Mental Health Awareness Week 2024
Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 is taking place during 13 to 19 May, organised by the Mental Health Foundation. This year, the theme is ‘Movement: moving more for our mental health.’
Movement is important for helping to protect and build mental wellbeing, boost mood, and help us look after our health. The body is not separate from the mind.
At CORC we work with mental health professionals, schools and education settings, and services working with children and young people to benefit their mental health and wellbeing. This theme is a great reminder to all of those we work with to ensure you are implementing healthy habits for yourselves, keeping your body moving, and your whole being in balance, whilst engaging minds and doing the great work that you do - we know you're busy.
Below are some resources and inspiration for you.
Many of the organisations CORC work with provide community based interventions, which include movement as part of a solution for good wellbeing, such as Advantage, West Ham United Foundation and In my Corner.
If you would like your service or setting to demonstrate the benefit you are providing for children and young people's mental health, CORC can:
- evaluate your wellbeing, mental health service or intervention
- support you in analysing data collected and report on the findings
- conduct research
- translate research into data
- conduct large scale evaluations
We also work with school groups, multi-academy trusts or local authorities to measure the wellbeing of pupils and staff to ascertain what further interventions might be required. We offer Wellbeing Measurement for Schools, or tailored support and resources for schools.
Resources and inspiration for Mental Health Awareness
Within our participation strategy and manifesto, ensuring the voice of young people is heard is integral to our work. This short story by a young person who works with Anna Freud as a young champion highlights how the lack of physical and mental wellbeing within her schooling had an affect on her mental health. Read Thea's short story here: There is life beyond academic achievements.
Education Support provide a practical toolkit for school leaders, developed in partnership with NAHT to help you and your staff maintain a healthy mind - you can access these exercises, tools and tips here.
The Mentally Healthy Schools team within Anna Freud have resources to help primary and secondary schools discuss mental health with pupils during Mental Health Awareness Week. It contains resources that explore the links between mental and physical health, as well as materials to teach pupils more broadly about how to build good mental wellbeing. This also includes resources for school staff. You can access this toolkit here.
You can get in touch with us here to arrange a free 20-30 minute conversation to see how we could support you in collecting data, leverage your existing data or facilitate service improvement, enabling children and young people to access the resources and services required to benefit their mental health and wellbeing.
CORC’s vision is for all children and young people’s wellbeing support to be informed by real-world evidence so that every child thrives.