Schools in Mind have launched a new mental health lead resource hub on their Mentally Healthy Schools site.

In partnership with and funded by the Department for Education, they have collaborated with a range of education and mental health experts to produce this new hub for mental health leads and other education staff.

This hub is a comprehensive resource that signposts and showcases practical resources from trusted organisations and training providers - all under one roof.

It will enable mental health leads to continue to develop in their role, and embed an effective whole-school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing.

Take a Look

For World Mental Health Day (10th October), Better Health have created two new mental wellbeing resources for pupils aged 5–11. Their What is wellbeing? assembly and Self-care resource can help young people understand the meaning of wellbeing and explore activities to help them feel good and boost their physical and mental health.

Accredited by the PSHE Association and the NHS, they include an immersive film featuring young people speaking about their thoughts on self-care, worksheets and scenario-based activities that can be delivered flexibly across the school timetable.

These are available to download for free on the School Zone website.

Food: A Fact of Life have added six new activity packs to the website.  Each pack is based on a food theme and combines learning about healthy eating, cooking or where food comes from, with early years curriculum areas such as numeracy, literacy and physical development.

The activity packs can be downloaded from the website .

The Daily Mile Foundation have released some new #BackToSchool resources to help you get a healthy start to the year. To support you with The Daily Mile as a health and wellbeing initiative for your children, The Daily Mile Foundation are excited to launch the brand-new Global Rugby Challenge resource. This challenge encourages children to travel round the global map by running, jogging, wheeling or walking The Daily Mile, whilst learning fun facts and answering rugby questions about countries along the way. The resources are free to all schools that are registered to The Daily Mile (which is also free).

Sign-up to The Daily Mile (for free) here.
You’ll get a welcome pack with instructions in the post, as well as stickers for your children.

With a rise in the number of children vaping, Better Health have created teaching resources aimed at helping Key Stage 3 children understand the impact that vaping has on their physical and mental wellbeing. The three curriculum linked resources feature:

• Information on nicotine, what vaping is and the impact it has
• Films co-created by young people
• Activities to prompt pupil discussion and reflection
• Content written and reviewed by teachers
• Guidance on teaching about vaping
• Flexibility of use as either short form time activities or a full lesson plan

Download Teaching Resources here .

Let's Talk about Anxiety is an animation and accompanying teacher toolkit from Schools in Mind.

Aimed at students aged 11 to 13, the resource will help young people to normalise, understand and manage anxious feelings.

As well as the animation, which was co-created with young people, the resources include:

• materials for delivering a lesson, including a PowerPoint, lesson plan and worksheets
• materials for delivering an assembly, including a PowerPoint and assembly plan
• guidance materials for teachers, PSHE co-ordinators and parents/carers.

To download the resources click here

A reminder about Alcohol Education Trust's range of evidence-based resources available now to download  or as hard copies free of charge. To order your resources, please email kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org .

The following resources are available free of charge:

• Talk About Alcohol Teacher Workbook Talk About Alcohol is based around 6 key lessons to be delivered in Years 8 and 9 by topic. The resource includes additional lesson plans, games and activities organised by topic and year group. With PowerPoints embedded into the teacher guidance, it can be downloaded via Download Teacher Workbook - Alcohol Education Trust For ease of planning and for referral a printed copy can be ordered from kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org
• ‘ Alcohol and You’ guide for young people including top tips and advice on staying safe around alcohol. alcohol_and_you.pdf (alcoholeducationtrust.org) Hard copies can be ordered by contacting kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org
• ‘Talking to Kids’ parent guide including helpful advice and information on topic including units, guidelines, the effects of alcohol and the law. ParentGuide.pdf (alcoholeducationtrust.org) We also host parent and carer talks both virtually and in school.
• Six fully planned lessons including accompanying PowerPoints. These lessons help ensure high-quality, effective alcohol education lessons with minimal planning requirements. Download via Download Lesson PLans | Alcohol Education Trust
• SEN Activity Box including laminated activity cards and the BAFTA-winning ‘Just a Few Drinks’ films. This is particularly suitable for those working with pupils SEN or more vulnerable young people.
• www.alcoholeducationtrust.org which offers a wealth of excellent resources organised by topic and year group.
• www.talkaboutalcohol.com is a pupil-facing online learning zone including fun and engaging activities and games such as an online nightclub. The site allows pupils to learn to make safe choices around alcohol in a very pupil-friendly way.
• Life Stuff (life-stuff.org) is an advice and information hub for 16+ and includes topics such as alcohol, drugs, mental health and finances.

