Mental Health and Well-Being

Horwitz & Schield (1999) says that mental illness is a problem in cognitive and personal factors. 

However, it can also be described as a person’s overall emotional, psychological and social well-being which can affect the way in which we think, act and feel (Mental Health.gov, 2017). Mental health problems can occur due to lots of different reasons such as; childhood trauma, domestic violence, bereavement, drug and alcohol misuse, long- term stress and bullying (Mind, 2018).

The media has a very large impact on young people’s mental health these days as Governments and media such as television, social media and magazines promote visions and forms of physical perfection which children and young people want to follow (Evans et al, 2008).

CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) is one of the services available that help children and young people with mental health issues. CAMHS is an NHS service that helps young people to deal with emotional, behavioural and mental health issues. This service helps to support children and young people who suffer from depression, eating disorders, self-harm, abuse an so much more (Young Minds).

In the Donaldson curriculum, the Areas of Learning and Experience teaches pupils subjects and themes such as sex and relationships, physical education and healthy eating and cooking in order to support children and young people’s social, emotional, spiritual and physical health and well-being (Donaldson, 2015, p.45).

Donaldson says young people should be healthy, confident individuals who:

• Have knowledge about the impact of diet and exercise on physical and mental health
• Have knowledge and support on how to stay safe
• Take part in physical activity
• Make rational decisions about their lifestyle and how to manage risk
• Have confidence to participate in performance
• Form positive relationships

(Donaldson, 2015, p.30)

Attachment to nature is key to a child’s health and well-being during childhood (Bohling, 2006:51)

therefore, when a child has a positive experience with a natural environment it helps their emotional development which can make them feel better (Louv, 2006). For children who have mental health issues and feel like they are angry at the world; caring for flowers, pets or spending time listening to nature can help children to develop a sense of belonging and social development (Elliot, 2008) If children do not have frequent experiences with nature, children begin to gain unhealthy emotional/psychological states such as anxiety and depression so experiencing nature at least once a week can help prevent children gaining these symptoms (Louv, 2006).                                         (Image 1)

In order to help children with Mental Health issues, schools can pay for programmes such as Jigsaw, Roots of empathy and PATHS which work with children in primary schools, each programme focuses on different age ranges but all of them work within the primary school age (Mentally Healthy Schools, 2018). Programmes like these provide well-structured progressive lesson plans and teaching resources to help children along their educational and well- being journey and promote positive mental health and well-being of children in primary schools, children learn coping skills and more knowledge about metal well – being by raising social and emotional competence with children (Mentally Healthy Schools, 2018).

A week plan to promote positive mental health and well-being: (Mental Health Foundation)

References: 

Bohling, V (2006). The power of nature to help children heal. Exchange 17 (1), 49–52.

Brooks, F. et, al. (2015) HBSC England National Report 2014. University of Hertfordshire; Hatfield, UK.

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales.

Elliott, S (2008). The Outdoor Playspace Naturally for Children Birth to Five Years. Castle Hill, NSW: Pademelon Press.

Evans S, Ferrando S, Findler M, Stowell C, Smart C, Haglin D. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 2008;22:716–721.

Green, H. et. al (2005) Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Louv, R. (2006) The Last Child in the Woods. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.

Mental Health.gov (2017) What is Mental Health? Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health

Mental Health Foundation. 5 ways your school can promote mental health. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/schools-wellbeing-week-pack.pdf (Accessed 04 December 2018)

Mind (2018) Understanding Mental Health. National Association for Mental Health. London.

ONS (2016) Selected Children’s Well-being Measures by Country: 3 Centre Forum. Commission on Child.

Young Minds (2017) Mental Health Statistics. Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/mental-health-stats/

Young Minds. Guide to CAMHS. Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/your-guide-to-support/guide-to-camhs/

Mentally Healthy Schools (2018) Whole- school programmes. Available at: https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/teaching-resources/whole-school-programmes/ (Accessed 02 December 2018)

 Image 1: http://www.naturehealthandwellbeing.ie/news-bedford/2018/4/22/2-day-training-in-nature-based-interventions-for-mental-health (Accessed 04 December 2018)

Creativity in Schools

Creativity “can be an act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one. And the definition of a creative person is: someone whose thoughts or actions change a domain or establish a new domain.” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997, p.28)

Sharp (2004) says that theorists have different views on what ‘creativity’ is, but agree that it includes:

•       Imagination

•       Originality - The ability to come up with ideas that are new and original

•       Productivity - The ability to think of a variety of different ideas

•       Problem Solving – The application of knowledge and imagination in a situation

Creativity differs from each person, but everyone loves what they do and do whatever they want due to what drives them and it also gives them the opportunity to carry out what they enjoy doing (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997, p.107) “The concept of creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self-actualizing, fully human person seem to be coming closer together, and may perhaps turn out to be the same thing” as people become happy and healthier when they enjoy what they are doing (Maslow, 1964, p.55)

Defining creativity and imagination may: (Duffy, 2006)

•  Limit creativity to producing an item e.g. a painting;
•  Restrict creativity to being only related to the arts e.g. painting, music;
•  Encourage people to see them as simply skills which can be taught;
•  Encourage people to see them as something that will develop if the conditions are right;
•  Include stereotypical ideas e.g. that certain groups of people are naturally creative;
•  Limit creativity and imagination to the gifted few.

