Mental health training to be rolled out across all Norfolk secondary schools

The 'Rise Up' programme is a training course for teachers which was founded in Norfolk and is now being trialled across 30 countries worldwide - including as far away as South Korea.

Now, after seeing success in its first school, City Academy in Norwich, thousands more children are hoped to feel its benefits as it is rolled out across every secondary school in the county.

Future Action founder Neil Moggan at the launch of Rise Up at City Academy (Image: Jon Osbourne)

It was created by Neil Moggan, founder of Future Action and director of sport, health and RSHE at City Academy after what he described as "the lowest point" of his teaching career.

Mr Moggan, who previously taught PE at Acle Academy, said: "Around four years ago, three 11-year-old girls were brought to me that were really low and I just didn't feel at all equipped to deal with them.

"It was the lowest point of my teaching career and made me sit up and notice that there must be so many other teachers like me."

The experience prompted Mr Moggan to begin researching ways teachers can help children with their mental health and wellbeing and develop Future Action and its 'Rise Up' programme.

A City Academy pupil uses a rowing machine at the launch of Rise Up (Image: Jon Osbourne)

The course consists of online learning that teachers can do at their leisure to better equip them to spot signs their pupils are struggling - and preventative actions they can take.

These include teaching children coping mechanisms, creating opportunities for stress-relief through sport and similar activities and promoting good diet, health and wellbeing.

Mr Moggan added: "I think in recent years we have really seen a decline in the mental health of schoolchildren, stemming from mobile phones and social media and exacerbated by the pandemic.

City Academy pupils who have taken up boxing (Image: Jon Osborne)

"While there is a much greater understanding of it, if you lack the life skills to manage mental health and wellbeing it becomes a slippery slope - which is what this is all about.

"A big problem we are seeing is that the kind of lifestyles children have these days do not lend themselves well to mental wellbeing - social media is a big part of that so the programme aims to create as many opportunities as it can to get people exercising instead of living their lives in front of screens."

After seeing the results at City Academy, Norfolk County Council has invested £40,000 from a government grant in rolling it out across the county.

City Academy pupils take part in boxing at the Rise Up launch (Image: Jon Osborne)

Councillor John Fisher, cabinet member for children's services, said: “We’ve been delighted with the response from Norfolk’s secondary academies and special schools, which have been very keen to take part in this programme to help their staff improve their range of early intervention skills.

“Mental health and wellbeing is what young people across the county have been consistently highlighting to us as the issue they are most concerned about.

“More consistently providing early intervention strategies and learning, and identifying those young people who need help earlier, are both key to improving support and we’re confident this programme will help to deliver these aims.”

The move has been welcomed by Sir Norman Lamb, chairman of the Children's and Young People's Mental Health Coalition and former North Norfolk MP, who said it could prove vital to supporting mental health services in the region.

Sir Norman Lamb speaks to pupils at City Academy (Image: Jon Osbourne)

He said: "We have got a massive challenge with children's mental health which has worsened over the pandemic and we have a situation where mental health services are under immense pressure.

"That is why early interventions like these are so, so important and could make a massive difference to helping the mental health services in Norfolk improve.

"We [the coalition] are very supportive of this."

The programme has two aims. The first is to provide all young people with a range of self-care strategies to protect and build their mental well-being. The second is to identify individual young people struggling with their mental health and direct them to the specialist support they need.

'You really feel cared about'

City Academy pupils Lily Bailey, Harley Charlton and Wray Harland (Image: Archant)

Pupils at City Academy say that in the year the scheme has been running there, they have notice a discernable difference in school life for the better.

Lily Bailey, 14, started at the school during lockdown after moving to England from France and said the difference was incredible.

She said: "Lockdown in France was awful, but coming here I noticed that the teachers pay so much attention to everybody - not a day goes by where I'm not asked how I am about five times. You really feel cared about."

Harley Charlton, 15, added: "After coming back from lockdown I really noticed a difference in the way teachers were talking to us.

"They seem to have more of an understanding of how we feel now. The school feels a lot more open and teachers are really thinking about how they can help us.

"The teachers always seem to notice when we're not quite ourselves and look to try and help us, even if we haven't asked."

Year 10 pupil Wray Harland, 15, added: "I think the school has really improved and teachers have a better understanding of how our mental health can impact our learning.

"We've had more lessons that talk about mental health and we're being taught that it is okay to not be okay and try to make the bad days better."