Welcome! 
stem4 welcomes you to the 2023 student conference
The world is ever changing, more so post the pandemic and adapting to these changes, be they personal or shared, affects us as people and inevitably, our health, both positively and negatively. This conference is about bringing together young people to create an opportunity for you to express what you think about mental health and to find out how to support your mental health from those with lived experience and from professional perspectives. It provides a space to express, in your words, a message to your peers about the importance of looking after your mental health and to learn what steps you can take to identify problems early in their development. We encourage you to work towards making positive changes for yourself and for others.
We hope you will also help us create a forum to pool ideas so that we can find out what young people want to look after their mental health and direct us to help achieve these. We also hope you will take away tips to talk more openly about mental health matters to friends and family and become mental health ambassadors in your schools.
Ultimately there is no health without mental health. Your thoughts drive how you feel and how you feel and think drives your actions, so positive thoughts generate positive outcome.
Thank you for supporting stem4 by participating in this conference. We encourage you all to think about a mental health assembly you can present to your school on an aspect of something you take away from today. Overall, we hope you find the conference informative, motivating, and supportive.
Dr Nihara Krause
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, CEO and Founder stem4
Dear Staff and Pupils,
Welcome to Carrington School for our Student Conference on Mental Health in association with stem4. We are absolutely delighted to welcome stem4 and their team to host today’s event. I know you will find the day informative, engaging and useful.
Mental health awareness is a key priority for all of us. We are all acutely aware of the statistics of mental health conditions in young people and in particular the effect of the pandemic. The number of young people suffering with anxiety, sleeping issues, self-harm and eating disorders in particular are increasing at an alarming rate.
We therefore recognise the need to support our young people who may be experiencing some challenges with these areas and today our aim is to engage, inform and to provide the information, tools and confidence to help you help yourself and your friends to promote optimum mental health and wellbeing. Please do participate as fully as you can to ensure you gain the most from today and most importantly enjoy learning how to raise the profile of mental health and wellbeing in your schools to create a positive outcome for all.
I am very much looking forward to meeting you.
Best wishes,
Mrs Charlotte Williams
Associate Assistant Headteacher, Transition, Year 7 & Year 8, DDSL, Teacher of English
Resources
Mobile users: scroll the table to the right to see all columns.
| Further advice | Details | Availability | What they say |
|---|---|---|---|
| URGENT SUPPORT | |||
| Shout | Text Shout to 85258 (free) | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | Shout is a free, confidential, 24/7 text support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope. To start a conversation, text the word 'SHOUT' to 85258. Our trained volunteers are here to listen at any time of day or night, and messages won't appear on your phone bill. If your life is at imminent risk, call the emergency services on 999. |
| HOPELINE247 (Papyrus) | Call 0800 068 4141 (free) Text 07860 039967 Email pat@papyrus-uk.org | Lines are open 24 hours every day of the year (Weekends and Bank Holidays included) | HOPELINE247 advisers want to work with you to understand why thoughts of suicide might be present. They also want to provide you with a safe space to talk through anything happening in your life that could be impacting on your or anyone else’s ability to stay safe. * For children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide * For anyone concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide Young people Our advisers are all trained to help you focus on staying safe from suicide. Their training enables them to provide advice and support that may help you to move forward and stay alive. Concerned others If you are concerned that a young person is feeling suicidal, advisers can support you to start a conversation about suicide and explore options of how best to support them. |
| Childline | 0800 1111 (free) | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | When you call on 0800 1111 you’ll get through to a counsellor, they’re there to listen and support you with anything you’d like to talk about. Or you can have a 1-2-1 counsellor chat online. You can also send an email from your locker. We'll try to answer this within a day, but sometimes it can take a little longer. Childline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So you can talk to us at any time. But we might not be able to talk for as long when it’s after midnight. |
