Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Mastery
Please refer to the attached document as a reminder of the Mastery Sessions taking place until the end of term. Unless parent/carers/ students are contacted directly to discuss any required changes due to high numbers of attendees, the classes will continue to run as advertised. As a reminder, departments will post the room numbers on the Hubs in advance.

Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Services Bexley local offer
As a parent or carer, you play a vital role in your child's mental health and wellbeing. We understand that sometimes, children may experience emotional difficulties. Bexley's Local Offer provides a range of services and support to help your child thrive, further information is available from the local offer website.  Two services in particular to signpost are:

Kooth is an online counselling and emotional wellbeing service and offers children and young people aged 10-25 in Bexley, free, anonymous mental health support, online. Children and young people who are going through a difficult time and want to access support online can talk to someone quickly and anonymously. Kooth offers online free and safe access to self-help materials, mood-tracking and an online journal. Some young people take part in an online forum of peers, which is moderated by a qualified adult. Qualified counsellors are on hand, Monday to Friday from mid-day until 10pm, and at weekends from 6pm until 10pm, for booked or ‘drop-in’, one-to-one online therapy. Young People in Bexley will need to register on-line and create a free account. The service is commissioned by Bexley South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) and is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Counselling Matters Bexley are a group of counsellors who are committed to making counselling available to as many  people as possible in the London Borough of Bexley and surrounding areas. General counselling is available to help with a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, self-harm, anger problems and many more. Counselling is available for adults and for children and young people between the ages of 5-18. Please note, counselling for 5-13 year olds is only available face to face. We can offer counselling in the following languages for those who do not speak English as their first language: Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Spanish, Italian, German and Edo (Nigerian language). Telephone: 0800 047 2600, Email: mail@cmbtalk.org, Website: www.counsellingmattersbexley.org/

10 Top Tips: Teaching Cycle Safety
Figures from Cycling UK tell us that only 2.2% of UK schoolchildren currently cycle to school despite the majority owning a bike. Encouraging young people to get into this hobby can be a great way to keep them active and cut down on their screen time – while potentially providing them with a healthy and convenient way of travelling to and from school or getting around in general. Of course, it’s imperative that children and young people know how to keep themselves safe while riding from A to B, if we want to avoid the risk of injury or other unpleasant experiences that could discourage them from continuing with the hobby. That’s why we are sharing the attached cycle safety guide – ready for Road Safety week, starting on 17/11 – providing you with expert advice on teaching cycle safety to children and young people.

Kind regards,

Miss S Totty
Senior Deputy Headteacher