We are very excited to announce that today we celebrate our first cohort of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders®)

These lovely people join our existing Mental health first aider, Karen Burt in being part of our ongoing commitment to supporting mental health and wellbeing across our community.

After attending the MHFA course, MHFAiders can:

• Understand the important factors affecting poor mental health
• Identify the signs and symptoms for a range of mental health conditions
• Use a five-action plan to provide MHFA to someone experiencing poor mental health or a mental health crisis
• Listen non-judgementally and hold supportive conversations using the MHFA England action plan
• Signpost people to professional help, recognising that their role as an MHFAider does not replace the need for ongoing support

They can be identified by their green lanyards and from the MHFAider posters across school.

Over the next few months we will be training our first cohort of Youth mental health first aiders and look forward to sharing more about this then. We will also be offering our staff (in all roles) the opportunity to attend mental health aware courses for both youth and adults. This training will continue to be offered annually.

Moving into the New Year, we look forward to extending the invitation to our families.