WE2 An empowering curriculum
Celebrating kindness: resources for schools for Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May)
The Mental Health Foundation is encouraging everyone to think about their mental wellbeing during Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May), with a particular focus on kindness. Why kindness? Well, MHF explains that they chose this theme because ‘kindness strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity’, and with everything going on in the world right now, what better time to shine a light on the power of kindness and the impact that it can have on our state of mind and wellbeing.
It’s not just being on the receiving end of kindness that can be good for us; helping others is also proven to be good for our own mental health and can help reduce stress and give our emotional wellbeing a positive boost.
‘Be Kind’ activities from CWRISE
With that in mind, the Mental Health in Schools team at CWRise has produced five activity sheets, one for each day of the week, with creative ways that young people can get involved and think about how they could ‘Be Kind’. You’ll find all five activity sheets below which can be shared on your websites, in your newsletters or used with pupils who are in school. We’d love to see what schools and young people in Warwickshire get up to next week, so please share your photos on Twitter and don’t forget to tag @wcc_schools and @CWRISE.
The following will download as a Word document:
Day 1 Pavement Positivity
Day 2 Bake a yummy dessert
Day 3 Learn a phrase in a new language
Day 4 Galaxy jars
Day 5 Create a masterpiece
Celebrating kindness with Virtual Kindness Cups
Place2Be is looking to celebrate the many acts of kindness that happen across school communities and has launched the ‘Virtual Kindness Cup’, inviting schools and individuals to award these during Mental Health Awareness Week. It’s an ideal opportunity to recognise the children, teachers, parents/carers and other individuals who have made a positive difference through their kindness at this challenging time.
Place2Be has provided lots of resources to make it as easy as possible for schools to take part, with certificate templates, trophy graphics to use on your social media, or to create your own materials, and activity ideas to help pupils make and award their own Kindness Cups.
Find out more about the ‘Virtual Kindness Cups’ on the Place2Be website here.
Time to Change focuses on the benefits of sleep to our mental health
For some activities that you might want to try or share with staff in your school, then take a look at this activity pack for workplaces from Time to Change.
This year they are encouraging people to consider how they can raise an understanding of the links between sleep and mental health.
Time to Change Mental Health and Sleep Activity Pack for Workplaces
Online Mental Health Aware training
Lifespace, a charity based in Stratford-upon-Avon, is offering introductory sessions to raise awareness of mental health that have been specially adapted to be delivered online over Zoom.
Everyone who completes the training will receive a certificate from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England to recognise that they are Mental Health Aware, as well as an MHFA manual to keep and refer to whenever they need to.
There are two courses on offer; one for understanding adult mental health and another aimed at supporting young people with their mental health. Anyone from age 16 upwards can book onto either of the courses, which are run by quality insured instructors.
Please see the two flyers below for full details of each course:
Adult Mental Health Aware Training
Youth Mental Health Aware Training
Helpline to support children and young people in mental health crisis
The NHS-led children and young people's specialist mental health service, Rise, is continuing to support children and young people during the current Covid-19 crisis with the usual referral routes still operating, as well as a new 24/7 helpline for anyone in need of urgent support and a wealth of online resources.
New referrals into Rise
New referrals into Rise services will follow the same process as usual. Referrals should be made to the Navigation Hub on 0300 200 2021, which operates Monday to Friday, between 8am and 6pm.
Urgent referrals
The Rise Crisis team is operating a 24/7 helpline to run alongside the usual entry point for new referrals (the Navigation Hub), for children and young people who are experiencing a mental health crisis and in need of urgent support. They can be contacted on:
- 02476 641799 if the young person is based in Warwickshire, or
- 02476 938000 if the young person is based in Coventry
This service is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, with an advice-only service outside the core hours of 8am - 8pm.
Support available online at cwrise.com
If you are concerned about a child or young person’s emotional wellbeing, you can also recommend the Dimensions Tool available online here. Based upon completion of a questionnaire, this offers immediate support and guidance tailored to the child’s needs.
There is also a comprehensive section on the website with resources from local and national organisations, as well as new videos created by Rise and fact sheets which are constantly being updated - these can be accessed here: https://cwrise.com/
Community-based events, professional training and consultations
In line with Government advice, to limit the spread of Covid-19, coffee mornings, workshops and drop-in events are no longer taking place. However, mental health professionals are still available for telephone consultations with schools, parents/carers and social care etc.
If the child or young person lives in Coventry call 02476 961476
If the child or young person lives in Warwickshire call 07917504682 or email risecommunityoffer@covwarkpt.nhs.uk
Appointment at Rise Clinics
To keep young people, families and staff as safe as possible during the development of the Covid-19 outbreak, as per national guidance, the majority of appointments will take place by telephone. A member of the team at the Navigation Hub will be in contact to confirm details of any appointments.
