Anti-Stigma Ambassadors

We would like to introduce ourselves, we are the Anti-Stigma Ambassadors.  At the end of last year we attended a 1 day training course at Springwell School.  We had a great day, fun packed with activities and lots of learning too.  We learnt about what stigma is towards mental health and how to promote a healthy attitude to Positive Mind Health.

Anti-Stigma ‘Be a Mate’ campaign

One in ten young people experience a mental health problem.

Stigma about mental health can stop children and young people talking about their feelings and reinforces negative views about mental health.  This could mean that they are less likely to seek the help they need.  The ‘Be a Mate – Make a Difference’ sends a clear message that stigma is wrong and that we should support people that need help. 

Assembly

Last week we presented our first Anti-Stigma Assembly to the whole school.  We were a little nervous but really enjoyed it.  Some of us performed a drama piece so that the children could see how best to help someone who might need to talk.

The main messages we wanted to get across was “IT’S OK, NOT TO BE OK” and “ASK TWICE.”  How often do we ask someone if they are ok and they reply with, “I’m fine.” We want you to ask again; just to be sure as sometimes “I’m fine” is an automatic response. 

Drop-In

We are now running a drop-in session, fortnightly on Tuesday lunchtimes.  The children can play board games, do a craft activity and have a good chat with their friends.  The ambassadors are there to talk to and Miss Edger too.

Kindness

We will also be promoting Kindness in our school.  We each have Kindness Keys and we will be looking out for children who are showing kindness to others.  When we see someone being kind they will be given a key to wear.  Their job then is to pass it on when they see someone else being kind.  All the adults in school will be asking children what they did to earn their key and I’m sure there will be some team point collecting too!