Promoting good mental health and resilience

Resilience is something that can change over time and a child or young person can be shown that they have the power to change it. Resilience can be taught and learned, and that the things that build resilience can be introduced into everyday life.

There are three parts to resilience:

• Mental wellbeing describes our mental state. This is how a child or young person is feeling and how well they can cope with day-to-day life. Their emotional wellbeing can change, from day to day, month to month or year to year.
• Next is social connections. Connecting with other people isn’t always easy and many children and young people can sometimes feel isolated or struggle with relationships. Lots of them feel like this and making friends can help them to overcome this.
• Lastly are ways to cope. There are many ways to cope and get support, such as speaking to specialists like doctors, or their family and friends.

• NHS Five steps to mental wellbeing
• NHS Self-help therapies
• NHS Healthy lifestyle advice
• Gov.uk Mental health and behaviour in schools

• The Big Book of Blob Trees by Pip Wilson
• The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher's Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley
• The Powerhouse: An All-in-One Resource for Building Self-Esteem in Primary Schools by Elizabeth Morris
• What To Do When… books by Dawn Huebner
• Lancashire Libraries - Reading Well for Young People – Shelf Help
• The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust book recommendations and book club

• Mental Health First Aid England - Downloadable resources/leaflets, single page PDF posters that school can use and videos for training
• Young Minds - Training courses, free downloadable booklets/leaflets and posters/resources/materials/lesson plans for teachers and school staff – also available to order at a cost
• Royal College of Psychiatrists - Online advice, guidance and downloadable factsheets for staff, parents and CYP to use (good for parents’ evenings) with leaflets available to order at a cost
• MindEd - MindEd is a free educational resource on children and young people's mental health for all adults
• Anna Freud Schools in Mind - 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
• Boing boing - Free, downloadable, practical resources to help everyone in the school community step up and support pupils’ academic resilience. Training only available in Blackpool
• Growth Mindset - Primary Teaching Services: How to implement in primary schools (blog including activities and recommended books)
• Growth Mindset - Third Space Learning: How to get it right in primary schools (includes downloadable poster, guide and video)
• Psychology Tools - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Worksheets, Handouts, And Self-Help Resources
• Rise Above - Helping teach PSHE curriculum topics to KS3 and KS4 pupils, with flexible lesson plans and ready-to-use PowerPoints co-created with teachers, and video content developed with 11 to 16-year-olds. Some topics and films may also be suitable for Year 6
• The Resilience Framework - A tool to set targets and track progress to work towards building resilience
• Time to Change - Resources for staff. Schools areas for staff to register
• Charlie Waller Memorial Trust - Training and self-help resources for professionals and resources to use with CYP or parents/carers
• Young Minds 360 - Sign up to get free tips, advice and handy teaching resources emailed to you
• Incentive Plus - Practical strategies and social, emotional, behavioural, mental health and well-being resources to help raise the achievement and fulfil the potential of young people of all ages
• Resilience Framework - The Resilience Framework is based on Resilient Therapy (RT), the name they’ve given to the set of ideas and practices originally developed by Angie Hart and Derek Blincow, with help from Helen Thomas as part of a book
• Anna Freud - THRIVE elaborated (PDF document)
• The Samaritans - Supports schools, college communities and other youth settings through postvention services, lesson plans and school talks. DEAL includes lesson plans, activities, hand-outs, DEAL digital resources, teachers’ notes and staff training materials - free to download
• Heads Together - Information, advice and resources to help primary schools understand and promote children’s mental health and wellbeing
• Action for Happiness - Toolkits for schools
• Mental Health Foundation - Publications on mental health
• Playfield Institute - Hands On - Help and practical advice for supporting children and young people's mental health and emotional wellbeing
• Pesky gNATs - Free workbook. The workbook is a collection of worksheets to help children and young teenagers develop skills to help them manage a wide range of emotional and behavioural problems. They are intended for use by psychologists, social workers, childcare workers, child psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to assist them in their routine clinical practice
• NSPCC toolkit - The solution-focused practice toolkit provides inspiration for worksheets and activities to use, adapt or devise for the children and young people you work with
• The Children’s Society - Free resources for schools to talk to children about difficult issues
• Next Steps - A purchasable kit to help support mental health and emotional wellbeing in schools.
• Time to Change - Mental health lesson PowerPoint presentation.
• MIND - Building resilience, promoting wellbeing PowerPoint presentation.
• Action Mental Health - Mental health awareness PowerPoint presentation.
• Boing Boing - What is Resilient Therapy & the Resilience Framework?

