Anxiety and stress during examination periods
It is natural for students to feel apprehensive or anxious in the run up to, and during, examination periods. We have produced our own guide to managing stress which you can access by clicking the link below …
Managing Exam Stress – Booklet for Year 11 students.
In addition, the following organisations and websites offer students and their parents/carers useful strategies and advice.
Kooth is an online mental health and wellbeing service for children and young people.
– It’s free to use
– No bullying or discrimination can take place
– No kind of referral is needed to join
– Signing up and getting started only takes a few minutes
– No problem is too big or small
– If your child is finding the upcoming exams period overwhelming, they can find support from Kooth.
Starting on the 24th of April, Kooth will be releasing lots of new content and discussions around exam stress and stress more broadly. How to join Kooth: Whatever your child is going through, Kooth’s team and online community can help. Your child can get started today by clicking here go.kooth.com/Dj5A.
School Health Team
UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL HEALTH TEAM JULY 2020
We would like to introduce a new way for young people ages 11-19 years to contact a School Nurse via text for confidential advice and support. This is called ChatHealth.
ChatHealth is a secure and confidential NHS approved text messaging service that is now offered by the School Nursing Service in Derbyshire for young people aged 11-19 years. This provides another way for young people to seek advice from a School Nurse through text on topics including relationship advice, healthy eating, smoking cessation, bullying and concerns and worries, mental health and much more. The School Nurse will aim to respond to all messages within 24 hours, Monday to Friday between hours of 9am-4:30pm (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays).
To use this service, text the School Nurse on: 07507 330025
The School Health team is based in Belper Clinic where they all work together to cover the schools in Belper, Duffield, Little Eaton and Ripley. There are many aspects to the role of a School Nurse but their ultimate agenda is to improve the public health of our local community. One of their key roles is to provide health and emotional wellbeing services to young people aged 11-19 through appointments and lunch-time “drop-in’s” at schools.
The assigned School Nurse for Belper School currently spends Mondays working in a private room off the library where young people can either have appointments or can drop-in over lunchtime. Young people can see the School Nurse for a wide variety of reasons including: physical and emotional health, self-harm, low self-esteem, eating difficulties, exam pressures, stress, anxiety, bullying, internet safety, drugs and alcohol, sexual health, puberty and issues at home, in school or with peers. They can also signpost and refer to other agencies and services when more support is required.
Just like a GP appointment, the service is confidential which means young people can see the School Nurse in confidence with the understanding that they won’t report the encounter to their school or parents/carers. They do however always encourage young people to be open and honest with their parents, and explain that if they were to disclose something that made the School Nurse feel they were at risk of harm or of harming another, then this information will always be shared. They will do their best to talk to the young person first before sharing information with school, parents or other agencies.
Referrals are received for appointments from a large variety of agencies including hospitals, GPs, mental health services, counsellors, social care, school, parents and carers and also the young people themselves. Referrals from parents and young people can be made directly to the School Health Team at Belper Clinic on 01773 820093 or via the schools Learning and Safeguarding mentors.
The School Nurse can also offer support and signpost to other services for parents and carers who may have difficulties in their own lives which may be impacting on their child(ren) or for those struggling to understand and support their teenagers through this difficult period in their lives.
