Belonging by Design: Mental Health

Anglian Learning has unveiled its ‘Belonging by Design’ strategy. This initiative is a priority for Anglian Learning for the next three years. The five strands of Belonging by Design are Attendance, Communities, Inclusion, Mental Health and Relationships.

Anglian Learning is beginning a collaboration with Cambridge-based charity, The Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health (YPMH), to progress the Mental Health strand of Belonging by Design. The collaboration aims to help Anglian Learning and its schools select and implement evidence-based approaches for:

• Preventing and recognising mental health conditions, such as depression.
• Supporting and managing pupils experiencing mental ill health.

The first phase will focus on providing accessible information to colleagues, pupils, parents and carers to improve understanding of:

• What depression is and what causes it
• How to manage personal risk factors
• How to make simple lifestyle choices that promote positive mental health

While the initial focus is on depression, the prevention strategies will promote overall mental wellbeing. YPMH’s research highlights the impact of everyday factors such as food, movement, sleep, chronic stress, loneliness, and substance use on mental health. Improvements in these areas can help prevent and even reduce conditions like depression. Please click here to see the Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health flyer.

Alongside YPMH, Anglian Learning will work with existing partnerships. Innovate IFG, our school’s catering suppliers and Anglian Leisure, our sport, fitness and leisure centres will help to provide easily accessible advice, nutrition guidance, support and activities for pupils and whole school communities.

As part of our strategy to identify mental health needs, by the end of this academic year, our secondary schools will ask pupils to participate in an anonymised online mental health screening tool to gain further insight into the levels of need for pupils across Anglian Learning.

Your child’s wellbeing is important. We will actively share guidance on maintaining good mental health as part of our Belonging by Design: Mental Health approach. We aim for your child to have a sense of belonging within their school and to enable them to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

To find out more about Belonging by Design, please click here.