Over the years we’ve received lots of similar feedback from adults saying “if only I was taught this at school.” Our vision at Mindapples is of a world where taking care of our minds is natural and normal for everyone – and this should start with children and young people.
Since mental wellbeing and resilience has become a statutory part of the curriculum, we want to help schools deliver on this promise to young people. Working with schools across the UK, we have developed a package of training and classroom resources to support teachers in delivering the new curriculum and developing an approach to mental wellbeing that can benefit the whole school community of staff, pupils and parents.
We recently had the opportunity to visit St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Bath and asked them about the impact our training had on the mental health and wellbeing of staff and children. You can watch the film and read more about our schools programme here. https://mindapples.org/charity/schools/
In early December we took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, a digital match funding campaign. Through the generosity of our donors during the campaign we managed to reach our target of £20,000, meaning we can now provide our training and support packages to another 100 schools in the UK.
We are now looking for more UK Primary and Secondary schools to receive our training so if your school is interested, please email Michele Worden at schools@mindapples.org or nominate your school online by completing the form at www.mindapples.org/nominate.
Our virtual training sessions equip school staff with the awareness and understanding they need to take care of their own minds, and the tools to help them facilitate positive conversations about mental health and wellbeing with pupils, school communities and families, to build cultures which promote healthy habits and open conversations.
We love hearing from schools about the impact our training has:
“We are so proud to have been a part of the Mindapples well-being pilot. Our children have hugely benefited from a strategic approach to supporting their mental health and well-being upon our full return to school.” – Lyndsey Jefford, Assistant Headteacher, Heber Primary School, Southwark
To complement the training, we provide school campaign packs and age-targeted lesson plans and assembly resources. Packed with colourful materials, posters, applecards and other ideas for engaging young people, these resource packs allow staff to run their own wellbeing campaigns for pupils, colleagues, parents and the wider school community.
“We really loved the apples, it’s just a lovely visual way for the children to think about those things which are positive for them and as it’s such lovely quality card it makes it feel really special.” – Sorcha Rudley, Mindapples champion and Year 4 teacher, St Mary’s RC Primary School, Bath
Mental health can feel like a heavy, medical topic, something to be left to the professionals. But we all have mental health, and the things we do every day affect it. We all each have an amazing opportunity to improve our lives, simply by taking better care of our minds. Let’s give young people the tools to do just that.
Find out more at www.mindapples.org/schools.
