Eloise Stephenson, one of the first members of school staff to take part in the Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) in Schools programme, shares her thoughts on our training.
Some months ago I was offered the chance to take part in a mental health awareness training course as part of the Youth MHFA in Schools programme, an initiative run by MHFA England to upskill school staff like me in every state secondary school in the country to better support pupils’ mental health. In my role as manager of The Turnaround Centre at Ormiston Endeavour Academy in Ipswich, I often deal with pupils in emotional distress, so naturally I jumped at the chance to get involved.
Having last week attended the Youth MFHA One Day course, I can say that this training is something I feel all school staff could benefit from. I think there is a level of uncertainty when it comes to managing mental health issues in vulnerable children as it’s such a delicate subject. In sharing evidence-based advice and skills on how to approach young people around talking about these sensitive issues, I think this programme can go some way to changing this.
The course has complemented the techniques and ways of working I currently use and given me greater awareness of common mental health issues. It’s given me greater reassurance that I’m talking to our pupils about these issues in an appropriate way and also greater confidence to spot the signs and triggers and to offer the right advice at the right time.
As someone on the frontline, tasked with supporting children with these kinds of issues, this training has in many ways filled a gap for me – previously I’d had no formal guidance on managing self-harm or depression for example. I now have a better understanding of the questions to ask to start supportive conversations and the Youth MHFA manual is also a fantastic resource to be able to refer to as I continue to develop my understanding of mental health issues and Mental Health First Aid skills. In my capacity as a Youth MHFA Champion I now look forward to running sessions on upcoming inset days to share my new-found knowledge and skills with my colleagues.
Eloise Stephenson is manager of The Turnaround Centre at Ormiston Endeavour Academy in Ipswich.
Click here to find out more about the Youth MHFA in Schools programme