Completing our mental health in schools course as an intermediate learner

The Carnegie School of Education’s Yorkshire School Mental Health Lead course is designed for education professionals looking to improve mental health support in their schools. The course is designed to support learners at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of skill and experience. 

Read how Katrina McLane found the course as an intermediate learner.

How have you found the course?

“It’s been really helpful. It’s nice to be face-to-face and I’ve met people from different types of schools, settings and areas from across the country. What’s been really good is that there’s a real mix, there’s been listening bits, parts where we’ve actually got up and done activities, we’ve been made to consider how we would actually act with a student. I’ve been pushed out of my own comfort zone, which is good because it makes me understand how students I work with feel when I get them to open up about their thoughts and feelings. I’ve got a lot that I’m going to take away and share with our staff."

What have you found most useful?

“What’s been most useful is that the conference has allowed me to be really reflective and to discover what we’re already doing so that we can pull everything together. There’s lots of things that we do already, but actually being able to evidence that and show it to an external agency like Ofsted is something that wasn’t quite right at our school, so it’s made me focus on our policies and evidence gathering. I feel more confident about showing that to an external body now.
“I’ve been able to make links with other people. Our setting is very unique, I’m often doing things on my own and there aren’t many schools that I can link up with. But from the conference, I’ve made contact with people from across the country who I can now ring, email and share ideas with.”

What impact has the course had on you and your school?

“Today’s had a big impact on myself, on being self-reflective and how I can pull strengths out of myself and colleagues to improve what we’re offering to students. For the school, my job was to start writing the wellbeing part of the school improvement plan, and the conference has focused my thoughts on what we need to do next year. I feel motivated to go in and do that now – I know where we need to go with it. I’ve pinched some useful ideas from others and they’ve made suggestions too which have been useful.”

Would you recommend the course to someone in a similar position to yourself who is looking to take the next step in their understanding and knowledge of how to improve mental health and wellbeing in their school?

“I would consider really carefully what level you think you’re at. Don’t run before you can walk, so if you don’t think it’s embedded in your school yet, start at beginner and work up to a higher level. The course is really manageable, the deadlines are reasonable and not too heavy, you can fit it in around school commitments and if something came up, it could wait. I’d definitely recommend it, but you need buy-in from your leadership team too.”