How to get involved in Children’s Mental Health Week 

Monday 6^th February marks the beginning of Children’s Mental Health week. The theme for 2023 is ‘Let’s Connect’ which is especially poignant after the last few years we had. Young Minds reported that one in six children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem in July 2021, a huge increase from one in nine in 2017. That’s five children in every classroom.

Maintaining healthy relationships and a sense of community is essential to our well-being. Especially for children as they grow and begin to find their place in the world. Children flourish in healthy and meaningful communities and school is one of the first places children experience a community outside of their families. Children’s mental health can be supported by developing strong relationships with family, friends, and other people and that’s why this year’s theme is encouraging people to connect.

What is Children’s Mental Health Week

Children can occasionally feel isolated and lonely when their desire for social connection is not met, which can have a detrimental effect on their mental health. Place2Be launched the first-ever Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015 to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health. Since then, it’s grown from strength to strength and is becoming a key event on the calendar for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and beyond.

Based on the 5 pillars of well-being identified by the NHS, we’ve put together some ideas of how you can introduce these into your classroom for Children’s Mental Health Week and into your future lesson plans too. Here’s how to prepare for Children’s Mental Health Week with The PE Hub:

Connect with other people

The first one fits right in with the 2023 theme. It’s all about connecting. Children can learn from sharing positive experiences and build understanding, empathy, and compassion. In a world where we increasingly rely on texting, messaging, and email to communicate, take the time to encourage your class to communicate face-to-face in both positive interactions and other exchanges that come up during school time such as conflict resolution. Having someone to confide in such as a friend or teacher, will help children to communicate their problems, share their feelings and improve their overall mental wellbeing.

Click here for a quick and easy connection board game you can do with your children.

Be physically active

We may be biased, but the simple act of getting up and moving around is such a good way to boost a child’s wellbeing (and yours too!). Science has proven that physical activity releases endorphins that improve our mood and can help positively support our wellbeing.  It could be as simple as going for a walk, trying out a new sport at school, or getting together with friends to play games.

For teachers, we have made getting active at school super easy. Our high-quality PE planning resources empower teachers to deliver better physical education and introduce children to the benefits of keeping active that will last a lifetime.

Let’s get moving for mental health!

Learn new skills

Learning new skills can increase confidence and help children to make new friends. New skills are not only a chance to learn something new, but it’s a challenge, a goal achieved, and a new way to build a community of people they can connect with. Children need to discover what they enjoy, but it’s just as important for them to discover what they don’t. They can only do this by having the opportunity to give things a go.

We have lots of pre-made lesson plans that feature a whole host of different skills that children from reception to 6 can try out. From gymnastics and agility to coordination and handball, take a look at our available lesson plans here.

Give to others

Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 encourages teachers to create a culture of kindness in the classroom. Giving to others doesn’t have to mean material things. Giving someone your attention and time can mean the world when you need someone to talk to. Discuss with your class how connecting with people can be achieved in lots of different ways. In the classroom, giving to others can be shown through sharing, volunteering, or involving others in games and how giving to others can create positive feelings that contribute to a healthy sense of self-worth.

To get a taster of what the PE Hub can offer, you can check out our free resources here.

Pay attention to the present moment

In a world where we are all becoming more and more reliant on digital influences in our lives, it’s important to switch off from social media and take a digital detox now and again. Paying attention to the world around us is key to improving mental wellness. It’s important for children to see, hear and enjoy the things that are happening all around them, rather than experiencing them through a screen.

Obviously, phones aren’t allowed during class, but you can put time aside specifically for mindfulness. Even just 15 minutes at the end of each day to be quiet, breathe deeply and practice mindfulness can help children wind down from the day and help them to process their emotions more effectively.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can introduce physical activity to support Children’s Mental Health Week from the 6^th to the 12^th of February, get in touch today.

You can find out more about Children’s Mental Health Week on the official website here.