| Samaritans | Call 116 123 (free) Email jo@samaritans.org (Response time: it may take several days to get a response by email) | 24 hours a day, 365 days a year | A safe place for you to talk any time you like, in your own way – about whatever’s getting to you. We won't judge you or tell you what to do, we'll listen to you. |
| NHS 111 | Call 111 (free) | For urgent, non-emergency medical advice. | |
| SUPPORT FOR PARENTS | |||
| Parentline/YoungMinds | 0808 802 5544 | 9.30am—4pm Monday to Friday | Call our Parents Helpline for detailed advice, emotional support and signposting about a child or young person up to the age of 25. You can find out more about the additional Webchat and email support here. |
| Family Lives | Call 0808 800 2222 (free from landlines and most mobiles) Email askus@familylives.org.uk We currently answer 64% of all callers ringing. If you don’t get an answer first time please do try again. | 9am—9pm Monday to Friday and 10am—3pm Saturday and Sunday | Family Lives offers a confidential and free* helpline service for families in England and Wales (previously known as Parentline). Please call us on 0808 800 2222 for emotional support, information, advice and guidance on any aspect of parenting and family life. If you don’t get an answer first time please do try again. Callers in Scotland - for callers from Scotland, Children 1st run Parentline Scotland and you may wish to contact them on 08000 28 22 33 Monday to Friday from 9am to 9pm, Weekends from 9am to noon. |
| FACE-TO-FACE | |||
| Please see your GP for a referral | Refer to stem4's Asking for Help page which will provide some guidance | ||
| NHS | Find out about the different ways to get help with your mental health, the process, and your rights. Mental health services are free on the NHS. Your mental health is important and you should get help if you need it. |
||
| GENERAL SUPPORT | |||
| YoungMinds | Whether you want to understand more about how you're feeling and find ways to feel better, or you want to support someone who's struggling, we can help. | ||
| NHS Mental Health | Find information and support for your mental health. | ||
| Every Mind Matters | We all have mental health. Find expert advice, practical tips and support if you're stressed, anxious, low or struggling to sleep. | ||
| Mind | Mind Infoline: Call 0300 123 3393 (check your network costs) | 9am—6pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) | You can ask us about: Mental health problems Where to get help near you Treatment options Advocacy services Welfare benefits (ask to speak to a welfare adviser) Our Infoline is an information and signposting service. We don’t provide a listening service or a crisis service, but our crisis helplines page lists many services that do. We want to reassure you, you won’t ever be without a place for support. As well as our Infoline, our email or web chat service, there are lots of other ways to get support. |
| Rethink Mental Illness | Call our advice and information helpline on 0808 801 0525 Email advice@rethink.org (We aim to respond within 5 working days) | Monday to Friday, 9:30am - 4pm (excluding bank holidays) | The Rethink Mental Illness advice and information service offers practical advice on a wide range of topics such as The Mental Health Act, social care, welfare benefits, and carers rights. We also offer general information on living with mental illness, medication and care. |
| SELF-HARM | |||
| Harmless | Harmless is the national centre of excellence for self harm and suicide prevention. We save lives by providing support, information, training and consultancy about self harm to individuals who self harm, their friends, families and professionals. | ||
EATING DISORDERS | |||
| Beat | Helpline: England - Call 0808 801 0677 Scotland - Call 0808 801 0432 Wales - Call 0808 801 0433 Northern Ireland - Call 0808 801 0434 | 365 days a year from 3pm—8pm | Beat provides Helplines for people of all ages, offering support and information about eating disorders no matter where you are in your journey. These Helplines are free to call from all phones. |
| ADDICTION | |||
| Frank | Call 0300 123 6600 (check your network costs) Text 82111 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | Honest information about drugs. |
| Al-Anon | UK residents can call free of charge on 0800 0086 811 and Eire residents can call 01 873 2699 | 365 days a year, 10am— 10pm | We are here for anyone affected by someone else’s drinking. Our Helpline is manned by a team of friendly and helpful volunteers who are also members of Al-Anon. They will listen and be happy to answer your questions. Part of Al-Anon, Alateen is for teenage relatives and friends of alcoholics. |
| GamCare | Speak to an Adviser for free: call 0808 8020 133 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | The National Gambling Helpline We give confidential information, advice and support, free of charge, for anyone affected by gambling harms in England, Scotland and Wales. |
| YGAM | Evidence-led education to help prevent gaming and gambling harms | ||
| (Page last updated March 2024) |
