Guidance for schools: coronavirus (COVID-19), English schools focusing on mental health, Self-harm among young children in UK doubles in six years
Adrian Tuitt
Inspirational Speaker | Mental Health Advocate | Expert in Wellness & Resilience for Students and Adults | Empowering Minds through Transformative Talks & Interventions ??
With schools finally open last week, it has been an extremely busy time as we prepare our next generation for their futures. Some students have been put under extreme pressure, such as 9 exams spaced over 2 days in the next few months. We must support and educate our youth more than we have ever done before. Let’s move forward and make a change.
My name is Adrian Tuitt, Motivational Speaker, Youth Mentor and Sports Coach.
If you haven't already, you can read my last article here:
￡79 million to boost mental health support for children and young people, The chancellor presents budget to parliament, Covid - 19: Recent and upcoming changes
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/79-million-boost-mental-health-support-children-young-adrian-tuitt/
Guidance for schools: coronavirus (COVID-19)
What school leaders, teachers and school staff need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
In febuary the goverment released a paper on how to operate our schools.
Please find full report below:
How English primary schools are focusing on emotional education to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic
Education used to be about the "three Rs" — reading, writing, and arithmetic — but English primary schools have quickly shifted to the "three Ss" of staggered starts, hand sanitizer, and social distancing after reopening this month.
Schools had been closed to all but vulnerable children and children of essential workers in March, but as of June 1, all pupils in nursery, reception, and years one and six have been allowed to return to school in England as part of government efforts to ease lockdown restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Welsh schools will start reopening at the end of June, while Scotland and Northern Ireland are aiming for August.
English schools have had to make plenty of changes. Government guidelines based on Public Health England advice say surfaces, equipment, door handles, and toilets should be cleaned regularly and children should be kept in smaller groups of no more than 15 to one teacher and teaching assistant.
The guidance recognizes that younger children may not follow the two-meter social distancing rules, but advises that different groups keep away from each other and teachers minimize contact. It suggests staggered starts, separate lunch breaks, and one-way corridors.
Read the full story here;
Self-harm among young children in UK doubles in six years
Finding comes as experts highlight huge impact of Covid-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health
The rate of self-harm among young children in the UK has doubled over the last six years, according to a new analysis.
The number of children aged nine to 12 admitted to hospital having hurt themselves intentionally rose from 221 in 2013-14 to 508 in 2019-20, data analysed for BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 programme has found.
This means an average of 10 hospital admissions every week. With population changes taken into account, the rate has doubled over the past six years.
The finding comes as experts say the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on young people’s mental health. A Guardian investigation in October found a rise in the number of children with sleep problems and eating disorders, and long waits for treatment.
Keith Hawton, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, told File on 4 the data on self-harm was “in keeping with what we’re finding from our research databases. It’s almost as though the problem is spreading down the age range somewhat.
“I do think it’s important that it’s recognised that self-harm can occur in relatively young children, which many people are surprised by. I think it indicates that mental health issues are perhaps increasing in this very young age range.”
Rosamund McNeil, the assistant general secretary of the National Education Union, said the findings were deeply troubling. She said the pandemic had increased mental health difficulties among many children and young people, particularly “children in poverty, black children and those with pre-existing mental health conditions. Rising rates of self-harm could now be exacerbated.”
Read the full story below:
Please feel free to like, comment or share.
Stay positive, stay focused, stay active!
The time is now!
Adrian Tuitt
Motivational Speaker, Youth Mentor and Sports Coach.