It’s hard to imagine a time when mental health and wellbeing has been more important in schools.
This September, we’re launching a year-long campaign to showcase the importance of having link governors for wellbeing on every school board. Now more than ever, schools need a dedicated governor to keep mental health and wellbeing on the agenda, so that pupils’ and staff’s physical and mental health is looked after.
School leaders need support with responding to the increased need for mental health and wellbeing provision in education. This is where the wellbeing governor steps in. It’s an important position all year round, but this year, schools will be under increased pressure to support children and young people in the return to school after months of uncertainty.
You don’t need to be a mental health professional to make a difference to children’s mental health and wellbeing. Schools need people who are interested in and care about mental health and wellbeing on their governing boards, so that the right questions are asked and provision can be improved.
We want to help schools across England to have a link governor for wellbeing on their board. Over the course of the next year, we’ll be providing training resources for existing link governors for wellbeing, and for those preparing for the role.
Working with Place2Be, the children’s mental health charity, we’ll share blogs on key topics around mental health and wellbeing, questions for link governors to ask at board meetings, and best practice.
We’re kicking off the campaign with a wellbeing webinar panel on Thursday 24th September from 11am – 12pm, where mental health professionals and thought leaders in the sector will come together to talk about pupil wellbeing on the return to school following lockdown, how to support mental health in schools, and why it’s important.
Register your attendance for the webinar.
If you can champion mental health and wellbeing, apply to become a governor and we’ll match you with a school in need. For existing governors who want to learn more about supporting mental health and wellbeing provision in schools, visit our resources page.