Young people’s programmes
We run Bloom and Your Resilience to deliver preventative support that equips young people with mental health knowledge
Evidence shows that providing good, early preventative support in the right place at the right time can help to avoid deterioration in young people’s mental health, and equip them for the challenges of everyday life.
Did you know that 75% of mental illnesses start before a person’s 18th birthday? That’s why we created Bloom – the largest UK-wide programme for 14-18 year olds which focuses on supporting young people’s mental health resilience – and Your Resilience.
Bloom
We gathered insight from young people and teachers across the UK to build a programme which young people have told us they want and need. Bloom equips young people with the tools and knowledge to maintain their mental health through life’s transitions – such as moving through school, changing friendship groups, moving to university or starting employment.
Delivered through scenario-based discussion and relatable topics, such as ‘social pressures’ and ‘exam stress’, Bloom will leave young people with a better understanding of mental health in themselves and others. They will also possess a suite of tools they can deploy in ways which are right for their own mental health both now and in the future.
A core part of our programme also works with teachers to build the foundational knowledge to do what they do best: securing the best outcomes for their students. Over an 8-week period, Bloom Associate Trainers work alongside teachers to support and train them in the course content and the application of our easy-to-use teaching resources.
With designated trained teachers continuing the future delivery of the programme, Bloom will affect the lives of more young people and leave behind a legacy within a school for years to come.
Topics covered include:
- Resilience
- Exam pressure
- Friendships (bullying, conflict)
- Social pressures
- Decisions about the future
- Anxiety
- Low mood & depression
- Managing stress
- Work-life balance
Your Resilience
Your Resilience is delivered throughout the UK to young people aged 14-18 and supports young people’s mental health resilience.
The programme is delivered in non-educational settings and aims to ensure:
- More young people are mentally healthy as a result of applying knowledge/skills/strategies learnt through the programme
- Young people feel supported, and are able to make successful life transitions now and into the future
- Facilitators feel confident and able to deliver Your Resilience and feel comfortable having conversations about mental health with the young people they work with.
To date, we have worked with youth organisations, community groups and CAMHS teams across Scotland.
Your Resilience is delivered through scenario-based discussion and relatable topics, offered as one-off sessions or as part of a full 7-week programme. There are two delivery options:
Your Resilience Lite: one-off mental health workshops, delivered in a group setting on any of the following topics:
- Resilience
- Anxiety
- Low mood & depression
- Exam stress,
- Friendships (bullying/conflict),
- Social pressures
- Making decisions about the future
- Managing studies
- Work-life balance (juggling time).
Read our resources on mental health and how you can better understand mental health conditions.
Co-delivery programme: One of our associate trainers trains staff in the full Your Resilience programme and then goes on to co-deliver the programme for 7 weeks alongside the trained staff to groups of 10-15 young people. Staff will then have the resources and skills to deliver Your Resilience independently.
Bloom on Clic
Bloom on Clic is a dedicated platform for teachers and education staff. You can sign up to our online training, access all of our Bloom resources, get mental health support for yourselves through our quick chat and community forums and gain insight to help your students through an array of materials and live Q&A sessions.
Sign up to the peer support platform, Clic, where you will find resources to support your work with young people and help you feel confident in having conversations about mental health in the classroom.
2021-22 Impact Report
We have supported 5097 young people in Scotland. 86% of our survey respondents felt more confident in understanding and maintaining their mental health, and 63% rated the overall programme as better than expected.
The commitment and dedication of educators and facilitators are a vital part of the success of both programmes. Through our young people programmes in Scotland, we have trained 463 teachers & facilitators across 28 council areas while delivering 316 workshops to support young people in schools and colleges! 71% of facilitators trained by the Your Resilience team reported increased confidence in talking to young people about mental health.
Me & Money
We are very excited to introduce our brand new Me & Money pilot workshops. This programme was designed in response to the current rise in money anxiety among young people and the cost of living crisis that is fuelling valid fears about personal and household finances.
Me & Money is a new pilot programme for young people exploring the interconnection between money & mental health. It is delivered through a one-hour workshop supported by a facilitator guidebook and young person toolkit.
Our approach: putting young people at the centre of development
A lot of work has already gone into the programme, having co-produced key elements together with young people to reflect and respond to their own experiences and concerns around money. We listened to what young people had to say about how they wish to be supported with challenges around money, as well as what specifically they would like to learn about money.
What we aim to achieve:
- Provide young people with an understanding of the interconnection between money and mental health.
- Empower young people by supporting them to understand how our attitudes towards money can influence our thoughts and behaviours.
- Equip young people with a suite of resilience-building skills and tools related to money which they can use to support themselves, now and into the future.
How will the Pilot work?
We will be working toward piloting the programme with a diverse range of young people from schools, colleges and community settings across Scotland in order to align with our current priority areas, which include young people living in rurally isolated communities and those who may be at risk of poor mental health.
In terms of feedback, we want to make it clear that the workshop is still in its developmental/piloting stage. It is important that we carefully select those who wish to participate, as we will require responses in terms of baseline and end surveys, as well as continued communication and feedback from young people, teachers and practitioners both during and after delivery. This will help us to ensure that the programme is of a high quality.
You can read more about the Me&Money workshop here or if you think your school/youth service would be a good fit for our pilot, please get in touch with our Engagement Officer at ciara.mallon@changemh.org
contact
Want to find out more about young people’s mental health resilience and the support we deliver to schools and colleges across Scotland?
If you need further information about Bloom or want to enquire about online training, resources or how we can help your school or college, contact the Bloom team.
Do you have any more questions about the support Change Mental Health delivers across communities in Scotland? Contact our Advice and Support Service.
