stem4 held another of our very successful multi-school mental health conferences at Wallington County Grammar School with 120 year 9 students from 10 local schools. Some of the schools that attended the conference included Wallington County Grammar School, Carew Academy, John Fisher School, The Limes College and Greenshaw High School.
Jamie Bean, the Headmaster of Wallington County Grammar School, welcomed everyone to the conference and hoped that the day would be thought provoking and useful in supporting young people to achieve the highest possible levels of wellbeing and mental health.
Dr Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, CEO and Founder of stem4 said “Our student conferences are inspiring since they provide a space for students to listen and learn how to look after their own mental health as well as to express, in a variety of different ways, a message to their peers about the importance of looking after their mental health. They learn what steps can be taken to identify problems early in their development preventing later life difficulties. We encourage everyone to work towards making positive changes for themselves and for others and the students provided us with lots of original ideas – including a group that made up a mental health rap.”
stem4 student conferences aim to focus on early identification and intervention, and cover the areas of mental health that stem4 offer support. These include eating disorders; anxiety and depression; self-harm and addiction together with ways to boost resilience.
Students listened to speakers who shared lived experiences together with receiving clinical tips on what they can do to build resilience and manage their mental health as well as spot signs of early difficulties. Speakers included Dr Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, CEO and Founder of stem4, stem4 ambassadors Georgina Campbell, actress and Rosie Day, actress, Chrissy B, producer, Shad Ahmad and Sarah Sterne, Education Coordinator stem4.
The conference was interactive, including discussion and group tasks. Given the strong focus of the charity on including tech within their work and data driven objectives, student learning was assessed at baseline level and then at the end of the conference using a student handheld digital rating tool.