Family Support & Wellbeing
Please find below information in relation to important support that is available for all of our pupils and their families.
You can discuss any of the support strategies below with a member of the school staffing team. Details can be found on the Contact Us page of the site.
Kooth is a free online Mental Health and Wellbeing resource for children and young people in Derby and Derbyshire that requires no formal referral, instead only requiring the user to set up an account on the website. Available 365 days of the year via mobile, tablet and desktop devices from 12 noon to 10pm Monday-Friday and 6pm-10pm at weekends, the service provides access to accredited counselling support, peer support via online forums and relevant articles detailing a variety of topics.
To sign up, please visit www.kooth.com/
Qwell is a free online Mental Health and Wellbeing resource for parents and carers of young people under the age of 18 that requires no formal referral, instead only requiring the user to set up an account on the website. Available 365 days of the year via mobile, tablet and desktop devices from 12 noon to 10pm Monday-Friday and 6pm-10pm at weekends, the service provides access to accredited counselling support, peer support via online forums and relevant articles detailing a variety of topics. To sign up, please visit https://www.qwell.io/
The Anna Freud Centre has online advice for young people, parents and schools specifically related to the coronavirus. Please see: https://www.annafreud.org/coronavirus/
Useful in terms of supporting CYP’s mental health needs with CV-19, as there is information about supporting with mental health and managing with anxiety, OCD and eating disorders at this time. https://youngminds.org.uk/
Safeguarding and Child Protection
If you have any concerns about a child, or want to have a discussion with a social worker during the current school closures, then you can find all of the relevant information on our Safeguarding Page:
https://www.ivyhouse.derby.sch.uk/Safeguarding/
Local Area Support and Wellbeing
Contact, the charity for families with disabled children
Barnardos mental health and wellbeingChanging Lives - 5 ways to wellbeing
Derby and Derbyshire Emotional Health & Wellbeing
Sheffield Hospital Hibernation & First Aid PackGrowth Mindset Together
Looking After Yourself and Your Children
Bereavement Support
Our school is committed to the emotional health and well-being of its staff and pupils. We wish to work towards this in all aspects of school life, and to provide an ethos, environment and curriculum that prepare pupils for coping with bereavement.
Bereavement, whether it is an expected death because of illness or a sudden and unexpected death or suicide, is something that can impact on members of our school community at any time.
Due to the nature of our pupils’ complex medical and health needs, sadly there are times when children become very ill and pass away. This loss affects the whole school community including pupils, staff and families.
We have a wide selection of resources to support students and staff at Ivy House School, below are some links that might support you and your family during difficult times. Please get in touch with Claire Porter if you require further information or support.
Waterbugs and Dragonflies story
There are also bereavement charities that offer helplines, email support, and online communities and message boards for children.
These include:
- Child Bereavement UK – call 0800 028 8840 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or email helpline@childbereavementuk.org
- Cruse Bereavement Care – call 0808 808 1677 Monday and Friday, 9.30am to 5pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9.30am to 8pm; Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2pm
- Grief Encounter – call 0808 802 0111 Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm, or email contact@griefencounter.org.uk
- Hope Again – call 0808 808 1677 Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5pm, or email hopeagain@cruse.org.uk
- Winston's Wish – call 0808 802 0021 Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, or email ask@winstonswish.org
- MacMillan - Memory Box
You can also find out more about children and bereavement from the Childhood Bereavement Network