Meet our Designated Health and Wellbeing Consultant, Amy Hatfield. Trained as a counsellor, Amy has run her own wellbeing business for over 10 years, which began as a holistic practise, before it evolved quickly into supporting mental health.
Now, Amy provides incomparable support for our Academy pupils, teachers, and their families in her capacity as a partner to SUAT. This help has been invaluable to everyone that she has assisted, for the past two years.
Amy’s services are provided for all Academies within the Trust, which means that it can be a challenging task to manage but ensures that very effective support is available to all Academies that need it. At SUAT, we operate a referral system which is overseen at our headquarters. The HQ team are contacted by schools and individuals with requests for Amy’s support, and these are then reviewed before being placed in priority order. Academies can send a referral at any time, and appointments are accommodated as soon as possible.
Amy commented: “Looking after your mental health has been challenging for many individuals over the pandemic, and people will be affected by their emotions for a long time afterwards. It is so important to me to make sure that everyone gets the help that they need, as early as possible.”
“In partnership with SUAT, my role involves reviewing certain policies that may affect the wellbeing of their pupils and staff whilst adhering to Department for Education (DfE) directives.
Amy continued: “One of my priorities is making sure that everyone involved with the Academies and Trust is more ‘wellbeing aware,’ and being closely involved with the many changes to ensure it is a safe space for mental health.”
Our Designated Health and Wellbeing Consultant’s sessions include one-to-one support for children and staff as well as group exercises. The appointments teach mindfulness strategies and positively challenge children’s thought processes, developing their confidence, self-esteem and positively affecting their mental health. Amy is often called to question why an individual thinks they are incapable of a task and help them to find better solutions by developing their feelings of self-worth and self-assurance. Amy also supports our Academies to tackle key issues relating to online harms and peer on peer abuse.
The recent ‘Happiness Project’ which Amy ran in partnership with SUAT, involved visiting the Academies, some so large they took up to two weeks to ensure all pupils could be included. She coached pupils and staff in small groups to train them in self-care and coping with stress.
Amy is driven to remain accessible to everyone for support. If she can help to change just one child’s life, it means so much to her. Amy stated: “My role is ever-evolving, and I am utterly grateful to combine forces with SUAT, they are all lovely people who share my passion for wellbeing.”
SUAT’s mission is to achieve better outcomes. Our core objectives include training and supporting the wellbeing of all staff so that they can be inspirational leaders and outstanding practitioners and constantly developing our ability to support the wellbeing of all staff and pupils. The wellbeing of all staff and pupils is greatly valued within SUAT and remains at the forefront of our practice. Amy’s role supports in driving positive mental health and wellbeing initiatives.
If you are interested in joining Staffordshire University Academies Trust, then please get in touch for a chat to discuss our services and all the options available to you. Working together we will raise standards.
Amy Hatfield
