Mens sana: promoting pupils’ wellbeing

A medical expert who has advised some of the country’s biggest companies on stress spoke to QE boys about mental health and wellbeing in a special assembly.

The lecture to Years 8 and 10 by Dr Charlie Easmon comes just a few weeks after Prime Minister Theresa May made a high-profile announcement of plans to improve support for mental health, with the emphasis firmly on children and young people. In 2014, a Commons Health Select Committee report had warned of large increases in self-harm and serious psychological problems among under-18s.

Dr Easmon’s visit was organised by School Librarian Ciara Murray (pictured left below), who co-ordinates QE’s lecture programme, and by Head of Pupil Development Sarah Westcott (pictured right below) as part of the School’s Personal Development Programme.

Dr Westcott said: “We believe that boys here are generally happy and well-adjusted, but no school can afford to be complacent about the mental health of its pupils: at QE, we recognise that taking positive steps to promote wellbeing is both important and necessary.”

A primary care physician who provides occupational health and mental health services to many FTSE100 companies, Dr Easmon trained at St George's Hospital Medical School in South London and performed his medical elective period in Ghana. Since then, he has worked with a number of international medical organisations and charities and is currently President of the International Association of Physicians for the Overseas Services. His special interest is in mental and occupational health in the corporate setting, and particularly within high-stress arenas. His visit to QE was run through The McLellan Practice, an organisation which provides schools with speakers on important and challenging issues.

The special assembly represents just one element of QE’s work in this area. Promoting wellbeing is one of the emphases of the Pastoral Development Time programme, which is facilitated by form tutors. A mental health professional is available for a few hours a week from the NHS-run Barnet Schools Project for any pupils experiencing difficulties at school. The project also gives training to form tutors to help them develop their expertise in delivering the programme for tutor groups effectively. In addition, form tutors and pastoral leaders at the School are now supported by a partnership with Rephael House, a New Barnet-based charity, which makes available a school-based counsellor for any QE boys who might benefit.

Within the School, the long-established peer mentoring scheme provides support for boys from other pupils: it is based on an understanding both that younger pupils sometimes need support and that they may find it easier to discuss their worries with a fellow pupil than with a member of staff.

There are extensive resources relevant to wellbeing and mental health in The Queen’s Library, which has a new Shelf-Help: Reading Well collection. This is based on the Reading Well – Books on Prescription programme that is run in public libraries with the aim of helping people understand and manage their own health and wellbeing through self-help books that have been endorsed by experts in the field. The collection includes self-help and advice books on topics such as dealing with stress, anxiety and depression, and the importance of mindfulness, as well as more general books on growing up, identity, puberty, sex, relationships and LGBTQ issues. There are books about specific topics such as eating disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Asperger Syndrome and autism.

“All these books are carefully selected to inform and advise, allowing boys to recognise that they are not alone in whatever problems they may experience, and to equip them with skills to deal with them – or to ask for help when they need it,” said Ms Murray. “Furthermore, we have a wide-ranging and diverse collection of young adult fiction that showcases many of these issues.”

Following Dr Easmon’s talk, boys in Year 8 and Year 10 have been asked to consider their top three ‘must-reads’ that have had a positive impact on them, and Ms Murray will be compiling a list based on their recommendations.