Student wellbeing key at St Benet Biscop

Wellbeing was centre stage, when students at St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy in Bedlington marked Mental Health Awareness Week with a series of activities and initiatives designed to promote their welfare.

All year groups had the opportunity to be involved in the event, which had ‘Take Action’ as its theme this year, and was facilitated by the school’s Wellbeing Ambassadors and Peer Mentors, who were on hand to support their fellow students.

“We have ten Year 8 Wellbeing Ambassadors, nine Year 9 Peer Mentors, and 12 Sixth Form Peer Mentors,” explained Deputy Headteacher Maxine Salmon.

“Peer Mentors are trained to support peers with issues such as anxiety, low-level mental health concerns, friendship worries, and building confidence. They offer one-to-one and/or group mentoring, helping peers to navigate struggles and feel welcomed, particularly during transitions.

“They serve as a positive role model, showing resilience to help others. They will support our Year 7 students particularly, but are open to all students. They will signpost further support from our school staff, or use of our Wellbeing Hub online resource.

“Wellbeing Ambassadors promote positive wellbeing to their peers through wellbeing group activities, and sharing mental health resources on the school blog and in the parent newsletter. They will raise awareness in school with their peers around the issues and ideas that are raised in the Wellbeing Hub, such as sleep hygiene and wellbeing tips. They are positive role models for their peers.”

Activities taking place over the course of the week included completion of an online mental health questionnaire, writing postcards of thanks to members of staff, and composing positive messages and affirmations to create an in-school display.

“All students could write a positive message to support others in times of difficulty, and we displayed them the following week for students to reflect upon, to ensure positive mental health is promoted and celebrated, and that students know to speak to peers or staff for support,” continued Mrs Salmon, who organised the events with Wellbeing Coordinator Holly Ridley.

“We reflected on celebrities who have talked of their mental health challenges – Selma Gomez, Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson, Billie Eilish, and Ryan Reynolds. We talked about positive psychology, and that we can reflect on our character strengths, and recognising these and using these helps us to unlock our full potential and manage life’s ups and downs productively to build resilience.

“We support this through our in-house RISE curriculum of ‘Respect’, ‘Resilience’ ‘Integrity’, ‘Self-Discipline’, and ‘Excellence’, which is taught through form time and year group time together, and reinforced throughout all lessons.”

“Events like Mental Health Awareness Week are crucial in building and promoting a sense of belonging, reflect our core community belief, offer opportunity for discussion around sensitive issues, and ensure students know they have peers and staff to talk to for support,” she added.

“They are crucial in our RISE curriculum, teaching our students our RISE values, and building their resilience for the wider world.”