Other links to support for children and young people
- Papyrus - Tel: 0800 068 4142 - opening hours are 9am - 10pm weekdays and 2pm - 10pm weekends and bank holidays
Parenting support available during Covid-19
Early Help Family Support Workers in each district operate a parenting helpline for parents, carers and practitioners, offering same day consultation, advice, guidance and support around behaviour and any parenting concerns relating to children and young people aged 0-19 years.
Once contact is made, further support can be accessed via text message, email or WhatsApp facetime calls.
Contact the helpline on 01926 412412, from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Early Help FSWs are also working in collaboration with Children with Disabilities and Targeted Youth Workers and for more complex issues, support, advice and guidance can be sought from those teams also.
Family Support Drop in sessions will be reinstated once lockdown is lifted and these can be managed safely.
In addition to the above, there is a wealth of online support available for parents. They are able to access guidance online to help them to feel more confident in dealing with a whole range of issues and there are short courses also available via the Family Information Service website.
Warwickshire County Council - Guides for Parents
Message from the Flexible Learning Team
Warwickshire's Flexible Learning Team would like to share this video with all of the young people and families they support to let them know they are thinking of them all, to 'Stay home and stay safe' and that they look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
All of the team have got involved in making the video, from the admin support staff, to the teachers, to pass on their rainbows - to say 'thank you' to the NHS and key workers helping to keep everyone safe and well, but also to represent the idea of hope that all the young people they support will find a way forward and see the light at the end of their learning journey.
Unicorns also make a special appearance...see how many you can spot throughout the video!
Find out more about the Flexible Learning Team here.
Summer Reading Challenge: free resources for digitally-isolated pupils
With the disruption caused by Covid-19 and the impact of social distancing on schools and public libraries, the Summer Reading Challenge will return for 2020 with a new website, where children aged 4 – 11 can take part in the Challenge and a "Let's Get Silly" virtual launch event that the whole family can enjoy.
The Challenge will launch earlier than usual to keep children reading over the summer and support parents and carers with children already at home. This year it will be running from June to September 2020. Although library buildings are closed, libraries will also continue to deliver the Challenge through virtual services and e-lending platforms.
While the online platform offers a great way for all to engage whether reading e-books or downloading activities, it is not helpful for those families where there is limited or no access to the digital world.
Here in Warwickshire, we would like to engage primary age children who might find themselves digitally isolated, by offering them the chance to join up through schools.
To do this, we are able to supply some physical materials for those pupils who would benefit, including collector wallets and stickers, as well as certificates for completing the challenge.
If you would like to take part and receive a small supply of these resources free of charge, please get in touch with stellathebridge@warwickshire.gov.uk no later than Friday 22 May, with the following information:
- Contact email, name of school and contact at the school we can liaise with
- Estimate of the number of children across the school in this category, and if possible, the number in each year group.
As we have a limited supply of resources these will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis however where a school requests a significantly high number we may look at reducing this to give other schools the chance to receive some supplies.
We are unfortunately unable to send out resources in bulk but can provide supplies based on the estimated numbers you provide. We expect those families with internet access to join children online at home and to download their own resources.
If your school is allocated the materials, we will get back to you with full details of how to run the Challenge this year.
The Queen's Commonwealth essay competition
At this time of closed schools and remote learning, it is more important than ever to encourage young people to develop an empathetic and global worldview.
This year's Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition - the world's oldest international schools' writing competition - is inviting young writers across the UK to consider how the Commonwealth can address global challenges and work to create a better future for all its citizens. The theme for this year's competition, which was launched by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in New Zealand, is Climate Action and the Commonwealth, drawing on the increasing youth movement across the Commonwealth and the ongoing climate crisis.
Young people are called upon to use any form of creative writing to consider their position and power in bringing about change, and how the Commonwealth can be used as a tool for positive action.
The Competition is valuable not only in promoting the value of the Commonwealth, it is also a unique chance for young people to develop creative writing and written English skills and share their views and experiences with a global audience. It has the full support of its Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, who is represented by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at the annual awards ceremony celebrating the Winners’ achievements.
Entries will be accepted through the online platform until 30 June 2020.
Further information, including a promotional flyer, is available on The Royal Commonwealth Society's website here.
Booktrust Care Packages
Booktrust who operate Bookstart are putting together a limited amount of care packages and offering these out in phases to selected LAs across the country. Each care package will contain 20 random books and will be aimed at one of 3 categories – Early Years, Primary & Secondary.
They are looking to offer these directly to outreach contacts with an opportunity for them to be able to request packages via an online form for direct shipment to the them.
If you think you might be interested in receiving these packages please contact Deborah Hateley : deborahhateley@warwickshire.gov.uk