Mental Health

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Is it July already? I suspect you’re making plans for the summer holidays (we’re almost booked up for our summer club in the glorious South Downs National Park, but there is a waiting list if your young person is interested). If you’re in Hastings and aged between 16 and 24, we’re running a 2-day Catalyst workshop exploring identity with the brilliant photographic artist, Lindsey Smith. You can see some examples of the amazing work so far from participants on The Catalyst project in our Catalyst Gallery. (The above image is from our recent graffiti workshop in Bexhill with Priority 1-54.)

Is vaping on the increase?

Whilst smoking seems to be less popular among today’s young people, anecdotal evidence says that vaping is on the increase. Some estimates say up to 15% of young people are vaping. 

If your teen wants help to quit vaping, we have some useful resources on our Help pages aimed at young people.

We’re behind calls for a ban on disposable vapes – never mind that their designs seem to appeal to children, but they’re almost impossible to recycle and are more likely to end up in the general waste (where they’re a hazard). In the UK, 1.3 million vapes are thrown away every week. 

School absence figures are stubbornly high

Increasing absences from school have hit the headlines with parents reporting feeling isolated. It’s estimated that 1 in 10 GCSE pupils in England are absent from school each day. It’s perhaps understandable that post-pandemic, children are still anxious about school and that parents working from home feel less pressure to encourage a sickly child to go in to school.

We’ve pulled together the best of the advice out there for our Help page on the topic. 

I read this heartfelt letter from a parent and the brilliant response from psychotherapist Philippa Perry in The Guardian. She says, “what seems to be happening in the UK educational system is that the individual pupil is seen as the whole problem rather than acknowledging that the school environment and unhelpful government policies around targets are a part of this, too”.

Raising Teens

Lastly, we’re about to embark on a brand-new series of our BBC radio show, Raising Teens – which will be our fifth series! We’ll be looking at issues around how young people access mental health and wellbeing services, what help is available for children with complex needs, eating disorders, and the journey to getting a diagnosis for ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

We’re looking for young people, parents, and professionals to talk to, so if you’re interested, please get in touch.  

You can listen to past episodes via this link. They cover everything from the teenage brain and anxiety to county lines, stress and resilience. They’re full of practical tips from some brilliant professionals, parents and teens.

Keep in touch!

That’s all for this issue. If you have any suggestions or news you think we should include in next month’s round up, please comment below or get in touch. 

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Hello! We hope you had a great Easter! 

Each month, we look at the issues affecting young people that make the news, with an emphasis on making good – so we add practical tips and advice for young people and families. 

In this month’s post:

  • A round up of the latest reports showing that the mental health crisis in young people is growing – and where to get help.
  • The cost-of-living crisis is stopping young people going out, causing greater loneliness – we’ve some great resources to help.
  • Why getting out into nature is great for our mental health.
  • We’ve rewarded young people for their amazing work on The Catalyst programme.
  • And lastly, listen to MGT co-founder, Daisy Cresswell, on the EdTech podcast, focusing on how tech can be used to promote diversity, inclusivity and equality in education.

Mental health crisis – latest reports

This month, mental health is making the headlines. The charity Mind released new research which reveals that “young adults are struggling with their mental health with 95 per cent feeling anxious in the last 12 months and over a fifth (21 per cent) experiencing these feelings all the time.” This comes hot on the heels of a report by The House magazine that 1 in 3 young people referred to the NHS for mental health issues are being denied help. 

The report has “uncovered a postcode lottery in child and adolescent mental health care, with some desperate young people waiting up to four years for help.” It also stated: “We hear about parents sleeping on their children’s floors to keep them safe, children out of education for months and years while they wait for help.”

Our Help & Advice pages have some great sources of advice and support on topics such as anxiety and eating disorders, and self-harm. If there’s a subject you think we should add here, please let us know!

Universities should have a statutory duty of care 

We wanted to give a shout out to Ben West, who lost his brother to suicide and has been campaigning for the government to legislate that Universities have a duty of care towards their students. On Tuesday, he gave a speech in parliament to call for “clarity, parity and accountability. In other words, for the government to say “this is what needs to happen, this is the same legal standard across the sector and it is a statutory requirement to provide this minimum standard of support.”

You can listen to his powerful speech on his Instagram account.

And check out his brilliant book: This Book Could Save Your Life: Breaking the silence around the mental heath emergency.

Combating loneliness 

UK Youth’s latest poll reveals that 36% of young people say they feel lonelier because they’re staying in to save money, curbing their social life. We looked into the effects of loneliness on young people during the pandemic. If you’re worried about someone close to you, check out these resources: 

Getting out into nature for free

We know that getting out into nature is a great way to help preventative mental ill health, helping to reduce loneliness and anxiety. (Read our blog post: Proving that nature is a real boost to young people’s mental health.)

