Talking Minds - A Mental Health Symposium

We organised a national Mental Health Symposium for teachers at which they could hear from expert speakers about the challenges associated with mental health and effective means of offering support. We have 20 free places to teachers in local schools to attend the conference.

Aims

The aim was to upskill educationalists in their awareness of mental health challenges and to provide practical advice on what people can do to support those who are struggling with their mental health. We felt that this is an important area in all schools and that teachers would benefit from this type of conference. There were over 50 people in attendance and they will take back what they heard to their own educational establishments and cascasde the information on to others, hopefully benefitting a considerable number of children in the longer term.

Background

The idea of a member of staff at this school.

Resources

One member of teaching staff spent a considerable amount of time organising this event. They sought out top quality speakers, arranged advertising and worked through the logistics. They were supported by HMC who published the event in their national weekly bulletin. While many of the attendees made a subsidised financial contribution, 20 free places were given to teachers at local schools.

Frequency

This was the first event of its kind. We intend to repeat it in the future.