  If you work with young people aged 16-25, we have a new set of resources looking at alcohol and cannabis. Please contact kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org for further information.

• Alcohol and cannabis resources If you work with young people aged 16-25, AET have a new set of resources looking at alcohol and cannabis. Please contact kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org for further information.

• Teacher/staff training sessions We highly recommend that to ensure that the activities, games and discussions used in Talk About Alcohol are fully understood and embraced by staff, training is organised for all relevant staff. Our highly trained staff demonstrate best practice use of our resources as well as the games and activities suitable for young people. Sessions can be tailored to suit your school and a Q and A session is also included. Evidence shows that PSHE education is best delivered by well trained staff who are trusted by pupils who know them well. ‘One off’ sessions delivered by visitors to school are enjoyed but do not lead to behaviour change as several lessons that build spirals of knowledge and understanding are key.

• Parent talks We can provide a talk to parents covering parental supply, parties, being good role models and setting boundaries, the law, what to do if things go wrong and how best to speak to young people to help them stay safe around alcohol.

April is Stress Awareness Month, so Education Support have put together some new resources.

Don't forget. Their free and confidential helpline, is there to support you and your staff every day of the year. You're never on your own.

Tel: 08000 562 561.

1. Stress Risk Assessments

A stress risk assessment can help to reduce the risk of stress to yourself and your colleagues, promote good mental health, and create a happy and healthy school environment.

To find out more and how to approach doing a stress risk assessment in your school click here.

2. Dealing with the Stress of Behaviour Management

Through his vast teaching experience, Athir Hassan, also known as The Behaviour Trainer, has developed various techniques to manage the stresses and anxieties related to managing student behaviour.  To find out more click here.

3. Stress Busting Tips

A fantastic panel of teachers and mental health experts share some excellent tips to help you gain control on your stress-levels.  Watch here.

4. Boost staff wellbeing with an Employee Assistance Programme

Hear from Mark and Sophie, who work with schools across the country, about the tangible benefits of Education Supports Employee Assistance Programme could bring your school. Watch here.

This webinar was held in February and was recorded and will be available to watch back on the Anna Freud Centre YouTube channel in a few weeks. You can subscribe for new content notifications.

Useful links from the session

• Value, Money and Me - online books, games and resources for families to learn about money: Click Here.
• Love Food Hate Waste - put the name of the food that you need to use up, and it will give you a list of recipes to use that food:Click Here.
• For low-cost recipes: Click Here
• Join the National Centre for Family Learning for Free: Click Here.
• Money Helper high-quality support and advice: Click Here.

FREE mental health and resilience training for schools

Mindapples has been promoting public mental health and wellbeing across the UK since 2008. Over the years they’ve received lots of similar feedback from adults “if only I was taught this at school”. The 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 became a statutory part of the curriculum, Mindapples want to help schools deliver on this promise to young people. Working with schools across the UK, they 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.  The training equips 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.

“It was a really well run, well-delivered, well-resourced and useful course which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I will be delivering training on this to our whole student body and I only hope I deliver it half as well as you did and inspire our staff to make a difference as you have me!"
Judith Firth Assistant Head Mayfield School Portsmouth

Mindapples recently took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge and reached their fundraising target so can now provide their schools programme to more schools in the UK for FREE. They are now looking for schools to receive our training so if you would like more information on the programme, course dates and registration please visit here. If you have any questions please email Michele Worden at schools@mindapples.org.