We reach out to schools and colleges with our work and use innovative ways to engage children
Please work with really young people - it could help them. I suffered so much at school. Maybe I wouldn’t have experienced the life I had if I'd received some help in how to talk about it when I was younger
Our champions have extensive insight and this shapes what we do and how we work. So many of them have looked back at their life and seen their much younger selves needing help with their mental health.
This is why our community awareness work takes us into schools, colleges and teaching training sessions.
Open Minds champions share their personal testimonies in workshops and recently we have also been working with younger children, aged from five to 11.
We have linked with enrichment and pastoral care school leads and teachers to engage the primary school children, recently using a new superpowers game at Thomas A Becket Primary School, Worthing, and River Beach Primary School, Littlehampton.
The superpowers game involves a set of cards that children can use to kick-start a conversation about feelings and to get them talking about mental health.
A superpower is a skill such as talking, asking a friend how they are, or practical things children can do to help themselves and each other. The children created superpowers for all types of situations, from loneliness to feelings of sadness and instances of unkindness or anxiousness.
We know that if children develop these skills early in their life, it has a very positive impact on their well-being and mental health
Pupils at River Beach Primary School get inspired by our project
Thomas A Becket Junior School pupils with their superpowers designs
We have a team of Open Minds champions helping with the design of these cards, books and eventually a digital version. If you would like to get involved, we need a variety of skills and resources to help us extend our reach. Please get in touch with us here