Primary Settings Across The UK Are Meeting Melva Mapletree – Why Not join Them?
With Public Health England estimating 1/6 children have a diagnosable mental health condition, it has never been more important to find new ways to support young people; MELVA is a new practical, revolutionary way to do just that.
MELVA is a creative digital package supporting KS2 children to talk openly about and better understand their mental health, emotions, and wellbeing. It is an impactful investment into mental health education, an innovative way to deliver RSHE curriculum AND enhances The Thrive Approach.
Melva was created in response to the 2017 Green Paper, Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision and the pandemic’s impact on wellbeing. Focusing on early intervention, this digital programme scaffolds the development of resilience pathways, positive emotional responses and cultivates a shared understanding of what it means to look after yourself and others.
By purchasing Melva, settings gain access to an online portal, toolbox of resources, an episodic film, lesson activities, choose your own adventure game, interactive activity booklets and a user guide, full of guidance developed in consultation with teachers.
Melva introduces a child-friendly safe, non-exposing way to explore mental wellbeing. By entering Melva’s world as an active participant, children experiment through the characters, discover their autonomy, develop empathy, increase their understanding of healthy relationships, learn how to implement practical mental health strategies, whilst having LOTS of fun.
Developed in consultation with children, teachers, mental health and education professionals, Melva is a high impact way to invest into practical mental health education. Watch the information video to hear from children and teachers using the programme. It is available to Primary settings NOW; you can find out more via www.melva.org.uk
“Melva is simply the best intervention; I have ever seen. The rewards are instant and long lasting.” Primary Head Teacher
Why Melva and why now?
Melva was created in response to the current urgent mental health crisis, as a tool to engage children in conversations about mental wellbeing. It focuses on early intervention supporting development of resilience pathways, positive emotional responses, and relationships.
Melva has evolved over years with guidance from education and mental health professionals, alongside backing from Public Health England. It uses recommended mental health first aid strategies – communicated in a child friendly, accessible way, teaching children how to understand and manage their wellbeing.
Meet Melva!
Melva is a sweet-eating, eye-rolling, aspiring-mountain-climbing nearly-11-year-old, struggling with anxiety and trauma (or ‘worrits’ as she calls it). She’s a boisterous, mischievous, and funny young girl, on an adventure to find out what she’s really capable of.
“I learnt that being afraid of something doesn’t mean you can’t do it.” – Melva participant
Participants step into Melva’s world on two funny, poignant adventures. First to search for her missing Grandpa and then on a quest to find her friend Barnabas. Along the way, they meet lots of weird and wonderful characters on her missions as she (and those around her) learn how their ‘worrits’ affect them, ways to tackle them and how to support one another.
“It’s a great resource to help children identify and understand worries; where they come from and how to address them effectively.” – Participant Parent
The Melva film Package
Settings get access to:
- The online portal.
- Three 25-35minute episodes, making it easy to fit into lessons and term schedule.
- Accompanying classroom activities embedding learning, reflection, and facilitation of sensemaking.
- Lesson guides for fun, quality implementation of the programme.
- A toolkit of creative resources and activities for use in school or home.
“It was helpful for me; watching it, listening and doing the activities got rid of some of my worries” – Melva Participant
Melva Mapletree and the Quest for Barnabas Boggle
This choose your own adventure game acts as a sequel to the film, shifting the emphasis onto exploring relationships and supporting others.
Settings get access to:
- The multi-levelled adventure game to play as individuals and as a group; full of things to work out, make decisions, balance consequences, and gather information and clues to help Melva’s quest.
- Practical games and activities designed to develop and embed learning, are scattered throughout.
- Attractive activity booklets for users consisting of lesson-based activities and discussion prompts that help enrich conversation and reflection.
- A teacher user guide that suggests how to use the game at home and school.
“The game provides lots of practical solutions to help with childhood anxiety and everyday worries” – Family influencer North-East Family Fun
What Melva brings to your primary setting
Aligns with the curriculum AND innovatively enhances Thrive Approach in Thrive Schools
The themes explored in Melva directly achieve aims laid out in the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, but do this in a meaningful, fun, practical and creative way.
