Read why we’re so passionate about good mental health and why we’re rolling out mental health training for our whole Little Voices network.
Why we’re rolling out mental health awareness training for our whole network
The Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted issues around children’s mental health that many of us might previously have been unaware of, or not given much thought to. And the reality is that poor mental health isn’t something that just affect adults. As parents and carers, we need to build resilience in our children from a young age. We need to give them practical tools and strategies to help them cope with the anxiety and nerves that are increasingly part of everyday life as they navigate their way through into their teenage & adult years.
Put your own oxygen mask on first
As everyone knows, you need to put your own oxygen mask on before you can help someone else. Which is why here at Little Voices, we’ve launched an initiative for our whole network – including franchisees, tutors, Head Office staff, employees, and even our trusted suppliers – to take part in accredited mental health awareness training. Our close friends at babyballet – an organisation whose culture and beliefs align perfectly with ours – are joining us on this journey. (If there’s one positive lesson that’s come out of the pandemic, it’s that we’re stronger together and collaboration is to be embraced!) And we’ve chosen Jen Chapman from Cinder Ltd. to deliver this training for us.
Good mental health is part of our DNA
The importance of good mental health has always been part of Little Voices’ DNA. We’ve been talking about the benefits of our lessons on children’s mental wellbeing long before it became headline news, so this training isn’t a tick-box exercise for us. Rather, it will cement and build on what we already do week in, week out, at the classes and workshops we run across the UK in local schools and the wider community. It will help us become more aware of how we’re doing with our own mental health, as well as that of our colleagues, our family, and our friends. We’ll be better-equipped to help and support the families and children that we teach every single day. In a nutshell, we’ll be educating ourselves to help ourselves and others, and to have the confidence to signpost them if we see that they’re struggling.