News Stories
Posted on November 4th 2019
Mental Health Week - A Round-Up of What Happened
A round-up of what happended during our Mental Health Week last half term.
During the week, students had a chance to hear a performance and talk by singer-songwriter Ben Brown (pictured). Ben’s first three singles hit the top five in the iTunes singer-songwriter charts, and he is due to support George Ezra on some tour dates later.
Ben has had his own struggles with mental health over the last few years which is evident in the lyrics of his new music, so he feels he is in the perfect position to promote this positive message to youngsters all around the UK.
You can see from these Tweets that he made quite an impact.
Students also had the opportunity to hear from Havering NHS team during their break and lunch times. Students visited their stand and learnt about the impact of diet on mental health.
During the week we also ran a coffee morning to support parents and carers. They had the opportunity to meet and discuss mental health issues with the academy counsellor and also with our life coach. These sessions will be offered again during the evening, for parents and carers unable to attend during the daytime.
Harris Academy has also been selected for the SW!TCH Lives programme, run by mental health charity LifeLine. SW!TCH Lives workshops are designed to improve the mental health of young people in schools. We will be working with the programme to deliver one-to-one weekly mentoring sessions. Support will be provided for an average of two terms, delivered by a professional mentor, mostly within a school setting. This programme includes a 6-8 week mentoring course of workshops and peer mentoring sessions, delivered by Community Links. Young people can also join a range of activities, mostly in the school holidays, to provide alternative ways of engaging young people and improving their mental health.
To support our students even more, staff at Harris Academy Rainham are continuing their professional development on the issue of mental health. Staff have enrolled themselves on a Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children and Young People’s Mental Health. This course will provide them with a good insight into understanding the mental health challenges our students face, and equip them with the skills they need to identify and support students' mental health needs.
Our Vice Principal Mrs Divakaran and Head of Pastoral Mrs French will also be working with Family Links to be trained by a clinical Psychologist Dr John Coleman to develop strategies to support teenagers and their families. Family workshops will be offered to parents and carers to help them develop an understanding of teenagers’ feelings and behaviour and to deliver key strategies for maintaining and improving relationships. This will include discussion on teenage brain development and the adolescent development process and ideas for parents and carers to help them motivate and support young people in an emotionally healthy context.
