In honour of World Mental Health Day (10th October), the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) have launched a campaign called ‘Make It Count’. The campaign is aiming to improve the mental health of students and young people in education. There is already widespread evidence that there is a crisis among young people’s mental health, with 10% of 5-16 year olds having a diagnosable mental health problem.
This is something I feel strongly about and I want to show my support for the campaign. By improving the mental health of our children, we can help them fulfil their full potential.
The MHF feel that as children spend 30 hours in school, schools are important and must take a ‘whole school approach’ to improving the mental wellbeing of their students. The MHF ‘Make It Count’ campaign encourages schools to have a plan in place to measure the mental wellbeing of their students and that schools should be held more accountable for this. Furthermore, after learning that young people want peer support, the MHF aim to integrate peer teaching about mental health to empower young people to actively participate in breaking down the stigma.
73% of all teachers feel that training about mental illness was not prioritised sufficiently during teacher training. The MHF believe that teachers should participate in training that will be long term and sustainable by reducing their workload to participate in this 1 day a year. The MHF encourages schools to have regular, timetabled session to improve mental health literacy as the majority of children are not even aware of what they are feeling is. The MHF are also striving to ensure that every school has a fully qualified counsellor to provide a safe space for students to discuss and offload their problems. According to the campaign, a £1 investment into a child’s mental health is equivalent to £6.20 of benefits for them following intervention.
You can show your support for this great campaign by signing the pledge form by clicking this link – www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-schools-make-it-count/pledge-support-our-make-it-count-campaign
Barry Sheerman 