A primary school, in Wolverhampton, is ‘a much calmer place’, according to teachers who have begun training their pupils in Year 5 and 6 to be mental health ambassadors.
St Michael’s CE Primary School, in Tettenhall, which has a mix of pupils with special educational needs, has recently begun teaching the Change Makers programme to help children manage their emotions.
The West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), which leads a number of prevention and early intervention initiatives, has invested £70,000 in developing and rolling out the new curriculum to primary and secondary schools across the region. The content can be adapted to suit different ages and individual school needs.
Pastoral lead, Rachel Vann, said: “Having the Change Makers programme has definitely made these children more confident. It’s given them a voice to be able to speak up. Physically and mentally they are looking out for things all the time.
“It’s helped our children fantastically, we can’t believe it. The difference in behaviour at lunchtime and playtime, it’s so much calmer. It’s so worthwhile and I would encourage all schools to give it a go.”
The group of around 20 pupils in Year 5 and 6, including those with special educational needs (SEN), are taking part in the Change Makers Programme which is teaching them how to be an upstander, so they can look out for the younger members of the school community.
They wear blue, high vis jackets while out on the playground so younger pupils can ask them for help during break times.
10-year-old Osayi said: “I’m one of these people that gets angry really quickly so it’s not hard for me to spot something bad going on. Even if I start doing it, I realise what I’m doing and I try to stop as soon as I can.
“Being an upstander is part of my life. It is all about having that integrity and determination to keep on going and doing the right thing. It makes me angry to see someone else treating someone else unfairly because we are all equal, we are all human beings.”
Apryl, who is 9, said: “I saw someone on the playground who was lonely so I played with her to make sure she had a good time during breaktime and I told her that we are always around if she needs someone to play with.
“I don’t think 9-years-old is too young to be thinking about mental health, because everyone is unique and it’s been fun to learn about how people struggle with their lives. Sometimes you can just tell them what to do to feel better about it and then they can get past it as we talk about it. It’s really helpful to talk about your mental health and your sleep.”
She added: “Being an upstander means looking from others perspectives to see if they are getting bullied it can be really important to show the other person who’s bullying that it’s not ok to bully people.”
The programme will eventually be taught in hundreds of schools across the West Midlands, with the aim of creating thousands of young Change Makers who will be part of making positive changes in their schools and wider communities.
It’s part of the youth-led My Tomorrow campaign which is being funded by the Violence Reduction Partnership, and adopted by local councils, schools and youth organisations to help empower youth voice and improve the life chances of children and young people.
Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Simon Foster, who chairs the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) Strategic Board, said: “This programme stands to benefit thousands of young people, who will be better equipped to deal with a whole range of challenging scenarios in their lives.
“The Change Makers Programme will encourage students to take those skills into their everyday life and use them to help their peers; keeping themselves and others safe and improving their wellbeing.
“To put young people at the centre of this teaching is a really innovative approach from the My Tomorrow campaign, and demonstrates young people’s drive to be part of the solution in their communities when given the opportunity.”
