Youth Mental Health First Aid

On Thursday, 6th July Ermysted’s was proud to host a day of skills-based training as part of the Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) in Schools programme. Staff from a number of local secondary school’s attended, and became some of the first in England to receive the training.

The group spent the day learning how to provide mental health support to pupils on a first aid basis, and will now take on roles as Youth MHFA Champions in their respective schools.

Mrs Simms attended the session and said, “We are delighted to be one of the first schools in the country to be involved in the Youth MHFA in Schools programme. Around one in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health issue – roughly three children in every classroom – so upskilling frontline school staff to be able to support these children is crucially important. Mental Health First Aid is a robust evidence-based training that will not only increase the mental health literacy of school staff taking this course, but will help them turn this awareness into action by teaching them skills to support young people in emotional distress. In undertaking this training and ensuring we have a Youth Mental Health First Aid Champion among our staff, we hope to enhance our overall approach to promoting staff and student wellbeing, as well as giving pupils access to a staff member with Mental Health First Aid skills.”