Some Melva schools use the Thrive Approach, and some do not – either way, Melva enhances and compliments a setting’s mental health education offer, supporting a whole school approach.
Learning through Melva
The character of Melva provides children with a safe, non-exposing way to learn. By learning about Melva’s worrits, and their impact, children can reflect on their experiences, behaviour, feelings and develop empathy for others.
Child-friendly Language
By using child-friendly language to talk about complex subjects like panic and self-doubt, a shared understanding cemented, providing a foundation for holding conversations that can continue day-to-day after their participation in the Melva programme.
For example, instead of using big words like ‘fear,’ ‘worry’ or ‘anxiety,’ in the Melva world we talk about ‘worrits;’ “squirmy creatures that live inside every human’s tummy.” Talking about worrits in a playful accessible way helps children to critically analyse them, linking thoughts and physical responses.
Children are actively involved
Children are given a purpose and role– firstly as Mountain Rescue Volunteers, and then as Melva’s ‘Niggling Voice.’ This provides a clear context for learning and gives them the autonomy to make decisions and actively participate.
A fun way to learn
Melva is fun! We know it is important to find new ways to engage children, especially when you are addressing difficult topics. The Melva world is full of weird, wonderful, and funny characters children love, and the accompanying resources provide a range of fun activities and games to suit different learning styles.
Developing empathy and understanding healthy relationships
Melva adventures explore relationships with others – friends, teachers, parents, and even celebrities. Through storytelling and discussion, children explore how they can support others, and how relationships impact our wellbeing, positively and negatively.
A chance to experiment
Melva works because it is playful. Children learn and talk about sensitive topics in a way that is not heavy handed or intense; the inclusion of playful features like the ‘whack-a-worrit’ game, or the exploratory clickable items in the game, keep children engaged throughout.
Understanding “good” choices
Throughout the game, children are presented with multiple choice options for what they think Melva should do – but some options are not “good.” By including choices which are silly or harmful, children have autonomy to make wrong choices, explore the impact, and try again.
Developing practical strategies
Practical activities, such as meditation and rubber chicken, feature throughout– equipping children with the practical strategies they need to understand and manage their worrits. These activities can become a regular, helpful part of classroom life.
A bank of resources to continue conversations
When you have finished the programme, the toolkit of resources, activities, and shared experiences are yours to revisit and reuse!
Melva in your setting
Easy to use and implement
The programme is ready-made and easily implemented. It is simple to use with a flexible delivery model and a user guide full of guidance.
Flexible use
Melva offers a flexible model, so you can best implement in your setting. You can go at your own pace, revisit activities and discussions, and use the learning from Melva to help inform your whole school approach to wellbeing. Schools have used it as part of mental health / health weeks and as term long interventions.
COVID safe
The programme exists on an online portal and can adapt to restrictions if the happen; children can use it at home, as part of online lessons, in classrooms or hybrid.
Reflects teacher’s workload
The programme was developed in consultation with education professionals, so it reflects the busy and complicated landscape teachers are in. It is designed to be easily picked up, dipped in and out of and is easy to implement.
“The children love Melva. The format is engaging, it’s attractive and it explores topics like anxiety in a relaxed and fun way!” – Deputy Headteacher
Are you ready to meet Melva Mapletree?
The Melva programme is available NOW to schools and Trusts. The whole package costs £750 or £500 for film package and £450 for game package. Access operates annually and automatically renewed. We have discounts available for Trusts/multi-school purchases.
Visit the Melva website to find out more via: www.melva.org.uk
Author Information
Mortal Fools – Multi-Award winning theatre, drama and creative learning charity using drama and co-creation as a practice to support children and young people make sense of the contemporary world, to develop their youth leadership skills and to support their mental health and wellbeing.
Website: www.mortalfools.org.uk
Social media: @mortalfoolsuk
