that we might want to do for the rest of our lives. Finding our tribe. Not quite being a child anymore; not quite an adult either – those ‘inbetweener’ years can be tough and of course some find it tougher than others and some have more to contend with than others. Family breakdown, bereavement, relationship breakdowns (when a little older), friendships, exams, next steps etc. So, when the going does get a little tougher we will be there to support the girls as best we can. However, it is worth stating plainly and openly that we are not a mental health service and our staff are not mental health experts. We simply will do our best to care and advise and support and to direct families to the most appropriate support available.

Despite all of the preventative work we do in school, some girls will inevitably struggle at some points of their teenage years and may therefore require additional support. Some will struggle with school life. For some that might be school life at FSG; for some it might ‘JUST’ be school life in general; The likely truth is that there are a number of factors as to why students may struggle at times and its unhelpful to blame school for a deterioration in mental health when we are all here, parents and teachers alike, doing our best to support the girls; all of them.

In the first instance support would usually be through the relevant Student Development Leader but we also employ 2 full time emotional health and well-being practitioners and referrals to them (not always, necessarily shared with parents) are line managed by the pastoral team and considered to be a pastoral resource and intervention. For clarity we distinguish the boundary between emotional wellbeing (pastoral) and social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEND) as being where educational progress and/or wider developmental progress is becoming hindered. Typically then in the first instance emotional well-being support would be the first port of call but if the situation is more serious or is ongoing and progress is being hindered (as above) an external referral may be made – with parental involvement.  In this way we are better able to rationalise the resources we have on site and to secure the most appropriate level of support for students.

Success then is that most students are happy and successful -  academically, personally and pastorally - most of the time and that for those who struggle at times, or more generally are as well supported as they can be.

5 Steps to good mental health

• Eating Matters:  It is well known that diet impacts on physical health but there is also evidence to suggest what we eat also affects are mental health and wellbeing.

• Sleeping Matters: is as important to our health as eating, drinking and breathing! Poor sleep is linked to physical problems but also to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

• Reality Matters:  There is a growing chorus of experts calling for us all to be mindful of screen time! Phones are here to stay and a big part of our girls’ lives but some consideration should be given to a healthy amount of time offline. Whilst you’ll want a phone for emergencies and for safety on journeys to and from school, whilst at school phones must be switched off and out if sight, in bags or pockets.

• Exercise Matters: Just a short burst of 10 minutes brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy and positive mood. Regular physical activity can increase our self-esteem and reduce stress and anxiety. So, make good use of the golden mile, climbing wall, mountain bikes, our fitness studio and get involved with sport!

• Positivity Matters:  Positive thinking means making good choices. Talking to friends and family when worried about something, focusing on the positives, taking time out for ourselves and finding time to do the things we enjoy.

How do we as a school consider these 5 tips in our planning and provision?

• Eating. Obviously, our school canteen serves food which meet the needs of a healthy and balanced diet. There are no sugary drinks or chocolate bars. Food is prepared using fresh ingredients on site – with no salt or sugar added. A wide-ranging salad bar, fresh fruit and nuts and seeds are all available in addition to a wide ranging menu of hot meals. 

• Sleep. There is little we as a school can do to impact on students sleeping patterns bar, of course, ensuring that homework set is reasonable and can be done in good time.

• Reality. Screen time, again, is mostly an issue for home. At school phones are switched off - they are never used, seen or heard.  However, we encourage students to try and have a healthy balance in terms of screen time. Make dinner tables and bedrooms  ‘No Phone Zones’

• Exercise. All students have 2 hours of timetabled PE classes per week and we are lucky to have a wide range of sports and activities on site to engage with, and ever improving resources too. We have a purpose built fitness suite, dance studio, mountain bike trail, rock climbing wall and archery equipment – in addition to handball, netball, table tennis, soccer, tennis etc… Then there’s a wide array of co-cuurricular opportunities available – all of which allow time to spend with friends alongside the opportunity to make new friends.

• Positivity. Our school ethos is all about positivity and balance. We believe our girls are capable of amazing things – both in and out of the classroom. Life is not all about qualifications and this belief is at the heart of our school vision as to what makes an outstanding education. Our curriculum and our FSGBacc are designed to ensure that all our girls can try new things, can find their own balance and can have time to hang out with friends and family. Time to do well and to be well…and when things do occasionally get difficult there are a number of staff here to talk to.

How we support good mental health

In addition to the whole-school measures which are described above, we provide a wide variety of support options which are specifically aimed at providing our students with the tools and strategies to maintain good mental health. Our programme consists of both group and one-to-one solutions which students are given the option to attend.

We aim to identify girls early and to intervene early and believe that the work we do is innovative in its approach. For example, in year 7 we seek to identify shyer and more anxious students and provide adventure therapy sessions to support them . This could be learning to swim, to ride a bike or perhaps learning bush craft – but learning a new skill and overcoming a challenge – and meeting new friends along the way. A friendship group that can remain there throughout the journey through school. In years 7 & 8 girls benefit from our FSGBacc afternoons which aim to build self-confidence and to educate our girls in the need for a balance between work & play and that physical activity is good not only for physical but for mental health too; the opportunity to lose yourself in an activity be that an adventurous activity such as climbing, archery, biking or a more sedate activity like art or animation. Our FSGBacc camps at the end of Year 7 and 8 and our FSGBacc afternoons support transition and help instil the habits of mind of giving something new a go – of joining in, taking part, signing up!

FSG Mental Health Policy

This can be downloaded here.