This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, set up by charity Place2Be to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.

This year’s theme is Find your Brave.

Did you know 1 in 8 children and young people have a diagnosable mental health condition? That equates to 3 in every class, yet many people are made to feel isolated, ashamed and worthless because of this.

Now in its 6th-year Children’s Mental Health Week hopes to raise awareness of the benefits of getting children support at the earliest opportunity and to encourage parents to talk openly with children about their feelings and getting help. This year the theme is Find your Brave but previous themes have included, Healthy inside and out, Being ourselves, Spread a little kindness and Building resilience.

There are lots of free resources available from the Place2Be website and it’s not too late to get involved, simply download the resources here.

Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 25 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools. They are the UK’s leading provider of schools based mental health support and in 2018/19 they worked with 639 schools and reached over 364,000 children and young people.

Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes and is different for everyone. It can be about sharing worries and asking for help, trying something new or pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. “Finding your brave” can build your confidence, self-esteem and make you feel good about yourself.

As part of this Children’s Mental Health Week Place2Be are asking everyone to think about what makes them feel brave and share their stories using #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek

Thursday 6th February is also Time to Talk Day 2020 by Time to Change. You can find more free resources for schools and young people on the Time to Change website.

Here at turn IT on we keep the conversation around Mental Health going all year. Becky Tyler is our Mental Health First Aider and we are in the process of creating a wellbeing space in the office and an online hub. We will be including a number of the resources to help break the stigma surrounding Mental Health.