Why do you want to go into schools to teach about mental health?

According to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 10 children are affected by mental health problems. By going into schools, we aim to reduce the stigma, increase awareness and provide information on where to get help.

 

What age are the students you normally teach workshops to?

We aim to teach students in secondary school between years 7 and 11.

 

What topics do you teach in schools?

The topics we teach in schools include: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance misuse & self harm and suicide

 

Do our volunteers have DBS?

Yes. We work with the student union to make sure all volunteers have their DBS. Our volunteers also have completed a child safeguarding course.

 

How are volunteers trained?

Our crash courses are two hour sessions with the first hour a lecture on content eg. mood disorders, delivered by a professional. The second hour we run a workshop focussing on lesson planning and delivery.

 

How long are our school lessons and how many volunteers are in each?

Each workshop usually lasts the length of one hour long lesson at school. The number of volunteers is usually three per class as well as a committee member or team leader to supervise.

 

How flexible are you with regards to booking school sessions?

We currently run school sessions during the Summer term around April and May. This year we have begun workshops during November.

 

How do you overcome the possibility of sensitive content taught in the lessons?

We try and make the content of the sessions relatable and appropriate for the students. For example, in the anxiety disorders workshop, we use a video from Zoella, a relatable YouTuber, who talks about her panic attacks and how it affected her life.