Young people’s wellbeing improves
“I had such bad anxiety when we started; it was every day and I felt sick coming in on the school bus. Now I’m not worried at all.”
There are a variety of reasons why young people may struggle with their mental health and wellbeing. Some are coming to terms with a loss in the family or a parental separation. Others have been the target of bullying or are prone to anger. Still others feel anxious under the weight of academic pressure or may harm themselves as a means of coping with internal turmoil.
Our trained team work with a small group of young people from local secondary schools each term. In this group, the young people are able to talk about their story and the challenges they face. They also learn healthy coping strategies that promote positive changes in their mental health and wellbeing. We call this intervention ‘Grow’.
We measure the impact of our work using the industry standard Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Young people who participate in the Grow intervention complete a WEMWBS assessment before the group begins, and then again after the group has completed at the end of the term. The young people also share qualitative feedback with our team about their experiences in the group.
The Spring Term saw some of our highest improvements to date. Wellbeing scores increased by an average of around 21%, where a 5% improvement can be enough to lift a young person out of crisis. One young person’s wellbeing improved by an incredible 61%, and another’s by 55%.
Behind these statistics are the real life stories of young people finding hope:
“I used to spend most of my time in Pastoral, but now I don’t need to go there.”
“At the beginning, I was struggling with self-harm, finding it hard. I learnt I can make mistakes, be more forgiving, everyone helped. I haven’t thought about self-harm in ages.”
“My relationship with my Dad has got a lot better.”
“I can spot my anxiety rising and I can do something about it.”
This work was made possible through the generous financial donations from our wonderful community of supporters and a number of grant-making trusts including NCF: Young People’s Fund, The David Laing Foundation and the TESCO Stronger Starts Scheme. We are tremendously grateful for your support of our work.
