Webinar: Anxiety and mental health: Supporting secondary students by MA Education

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About This Webinar

This SecEd webinar will tackle the increasingly significant challenges that schools face in trying to support students’ emotional and mental health needs – in particular the rise in anxiety.

With the pandemic having exacerbated existing mental health challenges for many already-vulnerable students and having led others to experience problems for the first time, schools are picking up the pieces at a time when funding is tight and the thresholds for applying to CAMHS are high.

- NHS mental health research shows that one in six children aged six to 16 now have a probable mental health condition. Notably, 38% of 11 to 16-year-olds are affected by problems with sleep. Details here: https://bit.ly/Sec-Ed-Sleep.

- Pre-Covid, the NHS survey warned that emotional disorders are the most common facing young people (affecting 8%) and anxiety-related disorders are notable among these (7.2%). Details here: https://bit.ly/SecEd-stats.

- Anxiety features regularly in the top 10 reasons why children and young people contact Childline. Details here: https://bit.ly/SecEd-childline.

- Research by Place2Be and the NAHT published in February found that 95% of school staff reported an increase in anxiety among pupils. Details here: https://bit.ly/SecEd-anxiety.

In this context, the webinar will seek to offer practical advice for how schools might deliver both preventative, whole-school support for students struggling with anxiety, as well as how we might respond to individual students, including both internal support and external intervention.

MEET OUR EXPERTS
• Pete Henshaw, Editor SecEd (chair)
• Dr Gohar Khan, Associate Senior Leader, Ridgeway Education Trust, Oxfordshire
• Dr Pooky Knightsmith, Mental Health & Wellbeing Expert, Creative Education, London
• Clare Brokenshire, Head of Academy 21
• Tom Webb, Assistant Headteacher, Greenwood School, Southampton.
• Sarah Miller, Vice-Principal, Goldwyn School, Kent

THIS WEBINAR WILL SEEK TO ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS
As well as responding to the questions asked by our audience, the webinar will tackle the key themes in the agenda below.

About Academy 21

Academy21 is the UK’s leading provider of online alternative provision. Supporting over 1,000 pupils each year, Academy21 brings education access to students with complex behavioural, medical, and mental health needs.

From Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 5, students learn in live, interactive online classes of 15 pupils maximum. Pupils can study from anywhere, including home or school, with just a computer, headset, and internet connection. Learning is flexible with 24/7 access to recorded lessons, and every student’s wellbeing is supported with tutor check-ins and optional pastoral sessions.

Academy21 offers short, medium, and long-term provision. There is no long-term commitment, and provision can be flexed up and down as needed at no extra cost. Through a secure online platform, local authorities, schools, and parents all have round-the-clock access to student progress, data, and reports.

Balancing flexibility, excellent teaching, and pastoral support, Academy21 provides students of all backgrounds with a pathway to strong, recognised outcomes.

Agenda

What is the picture on the ground in schools regarding emotional wellbeing and anxiety-related conditions in particular?
To what extent have existing mental health problems been exacerbated, especially anxiety? How has this manifested in school?
To what extent are we seeing mental health issues, especially anxiety, in students who have no apparent history of problems?
What challenges does the increase in emotional needs and anxiety present to schools?
What are the links between behaviour and anxiety? What do we need to be aware of?
What are the risks and consequences for educational attainment? How can we respond? How can we ensure students do not fall behind academically? Ideas for supporting the academic progress for students struggling with anxiety, including out of school interventions.
Responding to emotionally based school avoidance.
The implications of anxiety for teachers – in the classroom and in terms of training and support. What do teachers need to think about?
What can we do to help students overcome their anxiety? Given CAMHS referral is often unrealistic, what can schools do with limited funding? Ideas for whole-school interventions as well as individual support.
What techniques can school staff use to calm students who are in crisis?

Presenters

Pete Henshaw (Host)

Editor SecEd & Headteacher Update

Twitter: @pwhenshaw @SecEd_Education

Dr. Pooky Knightsmith

Director, Creative Education Limited

An internationally respected face of child and adolescent mental health, Pooky works tirelessly to ‘be the change she wants to see’. A prolific keynote speaker, lecturer, trainer and author, she develops and shares practical, evidence-informed approaches to promoting mental health – arming health, social care and education staff with the skills, understanding and knowledge they need to support the children in their care.

Pooky has a PhD in child mental health from the Institute of Psychiatry, is the author of many books, is the research and development director at Creative Education and is a former chair of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.

Twitter: @Pookyh

Clare Brokenshire

Head of Academy21

Clare has degrees in modern languages, artificial intelligence and TESOL and has taught a wide variety of students throughout her career. She has spent several years teaching ICT in secondary schools at KS3, KS4 and A level. During this time, she developed an interest in helping vulnerable youngsters develop literacy and ICT skills in order to equip them for their next steps in work, training or education.

She has been Head of Academy21, an alternative online provision for vulnerable youngsters, for four years and is passionate about improving the life chances of students for whom mainstream schools are not working.

Dr Gohar Khan

Director of Ethos and Associate Senior Leader, Ridgeway Education Trust

In her role at the Ridgeway Education Trust in South Oxfordshire, Dr Gohar Khan has cultivated a dynamic and thriving culture for student leadership and empowerment for the 2,500 young people in the Trust.

Gohar works to promote equality and diversity in leadership opportunities for young people. Her subject specialism is English, and she has a PhD in Post-colonial English Literature.

Tom Webb

Assistant Headteacher, Greenwood School, Southampton

Sarah Miller

Vice-Principal, Goldwyn School, Kent