The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is:
Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World
Adolescence and the early years of adulthood are a time of life when many changes occur, for example changing schools, leaving home, and starting university or a new job. For many, these are exciting times. They can also be times of stress and apprehension however. In some cases, if not recognized and managed, these feelings can lead to mental illness. The expanding use of online technologies, while undoubtedly bringing many benefits, can also bring additional pressures, as connectivity to virtual networks at any time of the day and night grows. (WHO, 2018).
What can schools do?
There are two initiatives that we would like to invite secondary schools to take part in:
Firstly, we would like you to share our digital video on ‘Resilience’ with your students on 10th October 2018. The video is suitable for Years 7 and above and is currently available on a trial basis free of charge. Please contact education@stem4.org.uk for access to our digital secondary education video pack.
Secondly, please can we ask you to raise awareness of mental health and stem4 through fundraising. One idea would be for your students to be allowed to wear something purple for the day and in exchange donate £1 to stem4. If your school would like to take part, we will send you a fundraising pack which will include posters to help raise awareness of mental health in your school. Please contact education@stem4.org.uk to request a school fundraising pack. Funds raised will be gratefully received and will help fund our secondary education offer including student conferences and educational resources.
Find out more about how stem4 works in partnership with secondary schools.