Coronavirus: Impact On Young People With Mental Health Needs

This report by YoungMinds investigates the mental health impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus on young people with mental health needs reveals the pressure that the crisis has put on young people and support services.

Although they understood the need for the measures taken in response to the virus, the report says, this did not lessen the impact. Many of those who took part in the survey reported increased anxiety, problems with sleep, panic attacks or more frequent urges to self-harm.

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      string(3665) "years. She is accredited by Mental Health First Aid England and tailors her delivery of training to schools and colleges so that it is specific to the education sector.Strictly Education offers a wide range of Mental Health First Aid courses. For more information or to discuss bespoke training email eduhrsupport@strictlyeducation4s.co.uk Tel 0800 073 4444 Option 3Or go to our web page https://www.strictlyeducation4s-hr.co.uk/our-services/hr-training/adult-mental-health-first-aidReferences1. MAD World Digital Summit: Make a Difference to workplace culture, mental health & wellbeing; 8 October 2020 https://madworldsummit.com/2. Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards approach; HSE March 2019 https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wbk01.htm3. Teacher Wellbeing Index, Education Support Nov 2019 https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/resources/research-reports/teacher-wellbeing-index-20194. Covid-19 and the classroom: Working in education during the coronavirus pandemic. The impact on education professionals’ mental health and wellbeing; Education Support July 2020 https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/resources/research-reports/covid-19-and-classroom-working-education-during-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_source=social&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=covid-report5. Teacher recruitment and retention strategy; Department for Education January 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy6. Dare to lead; Brene Brown 2018 https://brenebrown.com/7. Five health and wellbeing strategies you can learn from the winner of this year’s CIPD Award; PM Insight 18 December 2019 https://pminsight.cipd.co.uk/five-health-and-wellbeing-strategies-you-can-learn-from-the-winner-of-this-years-cipd-award?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=promotion&utm_source=20200120&utm_content=&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=pm_daily_300120.Five+wellbeing+strategies+you+can+learn+from+an+award+winner&utm_campaign=7295441&utm_term=5628138. School inspection handbook; Ofsted November 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif9. Introducing the Wellbeing Award for Schools; Optimus Education and the National Children’s Bureau https://www.awardplace.co.uk/award/was10. Teaching brought me to a nervous breakdown – now I’m helping others; Doncaster Free Press 14 March 2019 https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/teaching-brought-me-nervous-breakdown-now-im-helping-others-7682311. Help Employee Assistance Programme; Optima Health and Strictly Education https://www.strictlyeducation4s-hr.co.uk/partner-services/employee-assistance-programme12. School workload reduction toolkit Department for Education July 2018 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit13. DfE Reducing Teacher Workload: school presentations plus Ofsted on workload; Teacher Wellbeing, Workload & Impact on Schools https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dfe-reducing-teacher-workload-school-presentations-plus-ofsted-on-workload-registration-121711252633?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery14. Extra mental health support for pupils and teachers; Department for Education June 2020 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers15. Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of staff in schools webinar; Local government Association, 2nd October 2020 https://www.local.gov.uk/events/past-event-presentations"
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Whole School ApproachesWhen considering the inclusion of learners with EAL, we shouldn’t limit this to inside the classroom but across the school campus. Visuals are key for language and learning development, so it’s worth asking teachers from every department to make at least one EAL-friendly display to help them engage with the subject lesson. Putting an EAL stamp on other incentives is a great way to help integrate learners within the school community. To help learners acquire curriculum vocabulary, reach out to departments and ask for a list of key subject vocabulary to not only ease your workload as the EAL leader/coordinator but to help the learner prepare for mainstream lessons. Health & wellbeingHealth has, and continues to be, at the forefront of all our minds as the pandemic occupies a huge space in the public consciousness. Language barriers can make it difficult to support pupils’ physical and mental health. Supporting EAL pupils’ ability to express themselves in their home language as well as English is vital, as the ability to identify and express your emotions is linked to better health outcomes and greater academic success.Words and graphics to get the message across Differing cultural perceptions can have an impact on how we communicate about physical and mental health. In many cultures, mental and physical health are viewed much more holistically than in the west, where they are often separated. Physical complaints may actually be an expression of mental distress, so try to be aware of this in order to direct people to appropriate services.Language Learning MythsThe language learning myths we hear in the world around usaffect our attitude towards language learning. Here are just a few of the mythswe unravelled: If a child isn’t speaking, their English level is verylow – Most EAL pupils go through a ‘silent phase’ when they first arrive asthey absorb language through receptive skills of listening and reading. It willtake time for them to produce language confidently or spontaneously, but theirunderstanding may be higher than it seems. Help develop their confidence andprovide structured tasks at their level.It is the English teachers’ job to teach English – Itis every teacher’s responsibility to support language development for allpupils. Awareness of learners’ language needs helps remove barriers to learningand create a more inclusive classroomMaking children speak more than one language will confuse them – Research shows that bilingualism has long-term advantages including increased cognitive control and improved problem-solving abilities. Parents often believe this language learning myth and feel they should speak to their children in English all the time. In fact, it is better for parents to speak their home language as they are likely to be more confident and will give children richer language input.Teacher TalkThe mainstream classroom can be an overwhelming place where pupilsare bombarded with unfamiliar language. However, there are ways that you canadjust your teacher talk to help support EAL pupils’ understanding, whicheversubject you teach. Ensure your language is direct, and not too polite (e.g.‘Would you mind doing me a favour?’), avoid self-narration, support yourlanguage with gesture, and model correct grammar in your teacher talk – thereis a strong link between oracy and literacy, so there is the risk that pupilswill imitate ‘slang’ in their academic work!Keen to learn more about accelerating progress for learnerswith EAL? Click hereto book your free trial with the FlashAcademy platform."
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Digital Learning

Essential Topics for EAL Teachers

2 Dec 2020