Creating Mentally Healthy
School Communities
“As a Mental Health First Aid England facilitator, I work with schools to empower students and staff with the skills to support mental health across the whole community. With rising pressures on pastoral systems and specialist services, it’s never been more important to embed practical mental health knowledge in everyday school life. By training students as peer supporters and giving staff the tools to recognise and respond to early signs of distress, we create a culture of resilience, empathy, and shared responsibility for wellbeing.”
Sarah Frazer - Balanced Futures
Young people’s mental health: Current context
Record levels of young people are struggling with their mental health. Academic pressures, social media, bullying, poverty, inequality, and the lack of timely professional mental health support available are all contributing factors.
In 2024, the number of referrals to mental health services increased to 120,000 a month, compared to around 40,000 a month in 2016. One in five children aged eight to 25 had a probable mental health condition in 2023, a sharp rise from one in nine in 2017.
50% of mental health conditions are established by age 14 and 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
Event One
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Two
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Three
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Four
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Five
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Testimonials
“The instructor did a fantastic job in creating a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom and made the entire course interesting and easy to absorb”
“The information taught was very useful and easy to apply and helped me develop lots of skills, such as implementing ALGEE as a MHFaider and also learning how to best advise for anxiety attacks and eating disorders. It was very informative and interesting. Overall it was a very good experience.”
“I really liked the instructor and I thought the session had a good balance between listening to Sarah talk and activities.”
“I feel very confident in supporting other people know and noticing when people may be struggling”
“It feels very much like a win-win for our 6th form students. Not only are they able to support the pastoral work in school but they have benefited from their own personal development and will enter university and the workplace with tools to manage their own mental wellbeing and to support that of others they work alongside." ”
“This course improved my confidence and gave me the knowledge of how to start an open and helping conversation about mental health.”
“I gained a lot of knowledge on how to strategies talking to people with mental health struggles and the appropriate course of action when they are in danger. I now feel much more educated and confident about the subject ”
“I've become so much more confident in starting and engaging in conversations about mental health. This course has allowed me to be a better mentor for younger students in my school, as well as helping me understand myself better. I am able to be more supportive to my friends and family with their mental health since attending this course. I am really grateful for having this opportunity!”
“Really interesting to learn from a different perspective about youth mental health.”