This year has included an exciting development in the support of mental health at Warwick School. In March 2022 we opened our new Wellbeing Hub. The Hub has been designed to be an environment that promotes and protects mental health. It is a space that is like no other in the school; it isn’t a classroom, or a meeting room, or a common room. Its design and aesthetic has been carefully thought about to be relaxing, welcoming and calm. Purpose-built therapy rooms allow for the range of external professionals we employ to come in and support the pupils in their individual specialisms. There is also a large communal space that the pupils can relax in and chat (if they wish) or just come and ‘be’. The ‘sensory room’ is popular with pupils, a low arousal space that pupils can access if they feel overwhelmed. Finally, we have a multi-faith prayer room that our pupils can access at any point in the day.

The opening of the Wellbeing Hub for me is a real statement of intent for us as a school. The mental and emotional health of our young people is as important to us as their academic and extra curricular development. Our young people exist in a world that can, at times, feel scary and overwhelming. In order to thrive out in the world beyond our school, the teaching and support of mental health and wellbeing has to underpin all that we do. The opening of the Wellbeing Hub is a vital part of that underpinning; providing pupils a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental place to come and feel their feelings, no matter what they may be.

Mrs H Leaf | Senior Mental Health Lead