iMHARS - Islington Mental Health and Resilience in Schools
The iMHARS framework helps schools to understand the seven aspects (components) of school life that can support and contribute to pupils’ positive mental health and resilience.
iMHARS can be used in schools to research current practice, identify where things are working well, areas for improvement and next steps. Schools are encouraged to reflect on what support is in place to meet the needs of all pupils; for the most vulnerable pupils, for those at risk, and preventative measures for all pupils. If you are interested in working with our mental health advisors to reflect on and improve your systems, please contact Lil.
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Islington's Health and Wellbeing Directory
We have created a directory of organisations that can support your work with children, young people and their families, on a variety of topics including mental health. Visit the Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Directory.
Islington Community of Schools (iCOS) mental health working group are wanting to develop the directory further to include services that individual schools recommend. Please complete this survey so we can share good practice and useful resources across our community of schools.
Teaching and Learning
Time to Talk Day 2018
This year’s Time to Talk Day is all about bringing together the right ingredients, to have a conversation about mental health. Having conversations about mental health helps break down stereotypes, improve relationships, and take the stigma out of something that affects us all. There are lots of different ways to have a conversation about mental health. And you don’t have to be an expert to talk. Time to Change provide schools with a variety of resources, posters and material to get everyone talking about mental health.
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Islington Mentally Healthy Schools
Last year, we facilitated over 1,300 pupils to discuss mental health during our campaign to mark Time to Talk Day.
We are supporting schools again this year to have these conversations, in partnership with the BIG Alliance. Volunteers from local businesses will be visiting primary and secondary schools during the month of February to facilitate focused discussions on what makes a mentally healthy school. If your school hasn't signed up for pupils to take part, you can still facilitate the lesson using the guide below.
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Healthy: Inside and Out resources
Place2Be launched the first ever Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015. This year for Children’s Mental Health Week 2019 (4-10 February), the theme is Healthy: Inside and Out.
They have create a range or resources with an assembly guide, activities and ideas to help primary and secondary-age children and young people explore what it means to be Healthy: Inside and Out.
They also have a series of lessons on resilience and kindness to download in the 'Look back' section.
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Islington primary resources
Islington's PSHE scheme of work ‘You, Me and PSHE’ includes a strand on mental health. This ensures that mental health is being addressed throughout the primary phase. The primary programme of study for mental health incorporates lessons on friendship and feelings, and how people can look after themselves and others.
We have developed specific lesson plans for Year 6 pupils that teach what is meant by the term mental health as well as the discrimination and stigma that can surround it. There are four PSHE lessons to be taught by class teachers.
Islington secondary resources
The Healthy Minds scheme of work was developed to support schools to raise awareness about mental health issues in accessible, interactive and enjoyable ways. Each lesson in the scheme covers a different mental health topic and comes with suggested lesson plans, student resources, detailed teacher background notes and eye-catching hand-outs.
Supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools
The Anna Freud Centre have created guidance to support all staff working in school settings to understand how best to help the children and young people in their care. The booklets cover a range of mental health concerns, describes signs you might recognise and offers straightforward and practical guidance about what to do if you are worried about a child or young person. A second booklet for secondary schools was developed to offer an introduction to some of the mental health issues that children in secondary schools may face.
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Advice for Parents and Carers: Talking Mental Health
The Anna Freud Centre have produced this leaflet to provide simple advice and guidance to parents and carers about how to make conversations about their child's feelings part of everyday conversation.
Free online counselling with Kooth
Kooth is a free online counselling and emotional well-being support service providing young people aged 11-18 years (up to 19th birthday) in Islington with a free, safe and secure means of accessing support from a professional team of qualified counsellors. Young people can access this service anonymously by signing onto the Kooth site. The site provides unique, out of office hours’ provision and is open 7 days per week, 365 days a year (from 12noon until 10pm on weekdays and from 6pm until 10pm on weekends).
The Kooth team will be available to come into secondary school assemblies to explain the service to students and meet with staff to support them in feeling confident to talk about Kooth with students. Schools can arrange a presentation for staff and pupils to explain how Kooth works for young people. For more information regarding the service, please visit the XenZone website; www.xenzone.com.
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Mental Health workshops for parents
The Direct Action Project are funded in Islington to provide workshops for parents of primary school children.
The aims of these workshops are to increase parents understanding of 'mental health', reduce stigma and develop awareness of local sources of support.
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February 4 2019
Youth Mental Health First Aid
This training will be delivered by Rethink on Monday 4 February at Canonbury Primary School. Participants will develop practical skills to identify a range of mental health issues and support a young person to get the help they need.
March 7 2019
Suicide Prevention training
There are a limited number of places for primary school staff from 9-12 on Thursday 7 March at City of London Academy, Highgate Hill.
Supporting Staff Health and Wellbeing
MHFA England last year published an 'Address your Stress' toolkit, which includes posters, videos and activities to promote to staff how they look after themselves.
The Anna Freud Centre have also released a new booklet with guidance on supporting staff wellbeing in schools.
Islington Schools HR provide guidance on health and wellbeing matters, including the Employee Assistance Programme, which offers employees free, confidential and independent support.
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Islington Mental Health Charter
We know from the Islington Mental Health Charter that young people are interested in mental health. The charter was formed and designed by young people for young people, with the overall aim to improve the social, emotional, mental health and well-being for children and young people.
Schools who would like to implement the ten statements can undergo a review, to identify good practice and have the mental health charter endorsed in their school.
If you are interested, please contact Lil
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Try out an innovative mental health approach and get £1000 for your school
The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families is recruiting mainstream secondary schools to take part in England's largest research trial of school-based mental health interventions. They are now recruiting mainstream secondary schools to take part in the second wave of research, delivering the interventions next academic year (2019-2020). Schools allocated to an intervention delivered by school staff will receive free training from the Centre. All participating schools will be remunerated £1000.
To find out more and apply by the deadline of 5 April 2019, visit the website below:
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