Issue - meetings

The Sport and Physical Activity Manager will give a presentation regarding the Mental Health Programme delivered by Cherwell District Council Youth Activators, in partnership with Oxfordshire Mind and Resilient Young Minds.

Resolved

(1)       That the presentation be noted.

(2)       That the work being undertaken be commended.

(3)       That officers be requested to provide additional information on the Mental Health support provided by the County and/or MIND for adolescents (13 – 19 year olds) in the district.

The Chairman welcomed the Sport and Physical Activity Manager to the meeting, to give a presentation explaining the work of the Wellbeing and Physical Activity Team in relation to mental health wellbeing.

The Sport and Physical Activity Manager explained that whilst the team was not directly responsible for delivering mental health provision, physical activity had been shown to have a positive impact on mental health.

Cherwell District Council had contributed to the mental health prevention framework, which was delivered through the mental health concordat.

Part of the work of the concordat included a mental wellbeing needs assessment, that looks at the current situation with adults and children across Cherwell.

During 2020 the assessment showed that 1 in 6 people had a probable mental health disorder, an increase from 1 in 9 people in 2019. The assessment also showed an increasing percentage of year 7 to year 13 students who reported they often struggled to sleep.

The assessment had also shown that mental wellbeing of girls was lower compared to boys of the same age, and as a direct result of this the wellbeing team had been working with ‘This Girl Can’ as well as other campaigns aimed at girls.

The Sport and Physical Activity Manager explained that the team had attended mental health first aid training, as well as accessing information from organisations such as MIND to help provide advice and guidance to communities.

The FAST (Families Active Sporting Together) programme currently had 7000 individuals on the programme across 2500 families, and through information gathered it showed that 20% of young people on the programme had highlighted a mental health concern. The programme was being used to highlight activities and techniques to help young people and their families improve their mental health.

The main work of the team had involved developing a physical activity and mental health programme in partnership with Oxfordshire MIND, that had been delivered in primary schools. 

The youth activators had delivered the programme in schools during the pandemic, to year 6 children. Year 6 had been highlighted as an important age group due to the imminent transition to secondary school, and an age group most impacted by the effects of the pandemic. 

A 6-week programme had been developed that covered six different themes:

Introduction to mental wellbeing; stress and anxiety; anger; goal setting; resilience; and self-esteem. Hour long sessions had covered physical activity and mental wellbeing.

The programme had been delivered by youth activators and Oxfordshire Mind initially, with youth activators being trained by MIND to deliver the mental health aspect. Resource and guidance packs were also provided to the schools, to continue work once the initial 6-week programme had ended.

The programme had been delivered to 424 children across 16 schools, with 48% of those who had attended rating their wellbeing as ‘much better’. 

The programme was being adapted for roll out to secondary schools from 1 November, starting with year 7 and 8 pupils.

The Committee thanked the Sport and Physical Activity Manager for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24