This Easter, we took young people out to the South Downs National Park for our holiday club. It’s part of the ESCC Holiday Activities and Food programme which offers free activities to young people in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. We spent four days outside in the gorgeous South Downs National Park (SDNP) – if you follow us on social media, you’ll have seen us on wildlife walks, beach combing, litter picking (so much plastic on our beaches!) and learning about conservation. We’ll be back with another club in the summer, so watch this space. Big thanks to Dragon Drama and the SDNP team who ran our workshops for the club.

We were chuffed to get this feedback from a parent, which illustrates the benefits perfectly:

“I would love this to be a permanent thing. Getting kids outside, getting them active, muddy, rolling round, running about, is so good for them. Then of course they were ravenous, and it was great that there was varied, healthy food. Best holiday club ever!”

Rewarding young people

We’ve awarded 17 Digital Badges this month to participants of The Catalyst programme. That means, to-date, we have awarded 119 badges to young people who’ve taken part in our projects and programmes. This badging scheme is led by Real Ideas and Future Creators, and badges are issued by Badge Nation. written using the Cities of learning badging standard, endorsed by City and Guilds and the RSA.

After last month’s Catalyst graffiti workshops, we wanted to say a big thanks to Brewers who supported the project by supplying surplus paint, paint brushes, and a discount on exterior paint. They also featured the brilliant artwork the young participants produced in a blog post on the Brewers website.

Making EdTech more inclusive

Lastly, our co-founder, Daisy Cresswell, featured on the latest edition of The EdTech Podcast: Making EdTech more inclusive to discuss our work with Soundwaves Foundation, a charity that supports deaf children and young adults. We are working together to look into how we can help all young people learn better in the classroom.

That’s all for April. See you next month!

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There’s no doubt that connecting with nature improves our mental health. Recent figures suggest that wellbeing, self-confidence and employability improve when young people spend time in green spaces. 95% said it boosted their confidence and 86% said it had a positive effect on their mental health. Being in nature also helps to reduces loneliness in cities, according to a study published in the Scientific Reports journal.

This summer we created a short film that demonstrates just how important it is for children to get out in nature, to be among trees, in green spaces, and with friends. It was created as part of our Holiday Activities and Food Summer Club (commissioned by East Sussex County Council), and in partnership with the South Downs National Park Trust. With young filmmaker Luke Lebihan behind the camera, we explored the Seven Sisters Country Park, had photography and sound recording sessions at Friston Forest, and went river paddleboarding. It was an unforgettable summer.

These trips out really helped everyone to leave their worries behind, and to be in the moment.

“Lockdown was very boring – I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. This is a break from normal life and it’s good fun. You stop worrying about things that you normally worry about and you’re able to just enjoy yourself.”

Young person attending Make (Good) Trouble’s Summer Club at the South Downs National Park

Amanda Elmes, who leads learning and outreach in the South Downs National Park, said:

“It’s been wonderful to work with these teenagers and see them blossom through this experience.

“Unfortunately a significant proportion of young people are disconnected from the natural world around them and the pandemic has only exacerbated this. We’re really passionate at the National Park about giving young people opportunities to get out into the South Downs, learn about nature and have fun – they might even come home with muddy shoes! The testimonials we have had really support all the research that getting out into green, natural spaces is good for children’s mental health and wellbeing. We strongly believe that all children should have access to nature.”

Make (Good) Trouble’s Summer Club attendees looking out over Cuckmere Haven

Read the article on South Downs National Park website

Further resources for making the most of the great outdoors

Educational guide packed with ideas for things to do: 50 ways forest and outdoor learning experiences benefit child development

Forest England resources for teachers (we think young people and parents will find some great info here too like tree identification charts and the teacher’s blog)

Finding balance: 6 ways to help your teen study (and avoid burnout) from My Tutor

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As part of our programme of parent and carer get-togethers – our amazing beach walks – we spoke to psychotherapist Donna Peters-Lamb about teen mental health, wellbeing and tips for dealing with:

  • school stress
  • anxiety and exam stress – including how to speak to your teenager and the school about anxiety
  • the teenage brain – when teens seem like they just don’t care!
  • how to manage conversations around their mental health
  • breathing techniques for de-stressing
  • sleep and creating a better sleep routine
  • setting boundaries and expectations – around what we expect as parents, and what our teenagers expect
  • how to look after ourselves
  • and the benefits of having ‘worry time’.

It’s a fascinating discussion, so grab a cuppa and dive in!

This project has been supported by the Sussex Care Partnership, Brighton & Hove City Council

Brighton & Hove City Council logo

For further help & advice

If you need further help or advice, check our Help pages – they cover lots of different topics. (If we’ve missed something, let us know!)

Find out more about Donna at Make Sense Psychotherapy