Children's Mental Health Week 2023
Children’s Mental Health Week is an annual event led by Place2Be which takes place this year between 6 – 12 February 2023.
Children’s Mental Health Week is an annual event led by Place2Be which takes place this year between 6 – 12 February 2023.
Young Londoners 
Campaign
Children’s Mental Health Week is an annual event which takes place this year between 6 – 12 February 2023.
Launched in 2015, it’s hosted by children’s mental health charity Place2Be to highlight the importance of looking after our emotional wellbeing from an early age.
This year’s theme is Let’s Connect.
Place2Be has developed a range of resources and activities designed to encourage children (and adults) to consider how we can make meaningful connections that support our mental health.
Wellbeing guides for families
Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 sees the launch of wellbeing guides for families
To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, we have teamed up with our friends at Good Thinking to produce two new guides that help Londoners to look out for other people who may be struggling with their mental health.
The two guides – one to help children and young people support their friends and another to help parents and carers support children they care for – sit within a wider range of resources from Good Thinking on supporting others.
The guides can be downloaded from Good Thinking’s website. Or directly below.
The guides contain a series of practical tips and ideas on starting a conversation, which were developed by Thrive LDN in collaboration with pupils and teachers at St Mary’s RC Primary School, Wimbledon.
In this short video, Lauren Davis, Assistant Headteacher at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Wimbledon, tells us about the importance of talking about mental health and wellbeing with young Londoners and how they’ve been approaching this at St Mary’s. From ‘chitter chatter benches’ to nurture sessions with pupils.
Children’s Mental Health Week shines a spotlight on children and young people’s mental health and highlights the importance of early intervention to address issues before they become more serious. With this year’s theme being ‘Let’s connect’, we’re proud that these new guides will help families across London to make meaningful connections and support other people’s mental wellbeing.
You can also explore a range of resources and free apps to support young people from Good Thinking.
Looking out for children and young people
Explore Good Thinking’s quick guide to help parents and carers support their child if they are struggling with their mental health.
This guide is structured around three simple steps (1. Spot the signs, 2. Check in, 3. Help them get support) that help parents and carers to check in with their child and support their wellbeing.
We know how difficult it can be to discuss mental health with a young person so we hope you find Thrive LDN’s conversation starter helpful. Developed in collaboration with St Mary’s RC Primary School, Wimbledon, it includes advice about finding a quiet space to chat, listening carefully and helping your child to take control of the next steps.
Of course, we recognise that some children and teenagers need urgent support or professional help. So, as well as recommending free NHS-approved wellbeing apps and other Good Thinking resources, we’ve included signposts to charity and NHS helplines.
Looking out for your friends
Explore Good Thinking’s quick guide to help children and young people support friends who may be struggling with their mental health.
Being kind and looking out for others is an important part of being a good friend. In this guide, we suggest three simple steps that children and young people can take to support their friends who may be experiencing anxiety, stress or other mental health concerns.
Step 1: Spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health in someone else
Step 2: Check in and let them know you care
Step 3: Help them to get the support they need, including professional help
In the guide, we’ve included a series of practical tips on starting a conversation, which were developed by Thrive LDN in collaboration with pupils and teachers at St Mary’s RC Primary School, Wimbledon. Plus, there are links to useful Good Thinking resources – including free NHS-approved wellbeing apps, such as Clear Fear and Feeling Good Teens – and other support organisations.
Whole school approach webinars
Taking a whole school approach
To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, Thrive LDN partnered with Department for Education (DfE), Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) London and the Greater London Authority (GLA) to facilitate two one-hour webinars on the benefits of taking a whole school or college approach to mental wellbeing.
A recording of the webinars and the presentation slides are posted below. For regular updates, subscribe to Thrive LDN’s e-newsletter.
The webinars also provided information about accessing a £1,200 grant for DfE quality assured senior mental health lead training and adding your school/college to the 11,000 plus settings that have already benefitted from the training. This training helps schools and colleges develop their knowledge and practical skills to embed an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing, which contributes to improved learning, attendance and behaviour.
Schools and colleges that have not yet applied, should do so through the Education and Skills Funding Agency, then book to attend a training course anytime in spring or summer academic terms 2023.
If you have already reserved but not yet claimed your grant, please book to attend a course in the spring or summer academic terms 2023 and complete the final part of your application as soon as possible.
Supporting the whole PRIMARY school approach to mental health & wellbeing
Download the slides from this webinar [PDF].
Supporting the whole SECONDARY school approach to mental health & wellbeing
Download the slides from this webinar [PDF].
Happy to Chat benches
Implementing a Happy to Chat bench for educational or youth-based settings
For Children’s Mental Health Week 2023, Thrive LDN has been working with pupils and teachers at St Mary’s RC Primary School, Wimbledon, to learn more about their ‘chitter chatter benches’.
The benches are places they’ve created in the school playground where children can come and talk to others if they’re feeling sad or lonely. In this short video, hear from pupils at St Mary’s about how the the initiative is supporting them or others who may need to seek help or support from others at the school.
Happy to Chat Bench and Spaces Toolkit
To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, we have also developed a Happy to Chat Bench and Spaces Toolkit to help spread the learning and insights from St Mary’s across London. The toolkit also builds on work Thrive LDN started in early 2020, pre-pandemic, to support an Act of Kindness Bench pilot across London as a place where people can meet and share a chat.
Download the Happy to Chat Bench and Spaces Toolkit.
If you are thinking about developing this idea in London, then please explore the principles outlined in the toolkit as a starting reference. We’d also love to hear about it, get in touch with the team.
The principles in the toolkit can be applied for settings to support both children and adults.