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It’s’s time to talk about our youn g people and their struggleswithmental health –what canwe do to help?


Comment by JANE ASHWORT


RTH, CEOStreetGames Kids these days are immersed in a


world of constantly emerging technologies and are given the chance to experience things people could only dream of even ten years ago. But with these new


opportunities comes challenges too, posing a threat to both the physical and mental wellbeing of young people across the UK.


Take social media, for example - these platforms are providing a variety of exciting environments for


young people, enabling them to regularly engage with their friends, as well as connecting them to multiple sources of entertainment, such as online games and videos. But, with all this communication and sharing of information, comes the unrelenting expectation put on young people to constantly compare to peers. And this continued pressure to perform, has the potential to take a toll on mental health, leaving many people feeling depressed and isolated, in turn often leading to inactivity.


Sport has been identified as a powerful tool for supporting young people’s mental health, not only inspiring them to achieve their potential, but also improving their self-confidence, social networks and mental wellbeing; thus, helping to relieve stress. It does this by teaching key sk ills such as teamwork, understandin g and self- discipline, and empowers young people to enter the adult world feeling they have the skills required to realise their ambitions. At StreetGames, we are using sport to support young people with their mental health, and sport coaches have a significant part to play in assisting a young person’s mental, as well as physical, wellbeing. Our ‘#21by21’ campaign is working towards our goal of training 21,000 sports coaches in mental health awareness by the year 2021. It’s important that both parents and sports coaches are aware of what they can do to help, and how they can identify a young person who may be developing a mental health problem. After all, this realisation is the first step to helping a child in need.


Firstly, an attitu de change can be a clear signal that something is wrong. If a child is acting unusually withdrawn and disengaged, this could be an indicator that a mental health problem, such as depression, is lurking. Similarly, angry or aggressive behaviour could mark a person’s stress levels rising. In this case, it may be worth paying them a bit more attention to ensure there isn’t an underlying issue causing this reaction. For example, these could include problems at home or in school, such as a traumatic event like a divorce or death of a relative. The resulting lack of sleep from this, dren more susceptible to problems such as stress or ake sure to watch out for a young person’s sudden as this could again indicate a deeper mental issue in ddressed.


need of being a weight change, anxiety. And, m could make chil


M t l healt h, and awareness of it, is not an exac s t cience. But, this starting point in identification, can help to nip a mental health problem in the bud before it continues into adulthood and has further implications, which could ultimately lead to unemployment, homelessness and clinical depression. Let’s tackle this now and


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The importance of supp rtortingmental health andwellbeing


Comment by JULIA BROMAGE, PupilWellbeing Lead at Knightsbridge School


FChildren’s mental health and wellbeing is often described in seemingly negative ways such as ‘of the moment’, ‘trendy’ o r ‘current’, but, in my opinion, such description of the topic can only be seen as a positive as it demonstrates its prevalence. The statistics around children feeling stressed and anxious are alarming and 90%of school leaders have reported an increase in the number of


children feeling this way in the past five years.


It is so important that schools


help to support their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, more so than ever with the added pressures that present themselves in children’s lives – social media being one of the leading anxiety drivers.


That is why one of the key aims for schools should be to open up the conversation around the issue of m wellbeing, bringing vocabulary into the cla language commonplace.


ssroom and making the ental health and


Teachers are in the position to provide children with the ability, capacity and resources to be mentally aware and also give them the knowledge and confidence to recognise a range of emotions and equip them with the skills necessary to cope with them. A t Knightsbridge and indeed all of the schools under the Duke s Education portfolio, we work hard to help our children understand that so called ‘negative’ emotions are part and parcel of life and enforce that it is how we cope with them that matter.


,


Of course, different personalities respond to stress and anxieties differently, but as facilitators of education it is our responsibility, not to try to remove stress and anxiety completely, but to give pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to help with these issues.


While training, money and resources are still necessary as well as an overhaul to the education system in terms of balancing academics and wellbeing, it is often the simplest things that can provide the biggest benefits to children and staff .


That is why encouraging the good intentions of all school staff is crucial. It can be tempting for leaders to w overhaul systems to try to provide children


with a ‘clear cut’ idea of ant to tick boxes and


school wellbeing, but this can be unrealistic. Instead, small acts should be encouraged and celebrated, whether that be opportunities for weekly reflection and discussion, brief physical activities during the day or simply playing a calming piece of music. Therefore staff training is vital, even if it just opens up the opportunity for people to share different ideas.


Supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing is so important to us and during Children’sMental Health AwarenessWeek we want ed to bring a focus back onto simple ways of creatin g positivity at school.


The kindness detective activity allowed us to bring back the idea that kindness is cool and was embraced by both children and staff. Such a simple notion brought a sense of joy across the whole school community and created a joyful and magical atmosphere..


www.


wwweducation-toda y.co.uk.co.uk 32


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