In the lead up to Mental Health Awareness Week, Fulham FC Foundation hosted a number of anxiety workshops at three of our Premier League Inspires partner schools. These workshops were delivered by one of Fulham’s Mental Wellbeing Practitioners Ben McIlwaine, kicking off a conversation around mental health and anxiety, exploring situations where students have been anxious or where others may have been anxious and what individuals can do to help cope with this.
Our Premier League Inspires participants from Ark Globe Academy, Dunraven and Hollyfield School then went on to complete a social action project during Mental Health Awareness Week, showcasing the knowledge and skills they built during the anxiety workshops for the benefit of their local communities.
Students from Ark Globe Academy decided to create a PowerPoint which would be sent to students from around their school. The PowerPoint included facts, tips, a quiz and a challenge for each tutor group which involved each student writing something positive about another student in their class on a piece of paper, which would then be shared the next day.
At Dunraven School the participants decided to research athletes that have or have had mental health challenges. From this research they then created posters around how each athlete deals with these challenges followed with a supportive statement on how to deal with it. These will then be displayed in an area around the school for everyone to see and learn from.
Finally, Hollyfield School planned to put together a video around what anxiety is and what you can do to help your anxiety. Within the video they also highlighted helplines that are available for the public to address anxiety. This video is due to be shared in assembly for all students and then displayed on screen within the school reception.
Across all three schools our PL Inspires students wanted their projects to be able to make a difference and felt that spreading awareness is the most important thing. Although Mental Health Awareness Week only lasts seven days, our students wanted to assist their schools to continue talking about mental health in the long term.
“It gave me a better understanding of how to deal with these situations and how I could calm myself down in these situations. My advice to others since the workshop would be that it can happen to anyone, don’t be afraid to speak to someone about it” Kemanie, Student Hollyfield School
“The students really engaged in the workshop and showed a clear understanding of how relevant anxiety is to health and wellbeing. It was amazing to see the knowledge that the students have on mental health, and also the capacity they have to learn information and coping skills.” Ben McIlwaine, Fulham FC Foundation Mental Wellbeing Practitioner
“The workshops and putting the projects together have had a clear impact in the ways in which the participants think about mental health, how they cope with it, how they recognise the signs both in themselves and others. Most importantly they remembered that it is ok not to be ok, you are never alone and to speak up about it.” Lauren Binfield, Fulham FC Foundation Youth Engagement Officer
To find out more about our Premier League Inspires programme please email foundationinfo@fulhamfc.com
