A special event organised by Dr Rhiannon Love, co-lead of the University of Winchester’s Centre for Research into Educational Action and Theory Exchange (CREATE), was held on 6 February to coincide with Children’s Mental Health Week.
The symposium entitled Breaking the Storm, explored the current challenges to children’s mental health and highlighted one charity, stormbreak’s, innovative approach to improving young people’s wellbeing. It featured presentations about the charity’s work, which aims to embed healthy, purposeful movement sessions into the primary school day.
Claire Hannah-Russell, a research psychologist and trustee of stormbreak, highlighted that 500 children a day in the UK are referred to mental health services for anxiety and other problems. At the same time today’s children are moving less than ever before.
Stormbreak believes daily 15-minute sessions (‘stormbreaks’) of healthy purposeful movement promote happiness and can help children build resilience to help them cope with the stress of modern life.
The charity is working with schools to incorporate stormbreak sessions into the daily timetable and to train staff on how to implement the workouts.
Dr Vicky Randall, Associate Professor at the University of Gloucester and Ambassador for stormbreak, said that research across 17 schools and one mental health trust showed that 90 per cent of children felt happy or very happy while taking part in stormbreak sessions and that the youngsters also felt more positive, sociable and relaxed.
She added that the programme had benefits across the board including with children who had “a negative perception of sport and physical activity”.
Following the contributions from stormbreak the audience gathered in the University’s Stripe Auditorium heard presentations dealing with three other topics connected to young people’s metal health.
Dr Alasdair Richardson, Reader in Education at the University of Winchester and advisor to the Holocaust Education Trust, gave a talk entitled “Looking but choosing not to see – how educators manage self-care and wellbeing at sites of dark tourism”. It dealt with the emotions of teachers leading tours to Auschwitz and how they have to don a ‘professional mask’ to hide their own feelings.
Vickey Dewey, Senior Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, Binsted Primary, spoke about the mental health pressures that can occur at a seemingly happy small village school. Isolation in a rural community was the chief problem. “It’s difficult to tell children they shouldn’t be on social media when it’s often the only chance they get to socialise,” she said.
Emma Goto, Senior Lecturer in Education at Winchester, addressed “The need for critical thinking to safeguard children in an artificially intelligent world”. She said that in age when we are bombarded with misinformation and disinformation, children need to be equipped with the skills to detect and challenge fake news and explore multiple perspectives.
Feedback from the event included:
Pictured top: Pictured: Dr Ellie Gennings, Bournemouth University; Dr Vicky Randall, University of Gloucester; Alasdair Richardson, University of Winchester; Martin Yelling CEO and co-founder of stormbreak; Vicky Dewey, Binstead Primary School; Claire Hannah Russell, stormbreak trustee; and event organiser Dr Rhiannon Love, co-lead of CREATE at University of Winchester.
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