Last week was national Mental Health Awareness Week. As a class, we spoke about what mental health is, the different conditions that people suffer from and with and shared our own experiences of mental health. We also explored the fact that the focus of this week was ‘Body Image’ and what this means for both children and adults. The children now have a ‘Mental Health Check In’ board that they can use, as shown in the thumbnail photo, and an ‘Affirmations Wall’ to encourage positive mental health. These affirmations are attached to this blog post if you wish to use these at home. Year 5 were amazing and we are so proud of them for their profound contributions and with how open and honest they were about their own mental health challenges and experiences. Please continue to talk to your children about this and the importance of healthy minds as well as healthy bodies.

The children said:

• “I’m so happy that we did this activity. It taught me that we are all different in a marvellous way.”
• “It’s really important to know how to tackle mental health problems.”
• “Learning about Mental Health Awareness Week has helped me understand what is happening in the world and how much body image has taken over some people’s lives.”