Mental Health First Aid

Mrs Gagigo has been trained as a Mental Health First Aider and is now a Senior Mental Health Lead practitioner.

The mental health first aid training equips the trainees to recognise issues faced by children and young people. Mrs Gagigo has disseminated the information to staff to ensure we are all aware of the issues and needs and the signs to look out for. She is now a certified Senior Mental Heath Lead practitioner and is also trained in Drawing and Talking, a method of helping children work though their anxiety.

The approach can speed up a young person’s recovery or catch issues before they develop into a crisis. We now feel more confident in dealing with mental health problems and tackling stigma atatched to mental health. It is our intent to train up another member of staff as soon as a place becomes available.

It is likely that one in ten young people experience a mental health issue at any one time. Mental health and emotional issues often develop during childhood, and can be long lasting and blight people’s lives.

We can now dip into our knowledge to direct people with issues to the right place to ensure we gain early help and support for our children and staff.