Wellbeing: national resources

Last updated on 18 October 2022

For professionals

Teaching about wellbeing

Practical materials for primary and secondary schools to use to train staff about teaching mental wellbeing. The training module includes information on talking about emotions, self-care techniques, isolation and loneliness, the impact of bullying and getting help and support.

DfE: Teaching about wellbeing

Place2be

Place2Be offers a free online children’s mental health training course developed from their work in schools, enhances professionals’ understanding of children’s mental health and introduces approaches that foster positive wellbeing in schools and communities.

Place2Be: Mental health champions – foundation programme

Rise above in schools programme

Resources to teach PSHE curriculum topics to Upper KS2, KS3 and KS4 pupils, with flexible lesson plans and ready-to-use PowerPoints co-created with teachers, and video content developed with 10 to 16-year-olds.

Public Health England: Schools

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Resources, training and research including the 5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing - a free interactive, evidence based framework for schools.

Schools in Mind is a free network for school staff and allied professionals which shares practical, academic and clinical expertise regarding the wellbeing and mental health issues that affect schools.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

Classroom Wellbeing Toolkit

A toolkit for secondary school staff, sharing practical steps to promote and support mental health through everyday interactions with students.

This evidence-based toolkit, created in partnership between Anna Freud Centre and the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF), will help secondary school staff take steps to improve students’ mental health and wellbeing through everyday practices.

This new resource will help build teachers' confidence to address the needs of their students, covering five strategy areas on:

building supportive relationships
creating a classroom environment where all students feel they belong
promoting good mental health
responding to stress, low mood and anxiety
preventing bullying, cyberbullying and sexual harassment.

It is designed for secondary school subject teachers, but will also be useful for teaching assistants, librarians and other support staff.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families: Classroom wellbeing toolkit

Recovery, re-introduction and renewal: safe and successful returns following critical incidents.

Written by educational psychologists, the Recovery, Re-introduction and Renewal handbook presents five guiding principles of recovery and a graduated response framework for schools to use in planning the return to school at individual, group and whole-school level. It also includes references to practical resources to share with young people, staff and parents. The handbook and introductory webinar are linked below, as well as a wealth of useful resources to accompany the handbook.

AEP: Recovery, re-introduction and renewal handbook

MindEd

MindEd has e-learning applicable across the health, social care, education, criminal justice and community settings. It is aimed at anyone from beginner through to specialist. Sessions cover topics such as anxiety, mindfulness, depression, poor concentration, worried or aggressive children.

MindEd Hub

Psychological first aid

An online course exploring the techniques of psychological first aid (PFA), the globally recommended training for supporting people during emergencies. It focuses on children and young people’s mental health, and what you can do to help them cope and access the support they need during and after emergencies and crisis situations..

The course has been produced by Public Health England, working with a wide range of experts and organisations. It is based on international guidance from the World Health Organisation, United Nations and partners.

Future Learn: Psychological first aid: supporting children and young people

Bounce Forward

Bounce Forward is a charity that use resilience to enable teachers and students to thrive. They believe that young people are extremally resourceful and capable of fixing their own problems, they just need the tools, skills and space to work things out for themselves.

For over 10 years, Bounce Forward have proven that resilience is the essential life skill young people need to manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Numerous studies also identify resilience as crucial for young people to overcome setbacks and make the most of opportunities.

The approach is to train teachers to build these competencies for themselves first, so they model and teach resilience in an authentic way. Bounce Forward design their curriculums as topics relevant to the real lives of young people, helping them to connect the learning to their personal development. Topics such as social media, relationships, problem solving and mental health.

Bounce Forward’s theory and evidence-based training has helped over 10,000 UK teachers build their own resilience and learn how to pass on the skills to their students through ideas and curriculum.

To find out about the training they offer visit their website or call 0330 133 0776.

Bounce Forward

Mental wellbeing

Spark UK

Spark UK is a charity set up for young people during lockdown, to provide support and raise awareness of mental health in young people across the UK. It provides resources for young people and schools, as well as creating communities where young people feel safe to talk about mental health. The half-termly ‘The Spark Newsletter’ is aimed at young people focusing on their point of views on modern topics and on mental health, and young people are invited to sign up to the newsletters and resources. The website is:

Spark UK