An early intervention project is underway in Salford (North West England) tomorrow and it’s a rather splendid example of how a City Council and a well-known community charity can come together to support the well-being of school children with mental health issues.

The workshop model called “Mindsteps” is an early intervention, school based series of workshops aimed at young people who have expressed a need for support or have been referred for low level mental health issues such as depression, anxiety by a school, youth worker, parent or social worker.

This course is specifically designed for those young people who are displaying negative behaviours which are often linked to low self-esteem and lack of resilience including anti-social behaviour, low level drug and alcohol use or are offending/ at risk of offending.

Schools often report that a significant majority of young people who are at the risk of underachieving face complex well-being issues, but fall below the threshold for CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS are the NHS services that assesses and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties).

The first of such workshops is being delivered tomorrow by the Groundwork MSSTT charity (Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford Ltd.) as part of a wider project to address mental health issues with our young people.

A group of young people from inner-city Salford will be experiencing activities such as;

• Barefoot Walking
• Building Shelters
• Fire Making (with the mandatory hot chocolate & marshmallows of course!)
• Natural Paint Making
• Meditation

Through exploration, activity based, experiential learning and one to one/group discussion; young people will learn to identify triggers, factors and indicators of their own mental health & well-being needs, and indeed, that of their peers.  Areas covered include:

• Brain Chemicals – What they are and how they can affect your mood
• Maslow’s Hierarchy – What do you need to feel good?
• Attachment Assessment – To gain a basic understanding of the young persons attachment style in order to best respond to their individual needs.

Essentially, the activities in the workshops are designed to give young people the tools to deal with stressful situations themselves in with “achievement coaching” (based on a tried and tested Groundwork model)by a qualified/experienced youth worker and by positive experiences, using the outdoor environment as a therapeutic tool to improve their well-being.  

We’ve blogged in the past about the ‘Forest Schools’ concept, adopted by an ever-increasing number of Schools all over the UK. This could be the next step towards alleviating our young people from some of the mental health issues they may be facing, by using the natural environment and therapeutic outdoor activities to assist them with their understanding of their own well-being / challenges and the road to recovery.    

To Groundwork MSSTT and NHS Salford Health Innovation Fund (total fund of £250,000.00 available, for such projects – apply here), we salute you.  That’s one fabulous project. Forest school – amplified!

If any of our website viewers know of other groundbreaking new initiatives such as this one, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and let us know; we love to spread positive news about how we can best serve our school children.