I was privileged to attend a round table discussion at the House of Commons on the 9th October on the topic of Mental Health Specialists within schools which was chaired by Minds Ahead and attended briefly by Nicky Morgan (M.P).
The professionals sitting around the table all had the same passion – to improve the mental wellbeing and health of students. As the mental health lead for The British School – Al Khubairat, a leading British Curriculum School in the UAE and the first International School to be awarded the Carnegie School Mental Health Award, it was an opportunity to showcase the work being done within the school and how a Mental Health Specialist could contribute to the pastoral care within education.
With ever increasing statistics around youth mental health and children experiencing adverse childhood experiences, the necessity for vulnerable young people to have access to both mental health promotion and intervention has a particular impetus and the timescales for improving their life chances becomes even more important. The discussions at the first meeting were particularly fruitful with sharing of ideas and visions and great collaborative thinking and I look forward to developing those ideas in the coming months.
If you are a school leader who would like to find our more and be involved in the next round table please email office@mindsahead.org.uk to find out more.
Blog by Priya Mitchell – School Counsellor & Designated Safeguarding Lead
