Anna Freud

It can be hard to know how to communicate what we're okay with and not okay with, especially in times of conflict. Let's talk to children about boundaries at a young age and help them become empowered with the tools to manage their mental health 🩷 Education staff, we've just launched a new suite of free resources on managing relationships and resolving conflict. These are perfect for teaching emotional literacy to pupils. The toolkit includes assembly materials, a two-part lesson plan, PowerPoints, activity packs, worksheets and guidance for education staff. Students will explore key topics including building confidence in setting boundaries, managing peer pressure and navigating both face-to-face and online interactions. They will also learn how to identify and use constructive conflict resolution strategies, both offline and online. https://orlo.uk/58IUN

The 5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing framework is a tool to help develop your whole-school or college approach to mental health. Whether you're just starting out or building on existing work, the framework offers a flexible and inclusive way to embed mental health and wellbeing across your setting. The 5 Steps framework is freely available to all schools and colleges and you can access it in our free Mentally Healthy Schools toolkit. We've also recently added new resources to the toolkit, covering: Teacher retention Guidance for school governors Nervous system regulation for teachers Supporting SEND provision and staff wellbeing Helping teachers improve their sleep Practical tools for managing teacher burnout A blueprint framework for parent participation Check out the toolkit for dozens of resources and lesson plans to talk about mental health with your students: https://orlo.uk/3ZrzI

How would you answer these questions? We're excited to share our findings from recent research in our next 'So What?' seminar on 5 November. Every year, we share highlights from recent studies exploring challenges and opportunities in supporting children and young people’s mental health. Then we explore how insights from our research have direct relevance for practice and policy. Our researchers, young people, parents and carers on our panel reflect with our audience on the implications of these findings. Open to everyone interested in mental health. Book your free place: https://orlo.uk/ASH2G

Today is Youth Mental Health Day! This year's theme is Build Future You, reminding us we all need to support young people to build positive futures. One of the key factors in young people's mental health is often building healthy relationships. So, we asked Year 8s how they handle conflict in friendships, and they gave some really insightful answers... This video is part of our new suite of free resources for teachers and school staff on how you can help young people build healthy relationships. The toolkit includes assembly materials, a two-part lesson and guidance for education staff. It supports students aged 11 to 13 to develop the skills and understanding they need to build healthy friendships and manage conflict in ways that support their mental wellbeing. Students will explore key topics including building confidence in setting boundaries, managing peer pressure and navigating both face-to-face and online interactions. They will also learn how to identify and use constructive conflict resolution strategies, both offline and online. https://lnkd.in/emeETQfH #YouthMentalHealthDay #BuildFutureYou

We’re still looking for mainstream secondary state schools in England to take part in a national trial of the Learning Together for Mental Health Programme 🧠 Our friends at Place2Be are trialling a whole-school intervention to help young people thrive. It looks at academic outcomes, mental health, feelings of belonging and engagement for students, reducing bullying, and fostering a positive school climate. You’ll be randomly assigned to either: 📊 The trial group, where your school will receive the intervention and £500 as a thank you 📊 The control group, where your school continues as normal and you receive £1,000 What are the expected benefits? An earlier version of this programme in 40 secondary schools showed: ✓ Improved academic achievement and attendance ✓ Significant reduction in bullying ✓ Improved student mental health and wellbeing ✓ Improved school climate and student-staff relationships ✓ Reduced substance use The programme puts relationships at the heart of school improvement. Through training, your staff will gain practical skills to: ✓ Prevent and resolve conflicts without relying on sanctions alone ✓ Create calmer, more productive classrooms where positive behaviour flourishes ✓ Reduce teacher burnout by providing effective relationship-based tools Register your interest by 30 September: https://orlo.uk/awzDu

Autistic children's sensory overwhelm is real, even when a space seems “fine” to others. As children go back to school this month, autistic author Pete Wharmby shared with us 5 things he wishes every teacher understood about autistic young people. Pete also explained why it matters to recognise that: · Autistic pupils may need more time with transitions · Some young people may struggle to identify or explain how they feel · Body signals like hunger, tiredness or needing the toilet may not always be easy to notice · Unconscious bias can affect how autistic pupils are understood and treated Small changes in understanding from teachers, other education staff, and everyone around an autistic young person, can make a big difference in their school day. Watch the full video: https://orlo.uk/5NklL #AutismCentralLearn #Autism #AutisticChildren Health Education England

We asked secondary school pupils what advice they'd give to new Year 7s starting secondary this month – and this is what they said 🩷 Check out our new suite of free resources for teachers and school staff on how you can help young people build healthy relationships. The toolkit includes assembly materials, a two-part lesson and guidance for education staff. It supports students aged 11 to 13 to develop the skills and understanding they need to build healthy friendships and manage conflict in ways that support their mental wellbeing. Students will explore key topics including building confidence in setting boundaries, managing peer pressure and navigating both face-to-face and online interactions. They will also learn how to identify and use constructive conflict resolution strategies, both offline and online. https://orlo.uk/MVFQx

Super excited for this!

If you work with young people, do you feel equipped to support them in the constantly changing digital world they’re growing up in? Our annual colloquium is fast approaching next week! Join us for talks, panel discussions and clinical groups thinking about how we can better understand adolescents’ challenges today, and build support that actually works for them. 📆 17-18 September 📍 Online (in-person spaces are now sold out!) 📣 Expert speakers including Dr Holly Dwyer Hall Alessandra Lemma and Mark Dangerfield. Get your place: https://orlo.uk/0aSE1

EDIT: This webinar is now fully booked. You can watch the recording post-event by signing up for an Autism Central account: https://lnkd.in/emR2tv2K Join our neurodivergence expert Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou and autistic advocate Pete Wharmby for a free, NHS-funded webinar exploring the hidden emotional burden school can place on autistic, ADHD and AuDHD children and young people. Together, they’ll explore the emotional toll of getting through the school day, and discuss masking, sensory and social demands, exhaustion, distress and practical ways families and schools can support recovery and regulation. This session is for parents and carers of autistic children in England who may be diagnosed, awaiting assessment, or finding school increasingly hard to recover from. · On Zoom · Free, NHS England-commissioned session delivered by Anna Freud · Rooted in lived experience and research Places are limited and we’ll update this post once the webinar is full. Book your place: https://orlo.uk/Ip9Zo #AutismCentralLearn Health Education England