Mental Health Learning Hub

Main aims of the project in 2019 - 20

Our evaluations of the 17/18 mental health hub show that members have developed their own professional understanding of mental health issues in schools: ‘I have gained increased knowledge around mental health challenges for young people’ and ‘valued working in a project group to develop practical resources’. ‘It has been great to develop and fine tune resources to support in my school as well as others’.

The main purpose of this hub is to share knowledge and understanding of mental health issues through dialogue and problem solving, building confidence and developing practical resources to support pupils and staff members experiencing mental health challenges.

Our aims will be:-

-To continue to facilitate a problem solving and sharing best practice group made up of mental health leads in schools.

This group will meet termly with expert input (e.g. speakers from CAMHS or The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)) to provide support for developing understanding of mental health issues in schools. This group would complement the work currently undertaken by the mental health in schools groups led by Gill Morris. We will provide a forum for mental health leads in schools to talk with an expert and their colleagues in other schools to share and problem solve together.

-To run cross-phase research and impact groups to develop practical resources on our two areas of focus for 2018/19:

– staff well-being and mental health

– the importance of sleep

The groups will meet at least termly to develop and trial a practical resource to support work in the focus area and which can then be shared with other schools.

-To build on our work in 2017/18 to develop and share our resources around thinking cards – videos/lessons to support the use of thinking cards in secondary schools and primary thinking and feelings cards.

Want to get involved?

Which staff would benefit from joining and why?

Mental health leads in schools or those with a passion for supporting children's mental health

We would encourage those who have been a part of the Hub in 2017-18 to continue through another year's learning

What does the Hub plan to achieve and what resources will be created?

To continue to provide a forum for mental health leads in schools to share issues and problem solve together.
To provide expert input for the group, developing members’ own understanding of mental health challenges and issues.
To create cross-phase resources to teach about the importance of sleep (these may include assembly/ lesson materials to be used, for example, in Year 6 and Year 7, information for staff, parent workshop resources)
To build on the hub’s 17/18 work on staff well-being/mental health in developing the staff well-being questionnaire and associated practical resources for school leaders.