New lessons help Leeds pupils learn about mental health

Lessons to help children and young people understand about mental health have been launched in Leeds today (Wednesday 3 May).

As part of the city’s MindMate Champion programme, the MindMate lessons have been developed to respond to children and young people wanting to learn more about mental health, before issues occur.

MindMate Lessons is a new emotional literacy and mental health curriculum for Leeds which has been developed in partnership between Leeds City Council and the NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Groups.

The lessons have been written by a range of teachers, mental health professionals and consultants in partnership with other services and groups, they are designed to fit into the PSHE curriculum, in a modern, engaging and evidence-based manner.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive member for children and families said:

“We want to ensure that children and young people in our city are supported to talk about their feelings and to know how to access help and support if they are worried about something in their lives.

“Working with our schools and colleges we know that we can tackle the stigma of mental health and enable young people to be more open and confident about caring for their mental and emotional health.”

The lessons are targeted at each year group and schools who have signed up to the MindMate Champion programme can access the lessons, lesson plans and resources from a dedicated website.

Schools who are MindMate Champions have access to a wide range of rich teaching resources including six lessons per year group, alongside additional stand-alone focus modules, assemblies, home learning and campaign materials.

Cllr Mulherin added:

“These lessons have been designed with as much thought for ease of use for school staff as for teaching essential skills to pupils.”

The six topics which are addressed during the lessons are:

1. Feeling good and being me
2. Friends and family
3. Life changes and transition
4. Strong emotions
5. Being the same and being different
6. Solving problems

For further information about MindMate Champions and MindMate lessons people can visit: https://mindmatechampions.org.uk/