YMCA secures £50,000 of funding to deliver mental health training for schools across Fenland and East Cambridgeshire
A variety of training courses will enable education providers to identify the social, emotional and mental health needs of young people.
YMCA Trinity Group has secured £50,000 of funding from the Opportunity Area Programme to deliver mental health training to teachers and early years providers across Fenland and East Cambridgeshire. The programme will allow all education settings the chance to access funding for a variety of face-to-face and distance learning mental health training.
Mental health is a growing concern across the country, with 50% of young people’s mental health conditions starting before the age of 14.
In 2016 the Social Mobility Index found Fenland and East Cambridgeshire as a cold spot for social mobility. As a result, it hs been selected as one of 12 Opportunity Areas appointed by the Department for Education to receive a programme of activity, supported by funding, to increase social mobility. Part of this funding has been granted to YMCA Trinity Group to deliver mental health services which include both awareness programmes and specialist training.
Ryan Armes, Menu of Services Project Manager at YMCA Trinity Group commented: “We’re very grateful to be able to deliver fully funded mental health training in this area. With an average of three children per class struggling with mental health, our key priority is to strengthen the effectiveness of support for children and young people with mental health concerns, and to prevent issues escalating.
“We are confident that our training will provide some much needed support to the schools in this area – I’d urge education providers to apply for the funding as soon as possible to make sure that they can benefit from this programme.”
Tricia Pritchard, Chair of the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area, says: ‘I am delighted that the YMCA is delivering mental health training for Opportunity Area schools. Empowering teachers and school leaders to identify the needs of the children and young people in their care is critical in helping them grasp opportunities and meet their full potential.’
For full details of all courses on offer, education providers can contact YMCA directly on 01733 373187 or email [email protected].
This programme will run alongside other mental health support initiatives which YMCA Trinity Group already provides. One of these is Thrive, a mental health mobile app which works to prevent, detect and treat common mental health conditions as early as possible.
More information on the mental health support in schools offered by YMCA Trinity Group.