OUR WORK IN SCHOOLS
MENTAL HEALTH:
A WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH Our work in schools has always been at the heart of what we do. Here we spotlight the fruitful relationship between one school and a Charlie Waller trainer. Wendy Hale is the Senior Assistant Principal at Cowley International College in St Helens, Merseyside, a secondary school and sixth form with over 1,500 students. She first came across Zoe Woodworth, one of the Charlie Waller Trust’s mental health trainers, around four years ago when she attended a Mental Health First Aid course being run by Zoe. This was at the time when the school was beginning to bring together a wellbeing charter and, from there, the partnership has blossomed, with some really exciting developments within the school. Following on from that initial contact, Wendy invited Zoe into the school, where she ran a whole school awareness session for staff. This included topics such as the importance of self-care, building resilience in young people and handling stress. She then delivered several Mental Health First Aid courses for key members of staff, such as heads of year and those in pastoral support roles. There are now around 40 members of staff, known as ‘mental health champions’, who wear lanyards and are available should pupils need support.
20
Wendy says: “Even before the training, children would go to their year head, but it’s boosted their confidence knowing that they’ve had the mental health training as well. And the lanyards help – sometimes a student just needs that connection, a quick two-minute conversation.” Zoe has also run sessions at a parents evening – including the Five Ways to Wellbeing, the stress container and how parents and carers can support their children around exam time – and signposted parents to Charlie Waller resources, for example on perfectionism and exam stress. “I got a good response from parents,” Zoe says, “and it helped show them what the school is doing to support students.” Wendy is full of praise for everything Zoe has done with the school and says: “Zoe is extremely accessible and responsive to our needs. She’s able to relate to parents, teachers and children and they’ve responded to her really well. She’s very approachable and engaging, and brings a wealth of experience and understanding.”
