What do young people want to help their wellbeing?
Give us your views on how we can use arts and culture in our Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Project 2022.
The challenges of recent years have had an undeniable impact on many children and young people, with those already at risk of poor mental health disproportionately affected. In a 2021 national survey of children and young people, although some respondents reported improved or similar mental health, 39.2% of 6 to 16 year olds had experienced deterioration in mental health since 2017. Among 17 to 23 year olds 52.5% experienced deterioration[i].
Mental wellbeing is more than just the absence of mental health disease – it is about feeling good and functioning well[ii]. Ways of addressing poor mental wellbeing work best when they are multidimensional, tackling interdependent issues together such as education, employment, relationships, and belonging. Arts and cultural activities are well placed to offer varied and personalised ways for young people to develop skills, find confidence, create connections, and gain meaningful shared experiences throughout their lives.
Reading Borough Council has partnered with Artswork to provide funding for this project. The Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Project 2022 will run from June to December both in and out of schools providing cultural experiences to improve wellbeing for young people up to the age of 25. During the project participating organisations and schools will receive training to deliver similar experiences through Artsmark and Arts Award[iii] and get input from a mental health practitioner.
The first stage is starting now, and needs the input of children of all ages, young people, their families, and the people who work with them (teachers, family workers, health professionals, community groups) to led us in designing and evaluating the project.
- Tell us what kind of activities you are interested in
- Let us know what support you need and how we can help you access it
- Sit on our selection panel and influence how the money is spent
- Be part of our evaluation and tell us what impact the project has and how we can improve it
Fill in this 4 minute form to have your say
If you are a professional you can also get in touch with the project organisers through our webpage
[i] https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/me…
[ii] https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/platform/wemwbs/mentalwellbe…
