In response to a recent Berkshire Youth survey, where of almost 700 local young people, 77% of respondents stated that mental health and wellbeing are one of the most important issues facing them and other young people at the moment, Berkshire Youth looked to develop a new Wellbeing Programme for students across West Berkshire secondary Schools.
Thanks to funding from Greenham Trust and Berkshire Community Foundation, Berkshire Youth was able to enlist the expertise of Aspire 2Be in order to assist with the programme development, which included building a bespoke app, and creating and delivering webinars.
The Wellbeing Programme aims to improve the support available to young people and empower them to make sustained changes to their wellbeing, whilst being at an affordable cost to schools. As part of the programme, ten West Berkshire Schools received a briefing webinar for two members of staff, plus two webinars for up to 50 young people. These young people are then able to access the Wellbeing Tracker tool plus a bespoke e-Tutorial programme with content based on age specific topics and pressure points. Each student therefore receives support through the Wellbeing App tailored to their own individual needs.
Andries Pretorius, Aspire 2Be Business Psychology Lead, used his Wellbeing expertise to create the content for wellbeing webinars and the bespoke app, along with delivering these webinars ‘live’ to the selected schools
David Seward, CEO of Berkshire Youth, commented: “We are thrilled to be able to offer this excellent programme to local young people in their schools at a time of such great need. I believe that this programme will go a long way to empower young people to take control in a way that is most beneficial offering positive activities and relevant tools to support young people.”
Derek Peaple, Director of Operations at Aspire 2Be, added: “The Berkshire Youth Wellbeing Programme offer to West Berkshire schools is using technology creatively and proactively to meet the key needs of young people in the recovery from lockdown. It could not be more appropriate, or more timely.”
