Strong start for first schools-led commission into pupils’ mental health
Healthy MindED, the first schools-led commission into pupils’ mental health, held its inaugural meeting on Monday.
The Commission agreed its vision, scope and terms of reference, and discussed what kind of evidence they would like to ask for when the call for evidence opens later this year.
Professor Dame Sue Bailey will be co-chairing the Commission with Steffi Ellison, Head Girl at High Tunstall College of Science in Hartlepool.
They are joined by:
• Kate Chisholm, Head Teacher at Skerne Park Academy;
• Hilary Ellam, Senior Manager at the National College of Teaching and Learning;
• Dr Lynne Howey, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and Children and Young People’s Mental Health Clinical Lead at Northern England Strategic Clinical Networks;
• Colin Lofthouse, Head Teacher at Rickleton Primary School;
• Dr Peter Mulholland, Senior Educational Psychologist and Team Manager for the Emotional Wellbeing and Effective Learning Service at Durham County Council;
• Maura Regan, CEO of Carmel Education Trust;
• Sue Fisher, Executive Head Teacher of Teaching School at Percy Hedley School;
• Steve Wilkinson, Executive Head Teacher at Monkwearmouth Academy.
Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, Steffi argued that issues around mental health seem to develop and become more common in Year 9 and 10, being linked to the anxiety surrounding exams when pupils experience a lot of internal and external pressure: “There’s an argument that stress is healthy, but if you’ve got no management around it, then how are you meant to succeed when you can’t cope with the pressures?”
Steffi also mentioned social media as being a key factor, with unreal expectations coming from the online world: “Pupils from my school have 19,000 people following their social media profiles, so they automatically want to better themselves for the audience. It seems like an unreachable goal.” She concluded by advising young people to think before they post and take everything published online with a pinch of salt.
Professor Dame Sue Bailey explained that the Commission aims to support teachers in understanding the range of mental health problems experienced by pupils in their schools, but also look at the sort of systems that can be implemented in schools, linking them with experts such as specialist CAMHS services.
The Commission will hold open sessions during which will gather evidence from schools as well as regional and national organisations.
SCHOOLS NorthEast will be holding a conference on mental health in schools – linked to the work of the Commission – in early June.