Compassion Matters was mentioned in a comment piece by Rachel Kelly in the Sunday Times (23/06/19) in relation to effective emotional support and learning projects. The comment piece discussed the plans announced by Theresa May to provide funding for teachers to train to recognise children’s mental health issues and the lack of current provision available to support children’s mental well-being. An extract from the article and link to the whole article can be found below.
…If May really wishes to be remembered for a revolution in mental health, she needs a more radical agenda. We need investment in medical research. We need to reduce CAMHS waiting lists — currently months long — and overhaul and improve services for young people. We need professionals to identify problems in schools, rather than handing this task to teachers who don’t have the skills they need to do the job properly.
And we need a new curriculum that prioritises emotional learning in a far more radical way than May suggests. Instead of screening, all schools should provide effective social and emotional learning programmes, such as the one run by the charity Compassion Matters, with the help of psychological workbooks for children to give them a sense of agency and empowerment. Let’s hope that our new prime minister will deliver a true revolution in a way that May has failed to do.
Rachel Kelly is an ambassador for Sane and Rethink Mental Illness.