Youth Social Action Resource Hub

This Mental Health Toolkit was funded by The Mayor of London to support young people’s mental health. The toolkit was co-designed by Volunteering Matters and Young People who champion positive mental health.

Teaching young people about mental health and well-being in schools is essential, as it promotes awareness and understanding, reduces stigma, helps with prevention, supports early intervention, and encourages positive habits.

Why focus on MH? This documents explores the benefits in exploring Mental Health in schools and why it is important to deliver it within the curriculum

Background reading to support the effective teaching of mental health and wellbeing including facts and figures, definitions, and links to other organisations that can support the delivery of Youth Social Action.

Lesson 1: Understanding and recognising mental health wellbeing in yourself and others. Lesson 2: Enable young people to understand factors which can contribute to mental health with strategies on how they can start to take care of themselves. Lesson 3: Understand daily factors which can have an impact on us mentally. Lesson 4: Learning about simple self-care techniques, including being physically active. As well as developing emotional literacy and resilience in young people to understand feelings. Lesson 5: Continuing the focus on emotional literacy and resilience to help young people understand how they are feeling and what they can do when things do not feel right. With a particular focus on Art and Music.

This resource on mental health focuses on the importance of mental health and well-being. It maps opportunities as to when mental health can be delivered across the national curriculum with suggested activities.

Teaching young people about mental health and well-being is essential, as it promotes awareness and understanding. At each key stage, we have used the National Curriculum, providing links and examples of how mental health can be delivered through a range of subjects. Each key stage has 3-5 bespoke lesson plans through which the topic of mental health can be delivered as part of the inspire and inform steps of Youth Social Action. Providing the young people with a strong basis for them to link these to Social Action projects at either a local or national level.