Category: Young People’s Mental Health

The number of young people seeking counselling for exam related anxiety ahead of GCSEs and A-levels reportedly doubled. It is therefore unsurprising that Bloom’s most popular workshop continues to be Exam Stress.

One in six children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a mental health problem in 2021, a significant increase from one in nine in 2017. Never has the need to support young people’s mental health been greater, and we know that early preventative support using upstream approaches like building resilience can have a positive impact.

A survey conducted by Basketball England found that approximately 27% of basketball players in the UK come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Lack of funding leaves little available to invest in mental health programmes.

Following an Ofsted inspection in 2020, Notley High in Essex pledged to implement strategies to improve students’ behaviour and wellbeing. Alongside other initiatives, Bloom was brought on board to foster and strengthen the school’s commitment to building a supportive environment for young people’s wellbeing.

Anyone who engages in a sporting activity, whether it be for pleasure or destined for a professional pathway – physical injury is an unavoidable risk. Roughly 48% of youth sport athletes have been found to have at least one injury during an athletic season, (Patel & Nelson, 2000).

There is a great need to support the mental health of children and young people in alternative provision education. A 2018 report from the House of Commons Education Committee (Forgotten children: alternative provision and the scandal of ever-increasing exclusions) found that an estimated one in two pupils in Alternative Provision schools have social, emotional and mental health as their primary category of Special Educational Need, as opposed to 1 in 50 in the general population.

Scotland’s land mass is classified as 98% rural with circa 1 million people living there. National Charity, Change Mental Health, emphasise the need to support people with their mental health no matter where they live in Scotland.

Beyond Bricks was launched by our founding partner in Northern Ireland, MindWise in January 2022 and was made possible thanks to fundraising by colleagues at Lloyds Banking Group. We spoke to Children and Young People Programmes Coordinator, Amy, from MindWise about the brilliant work she’s been doing to make Beyond Bricks happen.

Your Resilience is Mental Health UK’s education programme that supports 14-18 -year-olds to develop the tools and knowledge on managing their own mental health through life’s transitions, both now and in the future.