Celebrating World Mental Health Day
Today we are celebrating World Mental Health Day!
At the end of the last academic year, Villiers Park appointed three Mental Health Champions from within our team who are advocates for positive mental health and wellbeing within the workplace.
Our Mental Health Champions will be leading wellbeing sessions for the team in regular staff meetings, keeping us all informed about where to find support and working to utilise mental health resources for our Future Leaders.
Introducing our Mental Health Champions
 | "Hello, I am Schools Partnership Coordinator but also one of the Mental Health Champions here at Villiers Park Educational Trust. I am very passionate about wanting to contribute to the reduction of the stigma around mental health as well as having more open conversations about it and taking the time to be there for others. I love reading self-help books and learning about how different things can contribute to a positive mentality and wellbeing. Taking care of our mental health is just as important as our physical health and everyone needs to know that!" Carys, Schools Partnership Coordinator |
 | "Hello. I am Caroline. I am a progression coach in Swindon and Wiltshire here at Villiers Park, I am also one of the mental health champions. As a graduate member of the British Psychology Society (BPS) I will endeavour to bring up-to-date psychological theories into my work as a workplace mental health champion. Additionally, I have studied and practiced mindfulness and write and deliver guided meditations locally, I would be more than happy to filter this into a work-related environment to support colleagues. Everyone experiences poor mental health now and then and I aim to make sure people have a selection of tools to manage this. Looking forward to working with you all." Caroline, Progression Coach for Swindon & Wiltshire |
 | "Hello, I am the Progression Coach for Norwich at Villiers Park and one of the appointed Mental Health Champions - a main part of our role is to champion positive mental health and wellbeing for everyone at Villiers Park and everyone that VP comes into contact with. I am looking forward to raising awareness about mental health and supporting colleagues and students by signposting and bringing light to days - such as Mental Health Awareness Day. Also, I believe creativity is very important and I am looking forward to designing and participating in creative tasks that help with mental wellbeing and positivity. Hopefully to bring that awareness into our day-to-day routine and to make our mental wellbeing become a factor in our lives that we are conscious about and to appreciate our own feelings and thoughts." Amy, Progression Coach for Norwich |
Our Mental Health Champions have put together some quick tips and resources that they shared at our recent Staff Development Day to help colleagues with some strategies for managing stress.
Amy shared a grounding exercise that can be used if you're ever feeling overwhelmed.
Take a deep breath…
- Look around and name five things that you can see around you.
- Focus on four things that you can feel.
- Name three things that you can hear around you.
- Notice two things that you can smell around you right now.
- Focus on one thing that you can taste.
Take another deep breath to finish.
Caroline shared some of her own practice. As a Holistic Therapist, she uses a quick 'checking in' exercise to establish how she's feeling.
Checking in with yourself is an important way to establish how you are feeling.
- Sit down.
- Think about your feelings and write them down if it helps, acknowledge the feelings and name them.
- Take some slow deep breaths.
- Finally, give yourself a mission to be kind to yourself in that moment.
Caroline reflects: "By allowing yourself time to breathe, you are accepting how you feel in that moment and managing your feelings effectively."
Carys also shared some further information and resources for those seeking more information on mental health:
World Mental Health Day 2024 (who.int)
World Mental Health Day 2024 | Mental Health Foundation
World Mental Health Day 2024 - Mental Health UK (mentalhealth-uk.org)
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