Oldham children and young people’s mental health supported during Covid crisis

Oldham Council and its partners have ensured children and young people’s mental health has not been forgotten during the Covid crisis.

A range of measures have been put in place to support and help children and young people, along with adults who look after and care for them.

This week is National Anti-bullying week and Universal Children’s day today (Friday), and Oldham Council is keen to use this to remind parents and carers to check-in with their young ones.

An example of one good piece of work is mental health training in schools.

Nearly nine out of ten Oldham primary and secondary schools have now received the latest training in mental health and are passing this on to staff to use to help youngsters.

This is part of a £8m national scheme funded by Central Government intended to support education staff to promote children and young people, teachers and parents and carers’ mental wellbeing and resilience and aid mental health recovery, in light of the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown.

All of Oldham’s teams that work with children and young people have tried to keep face to face contact going where possible while supplementing with IT solutions where required.

One such example is Oldham’s Youth Team, who have started their own social media channels to support young people who may be feeling isolated and alone

Partners in Oldham have also played their part and links can be found at: https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201172/support_help_and_tips_for_coping_with_coronavirus/2459/looking_after_your_mental_health_and_wellbeing

Councillor Shaid Mushtaq, Oldham Council Cabinet Lead for Education, said: “The Covid pandemic has affected everyone, but children and young people have particularly felt the effects in terms of facing big life challenges while facing a loss of routine in normal everyday life.

“This can often lead to mental health problems in their key formative years and so Oldham Council and its partners have worked hard to support them at this difficult time.

“Nobody should feel alone and unable to express their problems and I thank everyone who has played their part to help out and support at these difficult times.

“This week is anti-bullying week and Universal Children’s day on Friday and so I would urge all parents, carers and people who work and support young people to take a few minutes to talk to children and young people to see how they are doing.

“A simple chat can always help and often can lead to finding out about problems and issues that may seem small but can lead to bigger issues now and in later years.”

For more details on Oldham’s Council’s mental health support, click here

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