Are your programmes designed for whole class use or for interventions?

Our programmes are versatile. They are skills-based and are designed for use either as small group interventions or for whole class sessions. With minimal adaptation, they can also be used for individual one-to-one interventions ("Talking Partners" are regularly mentioned - however, the student can just as easily discuss their thoughts with the adult delivering the programme). For maximal impact and efficacy for your entire school community, our programmes would ideally be implemented for the whole class and for multiple year groups across your school setting.

What types of content / media do your programmes include?

Our programmes for students include comprehensive PowerPoints with audio instruction, as well as PDFs of lesson plans, posters, worksheets and homework. Some of the PowerPoint presentations incorporate brief animated video/GIF content.

Our Staff Mental Health & Wellbeing Programme is mostly video based, with accompanying PDF handouts.

Which psychotherapeutic approaches are your programmes based on?

Our programmes are written using the following evidence-based approaches: Mindfulness, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy).

How are your programmes differentiated?

Our programmes for students feature a combination of differentiation by task, support, outcome and extension. Some of the homework is differentiated by task.

Do you offer in-person or virtual training sessions?

Yes, we do! On request, we can provide training sessions for school staff about pupil and staff mental health and wellbeing. For example, we recently led an online workshop about child and staff mental health for an academy trust in England, including background information and a range of practical strategies and resources:

"I wholeheartedly recommend Ava Shabnum Hasan and her team at Mentally Well Schools. In our preparation for the return of the rest of our pupils we had an excellent workshop for our team, supporting them in recognising and addressing signs of poor mental health in our children and in ourselves.” Cori Bateman (CEO/Executive Headteacher/NLE/NPQEL, Pioneer Learning Trust)

Darryl also holds DBT STEPS-A (Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents) training sessions for teachers, certifying them to deliver this evidence-based mental health skills programme to primary and secondary age students. See our Training and Consultancy page.

Our overarching aim has always been to write and offer as much online/virtual content as possible in the form of our online programmes, so that we can positively impact the mental health of school communities as far and wide as possible without travel being a limitation. 🙂

Can I get a sample?

You sure can! Follow the links below to receive a FREE sample of several lessons from each of our current programmes: Claim your Free sample of 3 lessons from our Ages 7-13 Mental Health Skills Programme &/or your Free sample of 2 lessons from our COVID Worry & Wellbeing Programme (ages 6-12 approx.).  You can also view a sample of our Staff Mental Health & Wellbeing Programme. You'll receive an emailed download link to claim your sample programme content.

Will I get immediate access to all programme content when I subscribe?

Our content is drip-fed. Upon purchasing your subscription you will receive access to the first few weeks of each available programme. After 30 days, you'll receive access to the remaining weeks of content within each programme.

Which member(s) of staff should deliver your programmes?

We recommend that our programmes are delivered either by a teacher (class teacher, SEN/intervention teacher or SENDCo) or an HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) ideally with some training in mental health. It's important that whoever delivers the programmes follows the guidelines we provide (all our programmes have comprehensive lesson plans and all resources are provided) and that they are able to maintain a non-judgmental approach during the sessions they deliver. Rest assured, we will be here to support your staff with the implementation of our programmes. If they have any questions, they can ask in our Online Community Forum, where our team is regularly on hand to offer advice and guidance about our programme content.

What if I have a question while teaching a programme?

If you have a question, you can post in our Online Community Forum, which is where questions can get answered by members of our team, as well as by other community members. We are regularly in the Online Community Forum to answer questions and offer advice. Rest assured, we're here to support you with the implementation of our programmes in your setting 🙂

Do you offer Free Resources?

Yes, we do! Please check out our Free Resources page 🙂 Most of our free resources are taken from our fully planned paid programmes which we have written ourselves based on proven psychotherapeutic approaches. A few of our free resources are curated from elsewhere.

Are your resources / programmes a substitute for face to face counselling or psychotherapy sessions?

No. Our resources and programmes are designed to help teach children, young people and staff in schools a range of evidence-based psychotherapeutic skills which have been shown in numerous studies to benefit mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Our materials are designed as a more general PSHE type resource or for targeted interventions with children about whom you have SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) concerns. However, the resources, programmes and service we offer are not intended as a substitute for counselling / psychotherapy sessions, nor for an assessment with an Educational Psychologist; nor are they a substitute for any other individual interventions by a trained mental health professional.