This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, with schools and youth groups around the country getting involved on this year’s theme: Express Yourself. Launched by the initiative’s patron HRH The Duchess of Cambridge with a video message this week, there’s plenty for children to get involved with, from a virtual assembly with Jodie Whittaker and Oti Mabuse to a raft of activities designed to help children share their feelings, thoughts or ideas through creativity. The brainchild of mental health charity Place2Be, Children’s Mental Health Week has been running since and seeks to ‘shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health’. This year, the charity to hopes to encourage more children, parents and caregivers to take part in finding creative ways to share our feelings, thoughts and ideas.
Children and young people currently face unprecedented challenges, and finding ways to support their mental health and wellbeing throughout lockdown and remote learning is of paramount importance. Throughout our Strath Worldwide provision, our pastoral teams have been exploring innovative ways to support our pupils navigating these unique stresses and concerns, from one-to-one pastoral sessions to our Wellbeing Well. During this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week, we’ll be raising awareness within school and on our social media channels, taking this opportunity to try out ideas and find new ways to express ourselves.
“Expressive activities make us feel happier, and they are a great outlet for our emotions. Some of us pursue creative activities as a hobby and some, like me, do it for a living, but no matter what road you’ve taken to unleash your imagination and self-expression, it’s pretty clear to me that making things is part and parcel of being human” said Strathallan’s Head of Art, Mr Frank Glancy, when asked why it is important for children to express themselves through creativity.
“Making Art helps me to express experiences that are sometimes too difficult to put into words… If we can bring some order to our mental or physical states just by smudging paint, writing a story or learning to play the guitar, why not take advantage of that and welcome more art into your life? I guarantee it will do you some good.”
Pupils, too, are keen to prioritise mental health awareness and action. Recognising the importance of encouraging boys and young men to open up about their own feelings and mental health, the Sixth Form this week launched their ‘Brothers Be’ initiative under the guidance of the Deputy Head Pastoral, Mr Barnes and The Chaplain, Rev Jonny Wylie. Designed to bring boys in the Sixth Form together – online initially but with hopes for some face-to-face activity post-lockdown – to discuss matters that are important to them, the project has a particular focus on creating a safe space for discussions of wellbeing and mental health. The pupil Peer Mentors who manage the project are keen to roll the project out ultimately to include all boys in the School, with different gatherings for the various ages and stages.
Strathallan’s Deputy Head Pastoral, Mr Barnes, said:
“We hope to build momentum and experience but this is very much a pupil led group, with the boys deciding the agenda and future direction of Brothers Be… Over the coming months, they would like to include former pupils in order to get that all important insight from beyond the ‘Strath Bubble’ and ultimately they would like to include boys and young men from the wider Perth and Kinross and Scottish Community. It is an ambitious project but the ability to provide a safe space for young males to talk about important ‘stuff’ with each other is an opportunity that the Peer Mentors felt too good not to take on.”
Pupil health and wellbeing has always been Strathallan’s pastoral care, which the Care Inspectorate described as ‘sector-leading’ in their most recent report. You can find out more about Strathallan’s network of support at www.strathallan.co.uk/health-wellbeing.
We would love to hear from our Strath family about what you’re doing at home, too. Find out more about how you can get involved with Children’s Mental Health Week 2021 here, and tag us in your posts using the hashtags #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek and #StrathWellbeing.