• CAMHS resources - This site was created for young people, carers and professionals to pool together lots of helpful resources from across the internet that are available to help support mental health and well-being.
• 5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing - Five steps to wellbeing is an evidence-based approach to improving mental wellbeing
• Get Self Help  - This website provides CBT self-help and therapy resources, including worksheets and information sheets and self-help mp3s
• Resilience and Self Help guide -  Advice around steps you can take to be more resilient and promote self-care
• NHS Northumberland, Tyne & Wear - Self-help leaflets
• Childline - Information and advice
• Mindfulness guide - Information and videos around Mindfulness
• Sleep Council - Help to get a better night’s sleep

• Kooth - Free, safe and anonymous online support for young people, accredited counsellors for mental health needs.
• My Place - Age 13 - 25 years offering youth support around confidence 1:1 work or group. Funded by the Wildlife Trust initiative, ecotherapy and outdoor mindfulness. Available in Central, West and East Lancashire.
• TalkZone – LCC - Young people aged from 12 to 19 years (up to age 25 with SEND) can access this support by telephone, text, webtalk, email or Facebook from 2pm - 10pm.
• Lancashire Youth Challenge - A charity which enables young people to build confidence and resilience via an exciting year-round programme of physical activities, and creative and cultural projects. Available in North Lancashire area.
• Youth Zone - Advice and support for children and young people.
• Achieve Change and Engagement (A.C.E.) - Resources to help improve emotional health and wellbeing.
• Public Health 5-19 Cumbria County Council - Service is aimed at lifestyle improvement, through maintaining and promoting mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. Key priorities include healthy weight, emotional health, digital wellbeing and risk taking behaviour.
• Mental Health Crisis Line: 0800 915 4640
• Mental Health Access Line - In Lancashire there is a Mental Health Access Line to support people’s mental health needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can access the line, by calling the NHS non-emergency services on 111
• Listening service - There is an out of hours listening service in Lancashire for anyone concerned about their own, or someone else's, mental health. Call the Freephone Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline on 0800 915 4640. It's open Monday to Friday 7pm to 11pm, Saturday and Sunday 12 midday to 12 midnight.

• If you prefer to communicate via text, a texting service runs alongside the Helpline in Lancashire. Text Hello to 07860 022846.

  Specialist Triage, Assessment, Referral and Treatment (START)

  Pendle & Burnley START 9am-5pm 01282 628455 5pm-9am 01282 657222

  Blackburn START 9am-5pm 01254 226430 5pm-9am 01254 226074

• Free access to wellbeing apps for all NHS staff

• Headspace is a personal guide to health and happiness. Designed to help you focus, breathe, stay calm, perform at your best, and get a better night’s rest through the life-changing skills of relaxation, meditation and mindfulness.

• Calm is an app for meditation and sleep. Designed to help lower stress, lessen anxiety, and assist in a more restful sleep with guided meditations, Sleep Stories, breathing programs, masterclasses and relaxing music. Apple store download | Google Play store download

• Calm Kids gives you resources on all kinds of parenting dilemmas at your fingertips — including inspirational messages, audio tracks, videos and articles to help you create a calmer, happier home. Apple store download | Google Play store download

• Smiling Mind is a web and app-based program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to people’s lives.

• WellMind is a free NHS mental health and wellbeing app designed to help you with stress, anxiety and depression. The app includes advice, tips and tools to improve your mental health and boost your wellbeing. 

• MindShift uses strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help you learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety. Apple store download | Google Play store download

• NHS Weight Loss Plan. Develop healthier eating habits, be more active, and get on track to start losing weight with a 12-week plan.

• Insight Timer offer guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more.

• Sleepio is designed to teach you how to overcome even long-term poor sleep without medication. This is the companion app for the Sleepio programme. Apple store download | Google Play store download

• Moodometer is an interactive mood diary for monitoring and understanding emotional wellbeing.

• Happime a free non-profit app that helps to raise self-esteem, self-confidence and happiness levels in children young people and adults by teaching them about the power of thinking positively and how to choose a more helpful way of thinking.

• Feely an app to track your feelings and receive scientific exercises and work on activities that help you feel happier.

• Moods: Mental Health Tracking with an easy fast traffic light colour system to track moods.

• Chill Panda is an app designed to help with anxiety, managing worries and improving wellbeing for primary school-aged children.

Watch videos in our promoting good mental health playlist on our YouTube channel.