Cardiff-based St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College is helping to drive forward awareness around the key mental health issues young people in education face this World Mental Health Day (10 October).
This comes alongside the World Federation for Mental Health 2018 campaign focus on ‘Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World’, emphasising the needs of young people, a cause which St David’s is keen to get behind.
Following on from its ‘Worry Less’ campaign earlier this year, St David’s is continuing to champion mental health awareness with staff members assembling to create an impactful social media video campaign, highlighting what mental health is and why students will always have a place to turn to at St David’s.
Mental health problems remain a prevalent issue in the UK, with statistics showing that approximately one in four of us will experience mental health issues during our lifetime. Also, according to Mental Health.org, 20% of adolescents may experience a mental health problem in any given year and 50% of mental health problems are established by aged 14, making it a crucial period for mental wellbeing. In light of this insight, St David’s is striving to support its students at the earliest stage possible.
Speaking of the campaign, St David’s Learning Support manager, Sam Monks said:
“Mental health is important at every stage of life and it’s crucial for the young people that study with us to know that they have a safe and supportive environment where they can discuss any concerns or issues. Our Learner Support Centre plays a big part in this and is why we believe it’s important to have qualified counsellors on hand, always.”
“According to the Telegraph, mental health problems have risen six-fold since the rise of social media platforms. In 1995, just 0.8% of four to twenty-four-year-olds said they had a long-standing mental health condition, yet this rose to 4.8% by 2014. Student mental health is of paramount importance to the college and it continually looks at how to keep at the forefront of support for the young people it nurtures, helping its young adults cope with any problems that they face whilst undertaking their sixth form education.
“Mental health problems aren’t a weakness and they are nothing to be ashamed of. We want our students to understand that they will always be treated with the utmost respect with us and we will uphold the highest level of privacy for any issues that they bring to us, wherever possible.”
Based in Penylan, St David’s helps to nurture successful students through its supportive and stimulating learning programmes and environment.
