This Children's Mental Health Week 6th-12th February, the theme is ‘Let’s connect’ and it’s a lovely way to celebrate the importance of connections, friendships and the human need for belonging. Celebrating connections - paper chain activities.
A mentally healthy school is one that adopts a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing and should involve a targeted element making sure that teachers and other staff can recognise pupils with emerging mental health needs and provide early support.
Children’s Mental Health Week coincides with the shocking NHS referrals data analysed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the BBC that saw a 77% rise in the number of children needing specialist treatment for severe mental health crisis.¹
The unexpected announcement of a new education minister as part of the cabinet reshuffle has caused a wave of interest, relief and yet further uncertainty and anticipation as we await the implications of new leadership for our schools and the children and young people in education.
So, it’s a welcome reshuffle, out with Gavin Williamson and in with Nadhim Zahawi. This significant change comes amidst a backdrop of uncertainty, disillusion and lack of confidence. There is a desperate call for schools to feel listened to, consulted and for them to be led with clarity, care and a focus not just on academic success for children, but the heightened awareness for mental wellbeing to be prioritised.
After the summer break, schools have opened their doors again to welcome children back with an even greater need for a wide and diverse curriculum with a focus on wellbeing and mental health. The senior mental health leads are the driving force to lead the provision and to champion wellbeing, to identify and target approaches and programmes at early intervention level and ensure that every child’s wellbeing is at the heart of the school ethos, culture and values.
With the increasing focus on mental health and wellbeing in schools following on from and exacerbated by the pandemic, there are the beginnings of a strategic approach and the start of funding to support it. The initial stages saw the launch of a ‘recovery curriculum’ to get children back into schools but this is only the tip of the iceberg and the need for an informed, strategic and cohesive framework has never been more evident.
Proud to be working with the prestigious Department of Psychology, University of Bath in a research project to explore and exemplify impact on children’s wellbeing.
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