COVENTRY primary schools will be attempting to prevent the rise in the number of young people developing life-long mental health problems through the new six-week-long Engage Flourish programme.
The new scheme is being delivered to children aged between 10 and 12 in the city to give them the tools to boost their self-esteem and adopt a positive mindset.
Programme organisers are hoping to reach over 200 youngsters by next spring, having soft-launched it to over 120 pupils at Stivichall Primary School and Finham Primary School since the start of the academic year and an extra 90 children are set to join early next year.
A recent NHS survey revealed the rates of probable mental disorders in six to 16-year-olds had increased since 2017 from one-in-nine to one-in-six.
It also found that 39.2 per cent of youngsters in that age bracket had seen a decline in their mental health over the same period.
It’s being delivered in schools by CV Life’s Engage team, with weekly content being developed after research was carried out over eight years by Dr Raj Pahil from Coventry City Council’s Educational Psychology Service.
A model has been developed using the analogy of a flower and features five key factors a child needs to flourish, including growing their character, regulating emotions, being autonomous, a sense of belonging, and developing their skills and strengths.
Topics covered include teaching the students about their human rights, managing emotions, belonging and diversity in communities, developing autonomy and identifying positive personal traits.
Dr Raj Pahil said the country needed to move towards a system where every child received support to prevent its mental health crisis from deepening even further.
“The Engage Flourish Programme is the first step in trying to demonstrate best practice in this area.
“Mental health is a term that is wrongly often associated with mental illness, and we need to get away from this.
“Just because an individual, such as a child, does not have a diagnosed disorder, it doesn’t mean they are mentally healthy – which is why universal initiatives such as The Engage Flourish Programme are important.”
Schools in Coventry, Warwickshire and the surrounding areas can email [email protected] to find out more about the programme.
