Without some sense of wellbeing in life, children cannot flourish and reach their potential. Although there are research studies to back up this claim, most educators will know from their own experiences that when we have a sense of wellbeing in our lives, we are far better able to take in new information, take risks in our learning and take responsibility for our learning - Young Minds website

At Marlow Church of England Infant School, nurturing the health and wellbeing of our children is an embedded approach across the school’s ethos, linking with the PE programme, spiritual development and wider school curriculum. By promoting a caring, compassionate, safe and fair environment, all children here are valued and enabled to flourish. We facilitate this by fostering the values of respect, kindness, perseverance, forgiveness, thankfulness, helpfulness and service. We recognise that if children have a positive view of themselves, feel safe, happy and valued, and part of a nurturing community, it can help them to be resilient and cope with life’s challenges. By offering a rich inclusive provision, promoting diversity across the school and providing a broad, creative and inspiring education, we prepare our children to succeed and be resilient as they journey through an ever complex world, both on line and off line, whilst at the same time nurturing their wellbeing.

We follow the MindUP programme which is a whole school approach promoting mental health and emotional wellbeing based on neuroscience and mindfulness. The aim of it is to give children the tools and knowledge they need to thrive, live compassionately and be happy. It is an evidence-based programme which improves learning, builds joy and resilience, reduces stress, increases feelings of optimism, improves focus and encourages behaviour that benefits others.

Marlow C of E Infant School plays an important part within our community. Our head teacher leads the Marlow schools mental wellbeing programme. This is a long term collaborative programme, involving 13 local schools, aiming to develop awareness and expertise to support the mental health of children. It is important to teach children, from a young age, the knowledge and strategies to safeguard their mental health and to ensure that they have access to learning about what they need to do to look after their mental health.

Our school's positive school climate enhances belonging and connectedness. We have clear policies on behaviour and bullying and there is an ‘open door’ policy for children and parents to raise problems. Parent and children’s feedback is welcomed via email, face to face or via surveys.

We believe children must be cared for as individuals so everyone feels special and valued in order to grow. At Marlow C of E Infant School, we work in partnership with other agencies to support the pupils in their care. (SEND at Sandygate)

We offer additional support through the Nurture programme and have well established Nurture groups which support and develop children’s wellbeing.

As a Rights Respecting School, the culture of our school is one of respect, equality, trust, nurture and excellence which are all reflected in our mission statements.  At Marlow C of E Infant School, we embrace the uniqueness of everybody. When mental health and wellbeing are nurtured, we know children will thrive in all areas of their life.