Although creativity and innovation can be seen as being similar, Creativity refers to generating new ideas whereas innovation refers to changing the way in which things are done (Feist, 1998).

 

 (Duffy 2006, p.16)

If education is all about educating people for their future workplace, then people who are creative and are creative thinkers are much needed for the future (Beetlestone, 1998). Torrance (1965) states that creative thinking is a powerful force, creativity has enabled people to have great advances in different discoveries that have been made such as in medicine. Toynbee (1964) claims that creativity is a person’s greatest asset. When children participate in creative activities such as creating sounds, drawing pictures, playing different roles and handling new materials it develops skills such as listening, experimenting, exploring and communicating which can all help children as they grow up as these skills will continue to develop(Welsh Assembly Government, 2008) In order for children to progress in creative development as good as they do in other Areas of Learning, children need to be able to explore through activities such as handling and experimenting with new materials, developing skills through activities such as learning to use materials in certain ways and using the skills that they have learnt to create and invent their own version of the ideas in order to solve problems and develop (Welsh Assembly Government, 2008). Students should be provided with a variety of opportunities for creative expression (Torrance, 1962) in order for children to develop their problem solving skills and motivation in what they are passionate about so that their creativity will always be able to develop (De Bono, 1992).

Cropley (1978) argues that creativity is important because:

1. It will make learning more effective in schools as cognitive processes will be outlined during learning
2. It increases the pupil’s ability to cope with changes within and outside of education
3. It promotes spiritual well-being
4. It ‘protects’ pupils from being on the computer so often which can therefore develop their creative processes
5. It offers new perspectives on situations

The Welsh Government (2008) say that teachers should give children indoor and outdoor spaces in order to enable creative activities such as the use of natural resources and movement. They also say that children should be given an area such as a ‘studio’ area where creative work can take place and also teachers should provide children with a range of simulating and multi-sensory objects and materials along with a good learning environment in order for children to explore creativity (Welsh Assembly Government, 2008)

Although Cropley (1978) has stated that creativity is important, creativity is not being pursued as much beyond primary education, since 2010 there has been a 28% drop in the number of students who went on to pick a creative subject for their GCSE’s when given the choice (The Guardian, 2018). Also, due to funding and the pressure on getting high grades in the core academic subjects such as Science, Maths and English, creative activities such as drama, design, art and music are “rapidly disappearing from the curriculum” (The Guardian, 2018). Schools can now be seen as being ‘clone schools’ as they are teaching children to all be the same in the UK due to the pressure on exam results, when children first start school they are always so excitable and have so many ideas but as children move through the education system their creativity is slowly stripped away from them as there is more focus on getting good test results rather than being creative and innovative (tes, 2018).

Are we in Britain destroying, or have we destroyed, the creativity in our system? (tes, 2018) 

                                                                      (Image 1)

I have seen creativity in schools in a general sense so i have experienced it from a far such as children drawing and interacting with role play but i have not yet had an outstanding experience of seeing children engaging with creativity as of yet. However, over the summer i was helping a friend of mine decorate her new classroom for the new year as she was a teacher starting in a new school. She wanted creativity to be the forefront of her classroom. Therefore, we worked on a large art and crafts area where we splattered paint on a display board and provided glitter, straws, pipe cleaners, paint and pine cones for the children to get creative with. We also set up a role play area where the children can pick what they want to do therefore they are using their imagination. We sorted out the outdoor area to enable children to get creative outdoors such as continuing role play outdoors, play in the sand pit and the mud pit. 

References:

Beetlestone, F. (1998). Creative children, Imaginative Teaching. Buckingham. Open University Press.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997) Creativity, Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York. Harper Collins.

De Bono, E. (1992) Serious Creativity. London: Harper Collins Publishers.

Duffy, B (2006) Supporting creativity and imagination in the early years. 2^nd Edn. Berkshire: Open University Press.

Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd Edition). New York:

Maslow, A. H (1964) Religions, values, and peak experiences. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University.

Sharp, C. (2004) Developing young children’s creativity: what can we learn from research? 

Tes (2018) Colin Harris. We’ve destroyed the creativity in our schools. Available at: https://www.tes.com/news/weve-destroyed-creativity-our-schools (Accessed 02 December 2018)

The Guardian (2018) Rufus Norris, the director of the National Theatre. Creativity can be taught to anyone, So why are we leaving it to private schools? Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/17/creativity-private-schools-uk-creative-industries-state (Accessed 02 December 2018)

Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding creative talent. N.J: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Torrance, E. P. (1965). Rewarding creative behaviour experiments in classroom creativity, N.J: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Creative Development. Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills. Cardiff.

Image 1: https://collectivenext.com/content/sir-ken-robinson-do-schools-kill-creativity (Accessed 04 December 2018)