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We are developing an innovative, interactive website for primary school aged children on the issues of emotional wellbeing. The site will include games, quizzes and a forum. There is no other website like this for younger children. Great Ormond Street Hospital have developed a site for general health and they tell us that they get many request for help with emotional health issues that they do not have the expertise to handle.

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Categories

  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)

    Situation

    Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of mental health disorders in children and young people, ranging from the very minor to the very serious, is as high as 1 in 10. In addition to this alarming statistic, many more children increasingly show problems such as worries and anxiety, fears, low mood and depression over a wide range of social problems, such as bullying, divorce/separation of parents, school pressures etc. In the modern multi-media environment, primary school children are more and more likely to turn to internet-based tools for learning and development, as well as fun and games. There is currently no web-based resource for children of this age range to help them to deal with such problems, or that their parents and carers can turn to for support, despite the fact that a website is a highly useful tool when dealing with these problems, in that it can provide innovative methods to engage children of this age-range, it can host a forum for children to share their experiences and it can be completely confidential if required. The website will be aimed at all children and young people who have worries and anxieties, potentially world-wide, offering help and advice, as well as more specialist provision of a service for children who may need to access mental health services in the UK. There will also be pages for teachers and parents. The content will be aligned with the curriculum so that it can be rolled out in primary schools as part of PSHE learning and development. The website will be developed fully consultatively with children aged 3 – 10, and this part is already in progress. Feedback gained so far from surveying children, parents/carers, teachers and charities has shown that this is a site that would be an invaluable resource in helping children with their problems. Children have told us that they want helpful advice and information presented in an engaging and fun way and so our site will include games, online forums for sharing their experiences, quizzes, and animation. Expert Child Psychotherapists, from our affiliated mental health Trust, the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, are currently working closely with an award winning design team to gather information and feedback from children to ensure the emotional language and tone of the site is correct, and that the site communicates in an innovative way to children about highly sensitive issues. We are looking for another £100,000K to take this project to its final stages. This covers the cost of further consultations, the development of the site, advertising and launch costs, support costs and funding for maintenance and evaluation. As this site will link with the curriculum we are aiming for it to be used regularly in every primary school in the country and we are also hoping that it will achieve international recognition, as well as design effectiveness awards. This is an opportunity for someone to fund a unique and high-profile resource that will help millions of children.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)