Get creative with nursery rhymes and songs with your children this summer
Author Archives: Michael
Anti-Bullying – Don’t Face It Alone
Bullying in our schools and online is not acceptable. That’s why we’re proud to be supporting the Don’t Face It Alone campaign by @DianaAward
Southern Area LPG FYI – 8th July 2021
Welcome to the 62nd edition of our information bulletin, FYI (For Your Information).
You will see that we have changed the look of our fortnightly newsletter and hope this makes it easier to navigate for you. Any feedback, as always, is very welcome!
We are delighted to be able to share our Summer Activities Directory with you (See page 3), which has been compiled to help children and young people re-connect with services and friends and enjoy the school holidays.
We know that a lot of services are offering an extended range of programmes, activities, workshops, etc. across July & August and so we would ask you to please keep submitting your information to us, so that we can share that on and continue to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families living in the SHSCT area.
Joanne Patterson & Darren Curtis, Locality Development Team, Southern Area
Mid and East Antrim Council launch ‘Little Free Toybox’ at People’s Park, first for the Borough
The concept of a ‘Little Free Toybox’ is simple – a passer by can lift a toy to play with or leave a toy for someone else.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor William McCaughey, said “I am delighted to see the first ‘Little Free Toy Box’ in the Borough installed at People’s Park and pupils from Ballymena Primary already enjoying it. This is will be a great addition to the park and the wider community.
I hope it will provide children and young people with more play resources and the opportunity to play, relax and reconnect with others after what has been a difficult year for everyone. The Toybox can also encourage sharing and creative, imaginative play, as well as potentially going some way to help reduce waste going to landfill as toys are essentially being recycled.
I’d like to extend my thanks to the Antrim Ballymena CYPSP who funded the project and Council Officers, CYPSP, and Northern Trust Health and Wellbeing Team, who co-ordinated the project, with support from a local artist and Ballymena Primary School.”
Lynsey McVitty, from the Northern Trust said “This toy box is a great example of the ‘Take 5’ steps to Wellbeing. Installed in a local park the toy box gives users a chance to connect with the natural environment and other park users. It encourages children to get involved in play, by picking up a new toy, all the while giving and supplying the local community access to toys and new play opportunities. We were delighted to work with Council on this creative initiative and to see it so well used already.”
Parents/guardians are responsible for supervising children when using the Little Free Toy Box and for appropriate sanitation before and afterwards.
Pure Mental School Committees
WHO KNOWS THE NEEDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE BETTER THAN THEMSELVES? NO ONE!
We supply schools with all the information, guidance, and resources they need to help pupils and staff successfully raise awareness of mental health and its importance in their schools. Pure Mental School Committees are pupil-led, organised groups of mental health champions within schools, with a focus and passion for improving mental health education and awareness within their own school. Who knows the needs, views, and best strategies to take for young people, than young people themselves? No one! Pure Mental Committees put young people at the forefront of the discussion on mental health; to build lines of communication between young people, their peers, and their school; and assist schools through any available training, support and resources available, at no cost to schools themselves. As a result, these committees, on a more personal level, equip pupils with leadership, organisational and communication skills, as well as experience in carrying out research, voluntary work and team-building which can be invaluable in their future education and life beyond school. Committees also give staff and pupils an opportunity to work together as each committee should be supported by a member of staff to help pupils organise and co-ordinate meetings, events, and projects. Acting as a liaison between Pure Mental and schools allows us to provide services, resources and recommendations, uncovering data, ideas and insight so more accurate conclusions can be made in our wider research. This will help us secure more funding and resources for schools to enhance their education on mental health and help facilitate new services, training and/or workshops.
Find our more at: https://www.puremental.org/committees
Contact: purementalni@gmail.com